Bad behaviour minimal at Wales game, insists WRU
THE Welsh Rugby Union have played down reports of poor fan behaviour and a lack of atmosphere at the Principality Stadium, insisting they do all they can to promote a positive environment.
After the heavy defeat to New Zealand, several fans came forward with complaints over their experience during the match against the All Blacks, whether that was beer being spilt or just the general atmosphere for the visit of Ian Foster’s side.
Former Wales centre John Devereux described the scene in the crowds as “dead and dreadful”.
An 80-year-old bystander was also injured following an alleged altercation that took place between two other men at the stadium in Cardiff.
The 80-year-old man was taken to hospital for treatment.
Speaking ahead of today’s match against Argentina, Principality Stadium manager Mark Williams claimed that sometimes more is made of certain incidents, while adding that there were few in the way of ejections last weekend.
“From a fan behaviour point of view, it was one of the best-behaved games I have seen,” he said.
“There have been several things out in the media about different incidents going on.
“There was the unfortunate incident with the old gentleman who got bumped into in level six. We wish him a speedy recovery and the best for the future.
“There were five ejections – three for smoking/vaping and two for general misbehaviour, which is very, very low.
“I get all the stewards’ reports back and I get to see all the letters that come in from spectators and they were all pretty good regarding the behaviour.
“We did a trial in the autumn internationals with reducing the amount of time alcohol was on sale and lowerpercentage alcohol on offer.
“Our stewards also have a level of extra diligence with breathalysers on the main gate to turn away people who are coming in on the wrong side of a few pints.
“We did indeed turn away a dozen or so. We’re never going to get away from a few incidents happening, nor is any stadium.
“We report it a lot more perhaps in Wales. Someone gets a pint of beer spilt over him and it makes national news.
“It’s perspective, really. You imagine 75,000 in your head and then you imagine the slack handful thrown out or made some trouble here at the weekend.
“It’s a minuscule percentage. I’m not going to lecture everyone about behaviour because 99.9 per cent are really well-behaved fans.
“This is a cross-section of society. With 75,000 people here, they’re not going to all be angels.
“There’ll be a few people whose personal standards and behaviour let them down.
“We’re looking forward to the next couple of games. We’re adapting and tweaking things as we go along to improve the fan experience and customer service we offer.
“That one incident aside, it was a really good event. The police are still investigating the incident.”
When it came to the atmosphere, Williams admitted that it was largely dependent on the action on the pitch.
“Usually the atmosphere is blowing the roof off the stadium, but there’s going to be the odd game where it doesn’t work out.”