Half-price tickets to fill the Stade de France: the XV de France, lacking results for a decade, is no longer dream and the French Rugby Federation (FFR) reacts urgently to this erosion before the test against South Africa Saturday.
"Seduce a new audience." An element of language used by the FFR to explain the sale at half price - 25 euros instead of 50 - of places in category 3 for the first of three tests in November against the Springboks.
This match against the 5th world nation, which has just achieved the feat of winning in New Zealand (36-34), is yet the main poster of the Blues this fall. If it does not fill up in the dyonisienne enclosure of 80.000 places, what will it be against Fiji, selection of the second international rank, on November 24th?
Last year at the same time, the Blues had already faced the Boks in front of 55,000 spectators only in Saint-Denis. If the posters of the Six Nations Tournament against Ireland (75,000) and England (78,000) have allowed to refuel or almost full, the phenomenon, camouflaged by the invitations offered to clubs, can not be denied.
Asked by AFP, the FFR is silenced in silence and refuses to say more about its "new commercial strategy" launched Sunday, less than a week of the match. "This exclusive commercial offer aims to seduce a wider audience and to win new fans," she was content to comment Tuesday night.
The FFR "in panic"?
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Minimal communication that sounds like an admission of helplessness. "The strategy, I do not know if there is one," said Antony Thiodet, founder of Time For Biz. "This creates an inequity compared to those who bought before, and above all it sends the message that they are in a panic.Anyone then will wait for the panic strikes again before committing" , believes the consultant, who advises sports clubs in their economic development.
J-Saturday, it's the beginning of the autumn tour for the #XVdeFrance! The Blues will need you to push them against the formidable @Springboks! All at @stadefrance, together, #NeFaisonsXV!
The latest ticketshttps: //t.co/PlWUXj1SFw pic.twitter.com/s02d7csNnJ
The danger, in terms of images, is that of a devaluation of the "product" XV of France. "When you have less than 10 events organized every year in France, you do not really want to adopt a consumer strategy, only based on price aggression." It's better to work on improving quality. product, especially when sports results are not necessarily there, " says Thiodet.
The culprit is in fact all found: a selection that has become accustomed to losing and whose last glory, the 2010 Grand Slam and the 2011 World Finals, seem far away.
Teddy Thomas: "It's normal"
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The Blues, unlike their federal leaders, do not hide: "it's our responsibility to us," said Tuesday scrum half Antoine Dupont. "If people do not come, it's because we do not want them to come."
"Frankly, I understand them," said winger Teddy Thomas. "We lose, there is no show so it's normal that people do not come in. It's up to us to make people want to come to the stadium, to move, to shout, to push behind us. It is first of all to make good performances on the ground " , considers the player of Racing 92.
Yes, but not only. The XV of France and the Federation "are facing a problem that affects everyone: the compression of natural demand," says Antony Thiodet. "People who came spontaneously to sporting events are less and less numerous".
The example of the Stade Rochelais, which has sold out for several seasons, shows according to the consultant that there is however no inevitability to the decline of the influx of stadiums, including rugby: "playing in particular on 'balance supply-demand, and therefore on the scarcity, this club has managed to protect itself from the harmful effects that can know the others'.
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