WALES SET FOR ‘HOME’ CLASH v ENGLAND
WALES are set for a mouthwatering ‘home’ November 28 showdown with England in London as part of their autumn Test schedule.
It will be the glamour game of a six-match campaign for Wayne Pivac’s side which is due to begin with a friendly on October 24 against as yet unnamed opponents.
Wales then meet Scotland in their rearranged Six Nations clash, before heading into the new Eight Nations tournament where they have been provisionally drawn in a group with England, Ireland and Fiji.
An intended order of matches for Alun Wyn Jones and his team for that competition, which has the working title of The Nations Cup, can be revealed.
The England group finale is due to be the blue riband fixture and is likely to take place at a Premier League football ground in London.
The initial schedule put together by officials also has Wales set to go away to Ireland on the weekend of November 14/15 and home to Fiji on the weekend of November 21/22.
The games will take the form of proposals for the new Nations Cup tournament set to replace the planned autumn internationals against southern hemisphere sides.
World Rugby and Six Nations bosses meet today to rubberstamp proposals and things could change at that stage. But we understand that this is the initial sequence of matches Wales are working towards.
There will also be a December 5 fixture to conclude the tournament against one of the teams in the competition’s other group, which features France, Scotland, Italy and Georgia.
If Wales top their pool, they will go into a Twickenham final against one of that quartet. If not, they will have a play-off game.
Eddie Jones’ England are set to kick off the group with a Twickenham clash against Fiji. They then meet Ireland, again at home, the following Saturday before concluding the group with that ‘away’ showdown with Wales.
Wales are also due to play their rearranged Six Nations fixture with Scotland on Saturday, October 31.
We understand plans are also advanced for the warm-up friendly the previous weekend, although it is unclear who that will be against.
England are due to meet the BaaBaas that day and Scotland host Georgia, so those teams are ruled out. It could be Wales meet any one of Italy, France or Japan, although it is not known whether that fixture would be home or away.
However, Wales are guaranteed at least three ‘home’ fixtures – Scotland, Fiji and England – but where those matches actually take place is another matter.
The Principality Stadium is ruled out and Wales are exploring the options of Premier League grounds in London or even Twickenham so they can maximise ticket revenue.
An announcement on the running order of games is expected next week.
WALES are almost certain to play their ‘home’ autumn matches at more than one venue as Welsh Rugby Union powerbrokers try to overcome a minefield of complications in their search for a stadium.
Wayne Pivac’s side are set to play six matches in a mouthwatering autumn schedule, with up to five of them officially classed as home fixtures.
But with the Principality Stadium out of bounds, Wales have been locked in talks with Premier League clubs and even their RFU counterparts at Twickenham about Alun Wyn Jones and his side temporarily playing in London.
The confirmed fixtures are set to be announced in the next week after a World Rugby meeting to rubberstamp the autumn Test schedule, but where Wales play is likely to be described as ‘to be confirmed’ for the time being.
That is because of a raft of complex issues WRU boss Martyn Phillips has to overcome as he attempts to find a suitable venue. The situation is said to be greatly frustrating the WRU hierarchy as matters are out of their control.
Phillips has spoken to Spurs about using their state of the art Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in north London for rugby internationals.
Twickenham, the home of England rugby, and West Ham’s Olympic Stadium are further options.
We have learned discussions have also taken place with Arsenal about use of their Emirates Stadium.
Two football grounds in Wales, Cardiff City Stadium and Swansea City’s Liberty Stadium, which is also the home of the Ospreys, are the other alternatives open to the WRU.
If matches are played behind closed doors, Llanelli’s Parc y Scarlets ground is the most likely destination.
Wales want to play in front of crowds, however limited, to bring much-needed revenue into the game here and the various London venues are seen as the best option because of their size.
But there remains the whole host of detail Phillips needs to resolve before he puts pen to paper on any agreement.
