Claws out in bid to see Lions games

By JON STOKES

Rugby fans eager to catch the Lions during their much-vaunted tour next year will need a fat wallet and a bit of luck.

A ballot for tickets to games during the 11-match British and Irish Lions tour, which kicks off in June, opens today.

But with prices to premium matches, including the third test at Auckland's Eden Park, ranging up to $300, the ballot may be out of the reach of many grassroots supporters.

The New Zealand Rugby Union estimates 150,000 tickets will be available, with the ballot set to close on Christmas Eve and being drawn in February.

The balloting system was introduced following a ticketing row that erupted this year when thousands of Eden Park season pass-holders were told to surrender their grandstand seats to British supporters.

The Auckland Rugby Union fielded angry calls and letters from irate fans, furious after paying up to $600 a season for a package that does not include access to prime seats for the July 9 Lions test match.

Eden Park's 13,000 season ticket-holders were told in a letter last week they would lose their grandstand seats but as a concession could have preferential booking rights to those tickets not already sold for the match.

Only New Zealand residents are eligible to enter the ballot, with members of the rugby community, including season pass-holders, and people living within provincial union boundaries hosting Lions matches, having a higher chance in the ballot through a weighting system.

Application forms for the ballot will be available at PostShops or by visiting www.lions.co.nz.

* Out of 34 tests played between the All Blacks and Lions, New Zealand have won 26 to the Lions' five, with three drawn. The Lions' only series victory in NZ was in 1971.

The Lions' itinerary

* June 4: v Bay of Plenty, Rotorua.

* June 8: v Taranaki, New Plymouth.

* June 11: v NZ Maori, Hamilton.

* June 15: v Wellington, Wellington.

* June 18: v Otago, Dunedin.

* June 21: v Southland, Invercargill.

* June 25: v All Blacks, Christchurch.

* June 28: v Manawatu, Palmerston North.

* July 2: v All Blacks, Wellington.

* July 5: v Auckland, Auckland.

* July 9: v All Blacks, Auckland.