England give away FREE tickets for Twickenham in bid to sellout Fiji clash
England are dishing out free tickets for their game with Fiji this Saturday to certain clubs in a bid to ramp up the attendance at Twickenham as they struggle to sellout
The RFU is giving away free tickets to certain clubs for England‘s clash with Fiji at Twickenham this weekend in a bid to hike attendances for their second autumn international.
Twickenham was a sellout for last weekend’s win over Australia but attracting the same numbers for Saturday’s clash has been a struggle. Certain rugby clubs have been given an allocation of free tickets to distribute to their members for Saturday’s game against the Pacific Islanders, reports the Telegraph.
The RFU is on course to attract more than 70,000 fans to Twickenham, which has a capacity of 82,000. The governing body does anticipate selling out for three of the four autumn games, but the Fiji game has been a struggle.
Last weekend fans had three games to choose from in London with South Africa facing Japan and a New Zealand XV facing the Barbarians, alongside the England’s game, meaning fans have had to prioritise which games to attend.
The RFU had been looking to take the Fiji clash and play it in the north of England, but the amount of Premier League football meant there was a notable clash and the decision was made to remain at Twickenham. England haven’t played a home match away from south west London since 2019.
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The last time England faced Fiji was in the lead up to the World Cup in 2023. On that occasion the match was played in front of a stadium that was just over half full with the upper tier closed and the RFU want to avoid a scenario where empty seats are present.
An RFU spokesman has said on their decision to hand out tickets to clubs: “On the rare occasions when tickets are available, we’re proud to use them to recognise and thank clubs, volunteers, and community groups doing outstanding work for the game. It’s one of the ways we celebrate those who make rugby what it is and we make no apologies for that.”
Rugby’s governing body has also pointed to the record-breaking attendances it attracted in hosting the Women’s World Cup, which was won by England.
They have also maintained: “This has been a record-breaking year for Test-match rugby in England, with more tickets sold for international fixtures than in any season for over a decade.”
Saturday’s clash will see the return of Marcus Smith, who will play at fullback with Fin Smith, his fellow Lion, taking on the fly-half berth. Tommy Freeman has been pushed out to the wing with Ollie Lawrence returning to the starting XV. Ellis Genge will begin the game as captain with regular skipper Maro Itoje on the bench.
