A full internal investigation has been conducted and the club is satisfied that no-one had any intention of seeking financial gain when one ticket apparently ended up with an individual enjoying hospitality with a body not among the three companies licensed by the RFU for official hospitality.

Saints chief executive Allan Robson said: “These RFU rules are impracticably stringent, with the club held liable for the ultimate whereabouts of tickets.

“This is not about tickets and true fans; this is about the RFU seeking to protect the massive revenues generated by selling licenses to their official licensed operators, who regularly offer clubs a premium for tickets. Saints are one of the clubs that has consistently refused such opportunities because our tickets are passed only to members or bone fide club sponsors – that’s we can be confident of them not being used by anyone hoping to make a financial gain.”