England trail South Africa and New Zealand in Twickenham ticket demand for Nations Championship finals
England have been outstripped by South Africa and New Zealand in demand for tickets for the Nations Championship finals weekend at Twickenham next month, with hosts still offering seats while the fixtures involving the two southern hemisphere sides have sold out.
The finals weekend comprises six rankings matches spread across three days — two on Friday, two on Saturday and two on Sunday — culminating in a Sunday match between the top nation in the Northern Hemisphere pool and the top nation in the Southern Hemisphere pool, with second v second, third v third and so on. Tickets can be bought for each individual day, as two- or three-day bundles, and “support your team” tickets are available to guarantee seating for a particular nation’s rankings match.
Organisers report that fixtures featuring South Africa and New Zealand have sold out, while tickets for England remained on sale on Wednesday at a price of £164.80; tickets for the other nine competing nations were also still available at the same price. It is understood the allocation for “support your own” tickets was increased last week because of demand, but interest for the Springboks and the All Blacks has exceeded demand for England.
Overall sales for finals weekend stand at around 60-65% after a spike in interest following the July fixtures, and organisers say they remain optimistic about staging a “festival of rugby”. England’s own schedule includes three pool matches — against Australia, Japan and New Zealand — before finals weekend, which may have diluted local demand to see the hosts at Twickenham.
England’s most recent Test at Twickenham ended in a 42-21 defeat by Ireland during what the report describes as their worst Six Nations campaign. The stadium has hosted multiple high-profile southern hemisphere fixtures in recent years, including a Springboks win over the All Blacks in a 2023 World Cup warm-up that drew a crowd of more than 80,000 for the last Friday-night Test at the ground.
The Rugby Football Union is awaiting Richmond council’s decision on a planning application to stage more concerts at Twickenham; residents opposing the RFU’s proposal cited numerous examples of anti-social behaviour at the Friday-night match between South Africa and New Zealand. Richmond council was initially due to return its decision this week, but the RFU is concerned that a ruling may not come until after November’s Nations Championship fixtures.
England assistant coach Joe El-Abd will leave his position after next year’s World Cup to take up a post with Clermont. El-Abd, described as a close confidant of Steve Borthwick, joined the set-up in the autumn of 2024 initially as defence coach; a year later he was moved to assist with the forwards and contact skills. He was previously the director of rugby at Oyonnax and is set to return to France at the culmination of England’s campaign in Australia next year.