Attendances drop 'a blip' - IRB chief

International Rugby Board chief executive Mike Miller is confident the low attendances at last weekend's autumn internationals were not due to an over-exposure of Test rugby.

There were more than 20,000 empty seats for Ireland's first game at the new Aviva Stadium in Dublin and 17,000 unsold tickets for Wales' defeat by Australia at the Millennium Stadium. England's game against New Zealand sold out, but tickets were still available a week before the Test.

Premiership Rugby chief executive Mark McCafferty recently warned the IRB that international rugby risked going the way of one-day cricket. "We would hate to find there is such a proliferation of international matches that their importance is lost," he said.

Miller admitted it was too early to know the real reason for the drop in attendances but he believed it be merely a brief setback. "The game has grown phenomenally in the last ten years. Is this a blip or a trend? I don't think it's a trend," said Miller.

"Only the fans will decide if there are too many matches but what we have found over the last number of years is that everybody wants more - the players, the fans, sponsors and television. I wouldn't agree with his (McCafferty's] opinion."