Tickets are on sale for a "massive" £60,000 ($91,850) each ahead of Saturday's Rugby World Cup final at Twickenham, according to James Whaling of the London DAILY MIRROR. Australia takes on New Zealand "to land the biggest prize in the 15-a-side game, and tickets are available for astronomical amounts on secondary ticketing websites." Outlet Viagogo is selling a ticket for the match for £60,000, meaning two tickets would cost in excess of £140,000 ($214,300) including booking fee and VAT, "72 times the face value of the cheapest official tickets." If you "do not want to spend that much, then you can still manage to grab a pair on Stubhub" -- for the "relatively paltry" amount of £53,100 ($81,300). More than half of all official tickets for the tournament have cost in excess of £100 ($153) -- making it "the most expensive sporting event ever" (DAILY MIRROR, 10/28).
'WHATEVER THEY WANT': In London, Nick Simon wrote New Zealand head coach Steve Hansen invited Australia to "call us whatever they want" after claims that Wallaby players and coaches have been banned from using the term "All Blacks." According to reports in New Zealand, the Australian Rugby Union passed down an "unofficial edict" to players and coaches, saying, "Please do not call them All Blacks." Former English rugby player Clive Woodward "used the same tactic on the 2005 Lions tour of New Zealand" to neutralize the "All Blacks" aura. Hansen: "They can call us whatever they want. Being Aussies, they probably will" (DAILY MAIL, 10/29).
