Cardiff Blues look forward to their 7th visit to Millennium Stadium

Posted on Mar 25, 2013

With the Cardiff Blues v Ospreys fast approaching the Blues are gearing up for another visit to the National Stadium

The Blues first played at the Millennium Stadium during the 2005/06 season where they recorded a victory in a high scoring match against Leinster in the Magners League.

The following season didn’t go so well for the Capital region recording losses to Leicester in the Heineken Cup and Ospreys in the EDF Anglo Welsh Cup semi final.

However, the 2008/09 season was arguably the most memorable one, with the Blues recording a win over Gloucester in the pool stage of the Heineken Cup in front of over 27,000 supporters.

They then recorded a hard fought win over Toulouse in the quarter-final in front of 36,000 supporters before facing Leicester in the semi final.

In front of a record 44,000 supporter the Blues fought back through tries from Jamie Roberts and Tom James and two touchline conversions from Ben Blair, to record a 26 all draw, before missing out in a historic penalty shoot out.

For this weekend’s match season ticket holders are reminded that their tickets need to be collected from the Cardiff Arms Park Ticket Office before 4pm on Friday 29th March.

Season ticket holders wishing to renew their season ticket on the day of the double header can do so in the Martyn Williams Pack Bar situated behind the Family Stand.

The Gareth Edwards Lounge  upstairs in the clubhouse will be open to the general public from 12 midday, with the downstairs Members Bar also opening at 12.

It’s the ideal venue to meet ahead of the matches on Easter Saturday (March 30) with the Newport Gwent Dragons kicking off against the Scarlets 2.30pm

Following the final whistle of the Cardiff Blues v Ospreys match the ever popular 4th Street Traffic will be performing in the Arms Park courtyard at 7.00pm.

Speaking ahead of the match Cardiff Blues flanker Sam Warburton said,

“I’m looking ahead to Judgment Day in the Stadium.

“Hopefully people will turn up who have the bug from the Six Nations and want to watch two great clashes.

“There was some good banter flying around when we were in the national squad.

“We had photo shoots for it while in the Welsh camp, head to head shoots with me and Justin, so we had a bit of a laugh with it.

“We are all looking forward to it and hopefully the fans will feel the same way too.

“I guess now with the hype of the Six Nations this is when kids get inspired to play and I think it’s great for the players to get out in the community and meet the kids, which is what we are doing with the Blues at the start of April.

“Hopefully it will inspire them to pick up a ball and keep playing.

“I think it is important for us to capitalise on events like the Six Nations and success to increase participation.

“The players going out to clubs is a great way for kids to get access to professional players and ask them any question they want and they can hopefully get a feel for what it takes to be a professional player.”

Tickets for the matches are available priced at Adults £25, U18s £10, Family ticket £50 (two adults, two children) Tickets available from wru.co.uk/tickets

Cardiff Blues in the Millennium Stadium

2005/06 Season

Cardiff Blues 40 – 31 Leinster Rugby Sunday 14th May 2006, KO 18:10

Att: 15,327 Magners League

2006/07 Season

Cardiff Blues 17 – 21 Leicester Tigers Sunday 29th October 2006, KO 15:00

Att: 26,645 Heineken Cup Pool Match

Cardiff Blues 10 – 27 Ospreys Saturday 24th March 2007, KO 17:15

Att: 40,057 EDF Energy Cup Semi Final

2008/09 Season

Cardiff Blues 37 – 24 Gloucester Rugby Sunday 19th October 2008, KO 15:00

Att 27,114 Heineken Cup Pool Match

Cardiff Blues 9 – 6 Toulouse Saturday 11 April 2009, KO 15:30          

Att: 36,728 Heineken Cup Quarter Final

Cardiff Blues 26 – 26 Leicester Tigers Sunday 3 May KO 15:00

Att 44,212 Heineken Cup Semi Final

Connacht injury update ahead of NGD match

Posted on Jan 3, 2013

Connacht Rugby returned to training on New Year’s Day ahead of Saturday afternoon’s home clash with Newport Gwent Dragons in round 13 of the RaboDirect PRO12.

The squad has been boosted with the recent return to fitness of centres Mata Fifita and Kyle Tonetti. Both will play with their respective clubs this weekend -Bucanneers RFC and Lansdowne RFC – and are expected to be available for selection as the province looks to the Heineken Cup competition next week.

