With 57,000 tickets around the stadium being sold at 80 per head, and the 13,000 terrace tickets priced at 30, the so-called 'cheap' sets will net the IRFU a figure somewhere in the region of 5million.

Then the premium level seats and corporate boxes come into play. All previous GAA box holders were given first option on their current box, with the vast majority of them taking up the offer at 750 per head.

The remaining boxes were sold at 850 per head, neither price including VAT, to other interested parties, netting the IRFU a figure of just over 1.5million. The price of the 9,000 premium level seats has been fixed at 110 per ticket, netting the IRFU another 1million and giving a combined gate receipt total from a sold out match of roughly 7.5million. With the way Ireland have performed of late, and the huge interest in Irish rugby, that's now a guaranteed figure for the Union.

"The ticket prices for the vast majority of seats and the terrace are pretty similar to what we were charging at Lansdowne Road, " said an IRFU spokesman. "We didn't have premium seats at Lansdowne Road so obviously that's something new to us, but they have been set at a similar price to what the GAA usually charge for them."

From that tickets total, the GAA have been guaranteed a sum of 1.25million or 26 per cent of the gross gate, whichever figure is higher.

With the games against France, on 11 February, and England, on the 24th of that month, guaranteed to be sellouts, the GAA will be taking the 26 per cent, which will come to about 3.6 million for the two games. But even when that sum is paid out, and other on-the-day expenses are covered, the IRFU will still be left with a profit of 10million, 6 million more than they would have earned had the games been played at Lansdowne Road.

The FAI is also set to benefit hugely from the move, however sources within Merrion Square expect their profit to be less than that of the IRFU.

Lower ticket prices and the cost of installing seating on Hill 16 are set to detract from their earnings.