Wales v Barbarians ticket sales go beyond the 50,000 mark

MORE than 50,000 tickets have been sold for Wales’ homecoming clash with the Barbarians which will mark Wayne Pivac’s first game in charge and a farewell to Warren Gatland.

New Zealander Pivac takes up the coaching reins of the national side, while countryman Gatland will be at the helm of the BaaBaas for the meeting at the Principality Stadium on Saturday, November 30.

It will be an opportunity for Welsh fans to witness the beginning of a new era under former Scarlets boss Pivac, while also saying goodbye to Gatland, whose 12-year tenure ended with Wales reaching the World Cup semi-final in Japan.

The Barbarians will include newly-crowned South African world champions Tendai Mtawarira, Makazole Mapimpi, Schalk Brits and Lukhanyo Am in a starstudded line-up, along with France centre Mathieu Bastereaud and now former Ireland captain Rory Best.

Their coach, Gatland, is relishing the prospect of a Principality Stadium send-off before returning to New Zealand to coach the Chiefs.

“I’m really looking forward to the game and being able to go out there and throw a couple of moves that they maybe wouldn’t have expected,” he said.

“From my point of view we want it to be positive in the way potentially both teams play. I know the Barbarians will be wanting to throw the ball around.

“By all accounts they’ve already sold a lot of tickets, so there’ll be a good crowd there and, hopefully, it gives me a chance to thank the Welsh public and fans and express my sincere thanks in terms of how much I’ve enjoyed these last 12 years.”

It will be a double-header occasion, with Wales Women taking on their Barbarian counterparts beforehand.

Wales will not be awarding caps for the match, in a shift away from recent games against the Barbarians, while English-based players are not available as it is outside the Test window.

It remains to be seen what kind of team new head coach Pivac puts on the field for a fixture that will be refereed by Nigel Owens.

Will he select his strongest available side or will he look to pick more fringe players and youngsters, while resting the likes of Alun Wyn Jones, Justin Tipuric and Ken Owens after their World Cup exploits?

There are also injury doubts over the likes of Rhys Patchell, George North, Hadleigh Parkes, Jonathan Davies and Cory Hill, while Josh Navidi is definitely out.

Tickets, starting from £30 from adults and £10 for U16s, are available from www.wru.wales/tickets.