Shane Jennings and Brian O'Driscoll promote the upcoming games

The IRFU, which is facing mounting criticism after it announced a major price hike for tickets to its forthcoming Autumn internationals last week, cannot rule out further price rises in tickets for other matches at the new Aviva stadium.


But it denied that the decision to introduce a 21% increase in the cost of a four-match stand ticket package for the upcoming series was aimed at offsetting any potential loss of revenue from government proposals to de­signate Six Nations and Heineken Cup matches as "free to air."


Asked if it could rule out further price increases for its Six Nations matches, an IRFU spokesman said the 2011 Six Nations ticket prices are already in place and "these will not be changing."


"The ticket prices are set each year and we are not looking past this season in regards to these," he said.


But he added that the IRFU would "review its financial position at the end of each year", meaning ticket prices for the following season will be set at that time.


The union has previously estimated that Communications minister Eamon Ryan's proposals to ensure that future Six Nations and Heineken Cup matches can be watched on free-to-air television would see it lose up to 18% ( or between €10-€12m) of its annual income.


But the spokesman said the decision to introduce the new ticket price rises would have been settled upon "totally independently of minister Ryan's proposals."


Last Wednesday, the union revealed that fans wishing to buy a ticket for any one of the Autumn internationals must also purchase the same ticket for the other three games at a cost of €340.


It also revealed that there has been a 250% increase, from €10 to €35, for a schoolboy ticket when compared with previous ticket prices.


The decision has prompted a barrage of criticism, with former Irish rugby captain Keith Wood describing the price of tickets as "incredibly expensive".


However the IRFU has defended the move, arguing that the increased price of tickets reflects the "enhanced offering" to patrons in the new stadium, as well as the need to produce a financial surplus that is then fully distributed throughout all levels of the game.