Under Armour Series 2018 on public sale

Tickets for the 2018 Under Armour Series – which sees Wales take on Scotland, Australia, Tonga and South Africa at Principality Stadium in November – go on public sale tomorrow (Friday).

The Series welcomes Six Nations opposition to Cardiff for the first time in an autumn fixture when Scotland kick-off proceedings on Saturday 3rd November at 2.45pm.

The Wallabies are up next on Saturday 10th November (5.20pm) with the remaining two matches following on consecutive Saturdays, first Tonga on 17th November at 2.30pm and finally the Springboks on 24th November (5.20pm).

Clubs throughout Wales have had first right of refusal on tickets since the fixtures were announced, but now all price categories are to be available to supporters directly at www.wru.wales/tickets from 10am tomorrow, as well as from a rugby club near you.

Fans can watch Tonga for £10, £15, £20, £25 or £35, with over half the seats in the 74,500 capacity ground also available to U16s at £10, and the newly introduced Alcohol Free Zone (AFZ) – a self-contained area of 4,200 tickets in the Principality Stadium’s North Stand where supporters will be prevented from taking alcoholic drinks to their seats – priced at £20 for this match.

The other three games are on sale at £15 (U16s), £25, £35, £45, £65 and £75, with the new AFZ accessed for £45, the same price as similar tickets in the opposite stand.

“The Doddie Wier Cup (Scotland) is the front runner so far as the most popular fixture amongst our clubs and supporters’ club members and all three remaining games are tracking last season’s sales, with Tonga actually ahead of last year’s visitors Georgia,” said WRU chief executive Martyn Phillips.

“We have an impressive fixture list and some fascinating contests to capture the imaginations of the rugby loving public in Wales and challenge Warren (Gatland) and his team.

“The Scottish game has immediately appealed, with Six Nations tickets for this game rarely available for long and selling-out entirely in recent years this is a great chance for supporters to see two of rugby’s oldest rivals in Cardiff, but the Wallabies and the Springboks will also both be huge draws, as they were in 2017.

“The matches are as accessible as they have ever been, we have listened to supporters and have over 215,000 concessionary tickets available to under-16s across the Series and we have also conducted extensive research with supporters over the course of our last seven home matches assessing the customer experience at Principality Stadium.”

The new Alcohol Free Zone is due to be re-decorated and re-branded ahead of the 2018 Under Armour Series and customers in the area can expect a new and enhanced food and soft drinks offering (to access the AFZ choose ‘Category C – Alcohol Free Zone’ when selecting tickets).

“We are trialling a new Alcohol Free Zone this autumn, we expect to learn a lot from the trial and will evolve our offer as we go along,” added Phillips.

“We are working at widening our offering and looking at the types of food and drinks we can serve. “There will also be extra stewarding and our events and operations team will be looking at entertainment and general investment in the North Stand area in order to ensure the experience is welcomed by those who attend.”

It has also been confirmed that all four 2018 Under Armour Series matches will be shown live on BBC, with all kick-off times now in place.

“The BBC is greatly looking forward to showcasing Wales’s very alluring autumn fixtures to the widest possible UK audience,” added a spokesperson for BBC Sport.

MEDIA INFORMATION: 2018 UNDER ARMOUR SERIES

Wales v Scotland, Sat 3rd November (KO: 2.45pm), £75, £65, £45, £35, £25, U16s £15, AFZ £45

Wales v Australia, Sat 10th November (KO: 5.20pm), £75, £65, £45, £35, £25, U16s £15, AFZ £45

Wales v Tonga, Sat 17th November (KO: 2.30pm), £35, £25, £20, £15, £10, U16s £10, AFZ £20

Wales v South Africa, Sat 24th November (KO: 5.20pm), £75, £65, £45, £35, £25, U16s £15, AFZ £45

– 70,000 Australia and South Africa tickets have been frozen in price, across the three lowest categories – £45, £35 and £25

–  Under 16 tickets also remain frozen in price (£15 Tier 1, £10 Tier 2)

– The Tonga fixture has 12,000 seats cheaper in price, with the lowest price halved at now £10 and prices for 37,000 tickets are frozen at £35 (the top price ticket) and £20.

–  215,000 Under 16 tickets are available across the series (47,000 more than the 2017 UA Series)

–   The first time Wales took on four international teams in the autumn period was 2001 when three November clashes against Argentina, Tonga and Australia were preceded by Romania’s visit to the national stadium in mid-September.

–   The series was first seen in its current form, played out over back-to-back weekends primarily in November, in 2004 (Romania also provided the opposition to open a four game series in 2002, although this match was played at the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham North Wales).

–   The only other time Wales and Scotland have met outside of the Six or Five Nations Championship, in the 135 history of the fixture, was a summer friendly game in Cardiff in August 2003, which Wales won 23-9.

DODDIE WEIR

Doddie Weir is one of rugby’s most recognizable personalities. He earned 61 caps for Scotland during a successful playing career, represented the British & Irish Lions on their successful tour to South Africa in 1997, and won championships with his two club sides, Melrose and Newcastle Falcons.

In June 2017 the Scot revealed he was suffering from Motor Neurone Disease. From the outset, Doddie has been driven to help fellow sufferers and seek ways to further research into this, as yet, incurable disease.

In November 2017 Doddie and his Trustees launched the registered charity My Name’5 Doddie Foundation. Its aims are to raise funds to aid research into the causes of Motor Neurone Disease and investigate potential cures and to make grants to individuals suffering from MND, to enable them to live as fulfilled a life as possible.

Doddie’s focus is now firmly on helping others and raising awareness of MND while also raising funds to aid research into this devastating disease.

We would like to direct you to the foundation’s website where you can learn more about our plans and see how you can help Doddie make a difference in the fight against Motor Neurone Disease. https://www.myname5doddie.co.uk/