Saracens and Sale Sharks fail to sell Premiership semi-final ticket allocations

Northampton Saints and Bath have put tickets for their Premiership semi-finals back on sale after both Saracens and Sale Sharks returned a portion of their allocations for the weekend’s matches.

It is understood that Saracens returned around 500 tickets of the 2,700 that were given to them for Friday’s play-off game at Franklin’s Gardens.

Northampton, who finished top of the Premiership to secure a first home semi-final since 2015, have subsequently announced that they will be putting these on general sale from 3pm on Tuesday. These will be priced at £45 for adults and £12 for children.

Although the clubs are just 62 miles away, the situation mirrors that of a year ago when Saints are understood to have returned around 300 from their allocation of 1,800 for the semi-final at StoneX Stadium against Saracens, which ended in a 38-15 win for the hosts.

On Tuesday afternoon, Bath followed suit, announcing that “following a return of seats from the away team’s allocation, additional tickets will be made available for this weekend’s play-off against Sale Sharks”.

A source suggested that away fans have tended to purchase tickets directly from an opposition club once they know where the semi-finals will be held, meaning that a team will often be supported by more people than could be accommodated by their official ticket allocation.

This season, the line-up of play-off games was not finalised until the final day of the regular season, with Sale Sharks’ victory at Saracens sending the latter into fourth, giving them a trip to Northampton, as Bath beat Saints to seal second.

Saracens are gearing up for their first away semi-final in the Premiership since 2017, when they were beaten 18-16 by Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park. Since then, they have played in five semi-finals at StoneX Stadium and won each of them, going on to win the title four times including last season.

Premiership Rugby sources remain encouraged by ongoing ticket sales for the final, which will be held at Twickenham on June 8, and are hoping for a sell-out of the 82,000-seater venue.