Principality would be great for the ‘Big Weekend’

THE Guinness Pro12 is about to stage its first ‘Big Weekend’ with huge derbies, with Ospreys facing Cardiff Blues, Leinster taking on Munster and champions Connacht meeting table-toppers Ulster the headline acts.

Throw the Scarlets against Newport Gwent Dragons into the melting pot and there’s plenty to savour.

The Pro12 action this season is beginning to win over some of the most ardent knockers of the competition and attendances have also gone up in the opening five rounds of the championship.

But one thing is gnawing at me, especially as this is one of six designated Big Weekends in the Pro12 this season, and it’s this: why aren’t the two allWelsh clashes being staged at the Principality Stadium?

People will point to the Ospreys and Scarlets giving up home advantage if the matches were staged in the Welsh capital, but that’s what the Blues and Dragons do for April’s annual Judgement Day.

And I’m sure, with the creative marketing and reasonable ticket prices that produced a Pro12 record crowd of 68,262 for last season’s electric Judgement Day IV spectacular at the Principality Stadium, another bumper crowd would have turned up this weekend, especially with both the Blues and the Ospreys on the up.

It’s also a final run-out for the Scarlets before being Wales’ sole representative in Europe’s Champions Cup and they are slugging it out with Dragons to avoid being branded our worst region.

Throw in the fact it’s in effect an unofficial Wales trial with caretaker coach Rob Howley due, in a fortnight’s time, to announce his squad for autumn internationals.

But how many spectators will the games attract at the Liberty Stadium and Parc y Scarlets? It’s a moot point.

Last season, just 6,952 watched the Scarlets beat the Dragons 25-15 in Llanelli, while only 9,920 witnessed the Ospreys defeat the Blues 13-6 in Swansea. I expect a decent turnout this time at the Ospreys, but I doubt whether it will be a full house, or anything close.

And it will be interesting to see how many show up in Llanelli for a 7.35pm kick-off on a Saturday night to watch the Scarlets take on the Dragons.

The other option would have been for a double-header at the Liberty Stadium but, in my opinion, a capacity of 20,820 isn’t high enough because this weekend had the potential for a maximum 74,500 crowd at the home of Welsh rugby.

Marketed properly, and with tickets priced right, it could have been a roaring success and a great day out for rugby followers.