The meeting of two Irish sides in the semi-final of the Heineken European Cup next Sunday has led to an unprecedented demand for tickets, some of which are now being traded over the internet at vastly inflated prices. Both Leinster and Munster have been allocated 21,400 tickets each, but both provinces claim they could each sell up to three times that amount.

Demand for tickets is especially high in Munster and the Leinster branch of the IRFU has expressed fear that some Leinster clubs may cash in on their ticket allocations by selling them on to Munster clubs for premium rates. The association has already warned that any Leinster club found to have sold tickets to Munster clubs may have to forfeit future Ireland international match tickets.

Terrace tickets for the semi-final clash are already trading hands for over 10 times their face value on sites such as eBay. Most people who successfully applied for tickets through supporters' clubs have received their tickets only this weekend, and so the number of tickets being put up for auction may increase dramatically over the next few days. Advertisements have been placed in national newspapers over the past few days enquiring about the availability of tickets, with fans willing to pay over the odds to land the sought-after tickets.

Between them Munster and Leinster will receive 42,800 tickets, which leaves 5,000 to be set aside for corporate guests. Leinster has been designated the north terrace, while the south terrace has been set aside for Munster. It will, therefore, be obvious if any Leinster club has sold tickets to Munster supporters.

The issue of ticket scarcity is likely to surface again on 20 May when the winner of next weekend's semi-final clash takes to the field in Cardiff for the Heineken Cup final against either Biarritz Olympique or Bath, who compete in the other semi-final.

Tickets for the game have already almost sold out, even though the identity of the two finalists is not yet known.

According to organisers, over one-third of the tickets were sold before the quarter-finals had taken place. Out of a capacity of 74,500, just 15,000 remain and these will be distributed between the two sides which reach the final.

Although many Irish rugby fans will have snapped up tickets already, the fact that the winner of the MunsterLeinster clash will receive an allocation of just 7,500 will ensure that demand will once again far outstrip supply.