Swamp test in doubt

It seems the Washington swamp is not rugby territory. They should have come back to Chicago, where these matches have filled Soldiers Field. Still I doubt Rassie will be sorry if this match is cancelled...it complicates the Pom series. 'Cape Town - The Springboks’ first Test of 2018 against Wales in Washington DC appears to be in doubt. READ: Financial 'caution' urged over Boks' US Test According to the Daily Mail website, ticket sales for the Test have been poor and the company staging the fixture, Rugby International Marketing, is in financial strife. England’s RFU also has a stake in the company and may be forced to abandon the venture, the report states. Both Wales and South Africa have reportedly had their original match fee of £720 000 (R12.4 million) reduced to £540 000 (R9.3 million). It is understood the Test may need around 27 000 supporters to turn up at the 46 000-capacity RFK Stadium to break even, but only a handful of tickets have been sold to date. The report further states that the South Africans are not too concerned by the fee reduction as the match will give them a foothold in the lucrative US market. But there have reportedly also been high-level discussions at USA Rugby about changing the date, venue and even the teams for the fixture - with Wales or South Africa playing the USA instead. A week after the scheduled Test, the Springboks will play a three-Test home series against England. The first Test is scheduled for Ellis Park in Johannesburg on June 9, followed by Tests in Bloemfontein (Free State Stadium, June 16) and Cape Town (Newlands, June 23).'

Well it worked with Ireland vs the All Blacks in Chicago, but Chicago has 8% Irish ancestry. And 8% of 9 million in Greater Chicago makes for roughly 700000 Irish folk, more than second largest Irish city Belfast. Soldiers Field was filled to see Oirland take out the ABs. But the Boks vs Wales? Not enough Boere or Welshmen methinks. Especially not in the Swamp.

Perhaps 99% of that vendor's tickets have been sold....or the article I copied was out of date.