There is no escaping the irony. Just days after a Heineken Cup semi-final took place in front of 56,058 empty seats at Twickenham, fans are in up-roar about a dearth of tickets for the Amlin Challenge Cup Final. Followers of Bath and Northampton have launched a petition to have the secondary European final switched from Cardiff Arms Park to a larger venue. Their anger is understandable, as official allocations of 1,000 tickets to each of the English clubs have been rapidly sold out. Rugby has to be smarter and more flexible in these tricky situations, to present its best face to the world. Saracens v Clermont Auvergne should have been staged at the Madejski Stadium or Stadium:mk, in order to make a crowd of 25,942 represent a glorious spectacle. Mark McCall’s victors deserved better than to claim their finest European win in front of a two-thirds empty arena.
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Bath and Northampton fans have launched a petition in protest of their small ticket allocation for the Amlin Challenge up final in Cardiff
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If rugby administrators don't take the hint fans will vote with their feet
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Travelling fans should be encouraged, starting with sensible kick-off times
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The chorus of praise for Saracens' Jacques Burger is well-deserved and a World Cup clash with the All Blacks for Namibia could be a worth reward
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Bath director of rugby Mike Ford, along with Northampton's Jim Mallinder, should feel hard done by after being overlooked for end-of-season honours
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Premiership Director of Rugby of the Year nominees are Richard Cockerill (Leicester), Steve Diamond (Sale) and Mark McCall (Saracens)
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The crackdown on 'tip-tackles' has opened a can of worms
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The use of Television Match Officials has become a farce
@placeholder is not football; it needs to work harder to earn its popularity.