RUGBY/2006 Six Nations: The IRFU have defended their ticket prices for next year's Six Nations rugby internationals at Croke Park, where corporate seats will cost more than 1,000.

The cost of a ticket for a corporate box to watch Ireland take on England or France in Croke Park will be 850 plus VAT.

A premium seat will cost 110, stand tickets will go for €80, and terrace tickets will be available at 30, according to the IRFU.

The average price charged by the GAA for a corporate-box seat at Croke Park is 80 per match, while the average cost of a premium seat is 40.

However, the IRFU's Karl Richardson said the prices the organisation were charging were not significantly higher than previously, while those for boxes were in line with standard rates for hospitality packages at Lansdowne Road. That package includes not only a match ticket but also lunch, a full bar and a post-match reception with canapes.

"The corporate-hospitality rate is pretty much the same that was offered when Ireland played England in 2005. It's not any different," Richardson said.

An international comparison showed the rates being charged by the IRFU were similar to those charged at Six Nations matches elsewhere, he added.

In France last year, the top price for a stand seat - the same category that will cost €80 for rugby matches at Croke Park - was 110, while in England the comparable price was £70 (102).

The FAI has not finalised prices for the European Championship qualifiers at Croke Park next year, but the highest-end stand tickets will cost between 50 and 70 - or 10 more than the most expensive category for soccer internationals at Lansdowne Road. Premium seats will be 85, while corporate-hospitality packages will cost about 375 per person per match.

Tickets for the soccer qualifiers will be sold in bundles, with the Wales and Slovakia matches in one and Germany and Cyprus in the other.

Richardson said the IRFU's prices were higher than those of the FAI and the GAA because the market dictated it.

"The demand is probably double for the facilities we have at Croke Park. It's reflecting what we're offering . . . Sitting in a stand in Croke Park is a little different from sitting in a stand in Lansdowne Road. That's what they feel their market is - hospitality in rugby is maybe more established."

The IRFU said any profits it made on gate receipts would be reinvested in all levels of the game in Ireland.

"At the end of the day we're a sporting organisation, not a business," said Richardson. "The funds are not filling the coffers of the union."

He added the national team was the IRFU's "shop window", and all profits were put straight back into the grassroots.

It was also confirmed yesterday that current box holders at Croke Park will have first option to purchase seats for rugby matches, at a rate of 750 plus VAT, some 100 below the standard cost.

Italy 99

Ireland 80

France 110

England £70 (102)

Scotland £60 (87)

All figures except Ireland's are based on 2006 rates