PLUS: FANS WARNED ‘BE EARLY’:
WELSH rugby fans have been warned they run the risk of missing the iconic Haka if they turn up for Saturday’s game against New Zealand less than an hour before kick-off.
There were lengthy queues outside the Principality Stadium ahead of the opening autumn international against Australia amid enhanced security, with some supporters getting into the ground long after the game had started.
Now the logistical challenge is all the greater, with this weekend’s All Blacks game a 74,500 sell-out and a strict search policy in place for all fans.
The WRU are urging supporters to arrive at the ground early, with the gates opening at 2.15pm, three hours before kick-off.
Stadium manager Mark Williams said: “Times have changed and we have got to change with them. Enhanced security has been in place at all events at the stadium since April 2017. The priority is safety and security for fans, taking into account the current security climate and more specifically UK terror threat levels. “This is the world we live in now. “The security situation has changed and we have to change too. We have got to keep this place safe and secure and that means enhanced checks.
“You can’t get 75,000 people into the stadium in 90 minutes like we used to if we want to ensure safety and security. The time is more like two and a half hours.
“We need to get about 30,000 people inside the ground in the first 90 minutes of the gates being open.
“If people arrive less than an hour before kick-off, they are running the risk of missing the Haka.”
Williams says the stadium location in the centre of Cardiff presents unique challenges in terms of getting people into the ground.
“We don’t have a huge amount of space around us,” he said. “We have the river on one side and the city on the other. It’s a tight area and the gates are quite small.
“That is one of the issues we have to deal with and it obvioulsy impacts upon how quick we can get people into the ground with the enhancd security checks. It’s down to changing habits.
“Our challenge is to try and change the mindset of fans and to try and get a greater proportion of them coming in during the first 90 minutes of the gates opening.”
The WRU are re-empahasising the
message in a bid to avoid the kind of scenes that were witnessed around the Australia game.
“For that match, we communicated as much as we could to encourage people get in early,” said Williams.
“But the message didn’t quite get across to everyone as we would wish, while some people might have believed nothing would change and they could continue doing what they had always done.
“There was less of a crowd for Georgia and a lot more people enteered the stadium in the first 90 minutes, about 10,000 more, so we didn’t have any problems.
“But we would urge people not to be complacent this weekend.
“It’s a capacity crowd and I do implore people to get in as early as they can. If you arrive early, the likelihood is you will get in quicker.
“Conversely, the later you leave it, the longer you may be in a queue and the greater the risk of you missing the Haka or even the kick-off.”
Williams is also urging supporters not to bring bags with them, unless it’s an absolute necessity, with all bags having to be checked.
“The bottom line is it takes longer if you have a bag,” he said.
“My strong advice is don’t bring a bag if you want to get in faster.
“We would discourage people from bringing then unless it is a necessity.”
Fans are also being urged to ensure they head to the right gate and join the appropriate queueing lanes.
Some 1,000 stewards will be on duty on Saturday, with every spectator having to be checked with electronic wands, while the signage identifying bag search areas has been increased in visibility.
There were particular problems at Gate 1 on the river walkway for the Australia game, with large queues developing and some people waiting over an hour to get in.
That is partly down to it being further away from town and the restrictions in terms of the relative narrowness of the walkway.
So supporters with tickets for Gate 1 would be particuarly wise to leave plenty of time to get in.
For those fans who do arrive early, the Scotland-Australia game will be shown on the big screen and in all the concourses.
“If everyone aims to get in early, we should be fine,” said Williams.
“We have worked things out to the finest detail, we know we can get everyone in safely and securely, but we need supporters to help us.”