Tickets for tomorrow's rugby match at Croke Park were selling for more than five times their face value on the internet yesterday.
A single €110 ticket for the lower Hogan Stand cost €609 on soldouteventtickets. com and a pair of tickets for the Cusack Stand, also worth €110 each, sold for €1,131 on eBay.
Meanwhile, the Consumers' Association of Ireland (CAI) has criticised the cost of official rugby jerseys. The lightweight slim-fitting jerseys are on sale for €100 in stores and through an online link from the IRFU's website. There is no concession for small sizes.
CAI chief executive Dermott Jewell said the pricing sent a clear message that "we are a rip-off nation" and advised fans not to buy the jerseys.
"If people have to make the purchase, they should make the point that it is an outrageous price and ask the retailer why it has escalated."
A spokesman for the IRFU said it abhorred and rejected any price-hiking. He also said the €100 jersey had been available for the last two years for the same price and that a cheaper supporters' jersey is available for about €75.
