As the hopes of Wales, France, Ireland and Scotland were all dashed in turn by their Southern Hemisphere opponents, the costs of tickets online have plummeted.

In particular the Argentina – Australia semi-final, which hopeful Irish and Scottish fans pre-bought tickets for, saw ticket prices drop by an average of 23% on Viagogo from their Friday levels.

It was the cheapest tickets, Category D, that saw the biggest relative fall in price, dropping from £209 to £141. However that is still above the face value of £125.

The ticketing marketplace puts this fall down to disappointed fans of the home nations seeking to cover their losses.

Category A (currently available for £325), B (£221) and C (£169) tickets have also seen a price fall, and are available for below their steeper face values.

Irish fans have become particularly well-known for buying up tickets for knock-out games before Ireland’s participation is secured. This was notable yesterday too, as fans wore green and sang the Fields of Athenry during New Zealand’s beating of France.

Prices have also fallen for Saturday’s South Africa – New Zealand semi-final, with an average price drop of 15%.

Category A tickets are listed at a price of £400, with Category D tickets costing £199.

It adds to the organisers’ woes, having earlier lost the hosts, England, three games into the Group Stage.