Top tickets for England’s Test match against the All Blacks in November to cost record £229… with the price hike flying in the face of captain Jamie George seeking to make the game more accessible

The RFU will charge the highest price ever for a standalone England Test when the All Blacks visit Twickenham, with top tickets costing £229.

That represents a £35 increase on the most expensive standard ticket for England’s recent Six Nations home matches and a £50 hike from the game against New Zealand two years ago.

According to The Times, the cheapest ticket for the All Blacks match on November 2 will be £99 for an adult and £35 for a child.

All tickets for the autumn fixtures will go on public sale on April 24, but are now available to England’s clubs at discounted rates. 

Tickets for the games against Australia, on November 9, or South Africa, on November 16, will cost between £30 in the lowest ‘category four’ for a junior, to £159 for an adult ‘premium’ seat.

Tickets for the match against Japan on November 23 range from £15 to £99. Schools groups will be able to buy £10 tickets for that game.

Tickets for 2015 World Cup matches at Twickenham were more expensive, yet the RFU has never charged as much as £229 for any normal England Test. 

The price rises fly in the face of captain Jamie George recently saying he wanted to make the game more accessible to a wider range of fans.

He said: ‘The more success we have, the more interest we have in the game across the country. Off the back of that, the more outreach we can have, the better. It’s not for me to say about the ticket pricing and the rest of it. But reaching the right target audience is important for us as a team 

‘We are aware that, at the top of the game, we have an opportunity to reach as many people across England as we can – and change perceptions. There are lots of reasons why participation numbers are going down but the most important thing for us is that we become good role models, and we care about the impact we have on the general English public.

‘We are having discussions about how we can engage with fans more. That’s never happened since I have been in the England squad. We broke up into groups and spoke about the best stadiums we’ve played at and why.

‘The walk into the stadium is one of the best moments as an England rugby player, getting off the bus and being hit with a wall of noise. I’ll remember that forever.’

An RFU spokesperson said: ‘While there have been increases in prices in some ticket categories to cover inflationary costs rises, and to offset the impact of huge increases in the price of energy, as one example, all category 3 and category 4 prices [with the exception of the New Zealand fixture] have remained the same.

‘Increasing prices is not a decision we take lightly, but it is essential that we keep pace with these cost increases, especially in light of significant losses during the pandemic.

‘In order to support families to attend, children’s tickets are available across all matches with prices ranging from £15-35. All profit from ticket income is invested back into rugby at all levels of the game.’