Wales’ Under Armour Summer Series clashes with England and Ireland at Principality Stadium this August go on public sale for the first time tomorrow (Friday) at 10am - with adult prices starting at £20 a ticket and kick-off times now confirmed.
The 2019 Guinness Six Nations Grand Slam champions host England in Cardiff on Saturday 17th August at 2.15pm and Ireland on Saturday 31st August at 2.30pm.
Wales, who achieved their highest World Rugby ranking (2nd) on the back of a record fourteen match winning streak and their third Grand Slam under head coach Warren Gatland this winter, expect both matches to reach capacity as the country unites behind its national side ahead of the Japan 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Early indications point to two summer sell-outs with more than 20,000 supporters already pre-registered for tickets - which are priced at £20, £30, £40, £60 and £70 (£10 U16s, available across more than half the seats in the ground) - and sales through WRU clubs, debenture holders also in their tens of thousands.
The equivalent 2019 Guinness Six Nations clashes sold-out before public sale (England) or within hours of reaching it (Ireland) before Christmas and that was also long before Gatland and his charges completed their Grand Slam hat-trick.
"After Wales’ Grand Slam heroics demand for the Under Armour Summer Series is expected to be extremely high and early indications are that both games will sell-out," said a WRU spokesperson.
"The beauty of winning the Slam in a Rugby World Cup year is that we get to watch Wales at home again in the summer and we couldn’t have asked for two better fixtures to celebrate the 2019 Six Nations Championship win than England and Ireland.
"No Wales fan needs any extra incentive to get excited about the prospect of facing England at Principality Stadium and the Ireland game is not only an opportunity to relive last month’s Grand Slam celebrations, but it will also be Warren Gatland’s final game on home soil (he is standing down after RWC).
"We are expecting two bumper crowds to give our Grand Slam heroes the send-off they deserved before they head off to the World Cup in Japan, with the hopes and expectations of a nation behind them."
Another clean sweep for Gatland’s invincible squad in the summer – with England and Ireland also hosting reverse fixtures to give Wales a four match warm-up schedule – would equal the world record for consecutive Test victories for a tier one side, currently jointly held by New Zealand and England (18).
First up on the road to Japan England host Wales at Twickenham on Sunday 11th August and the return match in Cardiff is played just six days later.
The Irish are in town two weeks after that and this game will also be followed by the official 31-man RWC squad announcement, before a final Test of the warm-up campaign, against Ireland at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday 7th September.
Both Principality Stadium matches will also see the continuation of the WRU’s new Alcohol Free Zone, in its 4,200 capacity North Stand, with tickets in this area priced at £40, adults, and including the £10 concessionary rate for U16s.
Following the Under Armour Summer Series meetings and away clashes Wales’ 31-man squad will arrive in Japan on 12 September, eleven days ahead of their tournament opener against Georgia in Tokyo.
Wales will train at the impressive City of Kitakyushu Stadium, the same venue at which the WRU kicked off their partnership with the City with the delivery of a range of community activities recently.
After 48 matches involving 20 teams, Japan 2019 will culminate with the final on 2nd November at Yokohama Stadium.
The best way to get hold of tickets for the Under Armour Summer Series is via a WRU member club, but supporters can now also buy online at Wru.wales/tickets from 10am tomorrow (Friday) morning.
Wales’ 2019 Under Armour Summer Series fixtures:
Wales vs England: Principality Stadium, Saturday 17th August 2019 - Kick Off : 14:15pm. £70, £60 (£10 U16 concession available), *£40 (£10 U16 concession available), £30, £20
Wales vs Ireland: Principality Stadium, Saturday 31st August 2019 - Kick Off : 14:30pm. £70, £60 (£10 U16 concession available), *£40 (£10 U16 concession available), £30, £20
*AFZ tickets are also in this category
Wales’ away summer fixtures:
England v Wales (Twickenham) Sunday 11 August
Ireland v Wales (Aviva Stadium) Saturday 7 September
Wales in Japan, RWC 2019:
Wales v Georgia - Toyota City, 23rd September, 11:15am (GMT)
Australia v Wales - Tokyo, 29th September, 8:45am (GMT)
Wales v Fiji - Oita, 9th October, 10:45am (GMT)
Wales v Uruguay - Kumamoto City, 13 October, 9:15am (GMT)
We are expecting two bumper crowds to give our Grand Slam heroes the send-off they deserved before they head off to the World Cup in Japan, with the hopes and expectations of a nation behind them...