The upshot means that while Wales want to commit to one venue for the autumn games, with Spurs’ 63,000 palatial ground seemingly the preferred option, they accept it is more likely games will need to be shared around different venues.
Pivac’s team could even play at two or three different London locations, as well as having at least one match here in Wales, potentially the scheduled clash with Fiji on November 21.
Wales are understood to have become increasingly frustrated at the whole situation, with their hands tied by two key factors.
One is whether fans will be permitted to attend matches; the other is the release of Premier League fixtures for next season, which isn’t likely to happen for another couple of weeks.
Let’s start with crowds being permitted into games, an issue that becomes even more complex for Wales as the Welsh Government seem to have a stricter stance on the matter here than Boris Johnson does across the border.
With social distancing measures in place, England had hoped to have gates of around 40,000 for their Twickenham matches, although there are suggestions that is being downgraded to between 20,000 and 25,000.
The WRU are trying to work out how many fans might be permitted to attend their own games in London
as they weigh up the cost of hiring different stadia and how much profit would be made through sale of tickets.
However, if the lockdown restrictions continue to be tougher in Wales the union are also pondering whether it would be responsible to let thousands of fans travel across the border and back to watch games being played in England.
While they await further Government advice on the above, the WRU’s patience is being tested further by the fact the Premier League fixture list for season 2020-21 is not yet being released. That will not be possible until they know which team goes up via the Championship play-offs.
We are told Tottenham, West
Ham and Arsenal have been receptive to the idea of Wales playing at their grounds, but cannot yet commit the venue on the set dates because of the likelihood of a clash of fixtures.
Jose Mourinho’s Spurs could play Sunday matches because of their Thursday night involvement in the Europa League, which would free up Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for rugby on Saturdays.
However, whether the ground could be turned around from a rugby stadium into a Premier League one within the space of 24 hours is open to question.
The same fixture clash scenario applies to the talks Wales have held with West Ham and Arsenal, with parties in the dark until the Premier League release their matches.
Even if Tottenham’s ground is free on the dates of the Wales matches, Arsenal playing at home nearby on the same day might cause further issues for British Transport Police.
Twickenham are also keen to house Wales games, the tenant’s fee they receive in return boosting the cash-hit RFU coffers in these trying times. But England already have games of their own inked in on some of the days Wales are due to play.
Wales hope to stage a warm-up friendly on October 24 and then play their rearranged Six Nations clash with Scotland on October 31.
They are then due to participate in The Nations Cup, a one-off eight team tournament where provisional fixtures have them playing away to Ireland on November 14, home to Fiji on November 21 and winding up with a group finale with England on November 28.
The Wales-England clash is officially a home one for Pivac’s side and as such the WRU most certainly won’t want to be playing that fixture at Twickenham.
There will be a further game on December 5, either a Nations Cup final if Wales top their group or a play-off match against one of France, Scotland, Italy or Georgia, depending on where teams finish in their respective pools.
Wales have not yet ruled out playing autumn games in Cardiff and Swansea. However, the football fixture list complication applies there as well, with the Bluebirds and Swans awaiting their own games for the new season.
While they understandably want to maximise revenue, it also remains possible Wales will play their games behind closed doors at one of the regional rugby venues. If so, Parc y Scarlets is said to be the preferred option.
WRU boss Phillips has called for a level playing field from the authorities as he attempts to resolve the issues, saying: “The most difficult scenario will be if games are permitted with crowds in England, but not in Wales.
“We very much hope by the autumn that restrictions, whatever they be for sports events, are aligned across the UK.”
He admitted: “The reality is we continue to juggle a number of unknowns. Assuming games are staged this autumn, if restrictions mean we are playing behind closed doors those games are likely to be staged in Wales and we are exploring a range of options.
“If the games can be staged with crowds in some form, those games are likely to be in and around London and, again, we are exploring a range of options.
“There are clearly a range of risks here, not least Welsh fans leaving Wales to attend a game and then returning. Clearly this risk also occurs for away games.”