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All Blacks fans make huge profit on Rugby World Cup final tickets

A group of New Zealand fans have put a positive spin on their country being knocked out of the Rugby World Cup by making a tidy profit on their tickets to the final.

After purchasing them for 1,000NZ$ each, just under £500, Mark Shaw has sold his group’s tickets to the final in Yokohama for treble the price. They’ve sold 13 tickets to England fans for a little over £19,000 following the All Blacks defeat to the Red Roses in the semis.

“I had a lot of people come through, like heaps," Shaw told the NZ Herald. He went on to talk about the reaction he got to the whopping price tag he’d slapped on the tickets, but Shaw stuck to the amount he’d set.

"Our theory was for all of us, if we don't sell them we'll go – it is the World Cup final, we were happy to go to the game."

New Zealand's Beauden Barrett waves after the Rugby World Cup semifinal at International Yokohama Stadium between New Zealand and England in Yokohama, Japan, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
New Zealand suffer 19-7 defeat to England in the 2019 Rugby World Cup semi-final in Yokohama, Japan on Saturday Oct. 26, 2019. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

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Tickets to the final between England and South Africa have soared in price online, with some unofficial sites advertising prices of more than £12,000 per ticket.

The Japan Rugby World Cup 2019 Organising Committee CEO Akira Shimazu has implored fans not to risk buying their tickets from unreliable sources.

“It would be absolutely heartbreaking for any fan to be denied stadium entry due to an issue with tickets purchased through unofficial sources.” Shimazu said in a recent statement.

The cheapest tickets available to buy for the final on November 2nd are now priced at nearly £3000. The fixture will be a rematch of the 2007 Rugby World Cup final, where South Africa beat England 15-6 in France.

South Africa players celebrate after the Rugby World Cup semifinal at International Yokohama Stadium between Wales and South Africa in Yokohama, Japan, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019. South Africa won 19-16. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
South Africa players celebrate after the Rugby World Cup semifinal at International Yokohama Stadium between Wales and South Africa in Yokohama, Japan, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019. South Africa won 19-16. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

New Zealand still have a game to play, they will face Wales in the bronze final on Saturday in Tokyo. However, Shaw and his friends won’t be attending.

"Who cares! Couldn't give a rats mate,” said Shaw. “In fact, everyone I know isn't going to that game." The All Blacks will feature in their fourth bronze final, the most played by any country in history. Their most recent bronze final was back in 2003, beating France by an impressive 40-13.

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