AT THE TIME of writing there is no shortage of tickets available for today’s Champions Cup semi-final meeting between Leinster and Northampton Saints at the Aviva Stadium.

What a shame. This time last year the same fixture drew a crowd of over 82,000 to Croke Park, but 12 months down the line demand is not as high.

As of yesterday, EPCR were expecting a crowd of just over 40,000 for the game.  

There are a few reasons for this. For a start, the novelty of a trip to Croke Park is not there. Leinster fans have spent a lot of time in Lansdowne Road this year due to redevelopment works at the RDS, so an element of Aviva fatigue might be kicking in.

There’s also the unignorable fact many expect Leinster to win this game with some ease. Last year’s semi saw a strong Leinster performance rumble into a tight, nervy finish, but it would be a surprise if today’s game was as close a contest. A clutch of Leinster fans surely have one eye on a day out in Cardiff for the final – with is already proving costly in terms of accomodation.

Pricing is another sticky issue. €70 tickets were slow to move before €45 tickets were released last weekend. On Friday there were large numbers of tickets set at €33.75 available for the upper tiers.

It’s important to note here that Leinster Rugby have not been involved in the organisation of this fixture. EPCR take sole charge for the semi-final games with profits from ticket sales then redistributed between the Champions Cup clubs at the end of the season. Leinster have done an excellent job in promoting their games over recent seasons and it is not hard to imagine this game drawing a bigger crowd if the province had control of the planning.

It’s an issue they have been acutely aware of in the past. Last year Leinster head coach Leo Cullen pleaded with EPCR not to ‘rip people off’ with the pricing for their Croke Park semi-final. The previous season, James Ryan highlighted the pricing set by EPCR when Leinster’s semi-final clash with Toulouse in Dublin failed to sell out.

During his pre-match press conference yesterday, Cullen was asked if there was any frustration today’s game will likely fall well below the 51,700 capacity at Aviva Stadium. This time, he decided against highlighting any issues around the organisation of the game.

The question was first posed to Leinster captain Caelan Doris, who joined Cullen for the press conference.

Doris: “We are massively fortunate to have the fanbase that we have, getting 42 (thousand) or whatever it is for a semi-final is pretty special. I think we’ve had over 100,000 (combined) across Ulster and the previous two rounds as well so we’re massively lucky, they make a big difference for us. Obviously you want to have a full one ideally but the more the merrier.”

Cullen was asked the same question.

“It might be sold out still, so you might be jumping the gun a bit there,” he replied.

It was put to Cullen that the rate of ticket sales was not trending toward a sell-out.

“But that’s up to you now. Get off the TV, get up off your couch, turn the radio off, or actually bring your radio to the game. And come to the game, yeah, live sport, it’s hard to beat it.”

Cullen was then asked about the drop from previous Leinster knock-out games, the question sparking a short back-and-forth.

“But I can’t control that. I don’t understand the line of questioning. 

“How many rugby teams are playing in front of over 40,000 this weekend?

“None? So we are in a very privileged position, I wouldn’t take it for granted.”

Another reporter asked Cullen if he felt Champions Cup semi-finals should always be sell-out occasions.

“I don’t understand the question.

“I do understand where you are coming from but…”

The 80,000 plus crowd for last year’s semi-final was again highlighted.

“If we get over 40 (thousand) it is still a big number.”

Today’s expected crowd was then put in the context of being roughly half of what last season’s semi-final attracted.

“I don’t know. I don’t understand the mechanics of marketing a game so you will have to ask someone else, I’m busy trying to figure out how we perform on the field and hopefully it’s a product that people want to turn out to watch.”