Outside half Miah Nikora is also set to return either this week or next after suffering a minor groin injury in the lead up to the game against Munster.

Winger Fetu’u Vainikolo missed out on the last round of RaboDirect PRO12 action due to injury but is set to return to the fray this week.

There were a few knocks picked up during Saturday’s defeat to Leinster. Winger Matt Healy, who made his debut in Dublin, suffered a hand fracture and is expected to be out of action for three to four weeks.

Forward Johnny O’Connor also picked up an injury and his involvement this weekend is in doubt.

While Dave McSharry and Michael Swift suffered knocks at the RDS, they have both been given the ‘all clear’ and returned to full training yesterday.

As the province face into a big month of games both in the PRO12 and Heineken Cup competitions, Head Coach Eric Elwood looks ahead to the first game of 2013:

"This game against Dragons is a vitally important one for the club. We’re side by side at the bottom of the table so this is a huge game for both teams. Obviously, with us at home, the pressure is on us to win it. The key thing is that we learn from the mistakes of the last two derby matches that we’ve had. And the main focus for us this weekend is about getting everything right ourselves to secure the win."

While Connacht achieved a double win over the men from Gwent last season, they were defeated 14-3 by the Dragons back in November. Dragons have visited the Galway Sportsground on nine previous occasions and won only once: 32-14 on 1 May 2004 on their first ever visit to the venue.

At Sportsground, 5pm.

Referee: Andrew MacMenemy (SRU, 18th competition game)

Assistant Referees: Mark Patton, Kevin Beggs (both IRFU)

Citing Commissioner: John Cole (IRFU)

Dragons bolster back three with the signing of Scarlets’ Evans and Ospreys’ Prydie

Posted on May 16, 2012

Newport Gwent Dragons are delighted to announce 2 new signings to bolster their squad ahead of the 2012/2013 season.

Full back Dan Evans, 23, joins the Dragons from the Scarlets whilst full back/wing Tom Prydie, 20, also makes the move East from the Ospreys. Their recruitment comes days after the Leinster game where the Dragons bid farewell to back 3 players Aled Brew and Martyn Thomas.

Both Dan and Tom have huge potential and are Wales caps but have had limited opportunities up until now.

Dan Evans rose through the ranks at the Scarlets and has been a mainstay in the squad over the past 3 seasons. He has racked up 14 appearances for the Scarlets this season including home and away against the Dragons. Dan won two caps on Wales’s 2009 North America tour, making his debut in the 32-23 win over Canada but has been overlooked since.

On his move to the Dragons, Dan said “I’m really looking forward to it. It’s exciting to be joining a squad with the amount of young talent that the Dragons has at the moment. I’m eager to press for some more game time and hopefully help push for a successful season here at the Dragons.”

(more…)

Dublin to become European capital of rugby 2013

Posted on May 14, 2012

Dublin is in line for a major economic boost next year when the Irish capital becomes the epicentre of European club rugby with the staging of both the Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup finals in May 2013.

Tournament organisers, ERC, announced today (14 May, 2012) that the RDS will be the venue for the Amlin Challenge Cup final on Friday, 17 May, 2013 with the Heineken Cup showpiece going ahead the following day at the Aviva Stadium.

Research following the Cardiff 2011 finals showed that the economic impact to the Welsh capital from the 83,000 fans who attended the games amounted to €30 million (euro).

Speaking at the event today Leo Varadkar, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport said: “I am delighted to be here today and I’m really looking forward to Dublin being transformed into the European Capital of Rugby next year.  Only last week we officially launched the Gathering Ireland 2013, which encourages everyone with an Irish connection to return home next year.  I believe next year’s Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup Final will provide a real festival feel during The Gathering, and will be a great addition to our events calendar for The Gathering for next year.”

The research also demonstrated that over 84% of fans who attended the finals were from outside Wales with 61% staying at least one night in the host city, while those who attended both finals stayed even longer.

With both 2013 finals being played in close proximity, up to 70,000 supporters will have the opportunity to visit the city and savour what has become an unmissable weekend festival of European club rugby.

(more…)

PRO12 playoff dates and times confirmed

Posted on Apr 19, 2012

RaboDirect PRO12 today confirmed the dates and kick off times for the RaboDirect PRO12 Play-Offs.

Top seeded Leinster will play the fourth seeded team on Saturday May 12th at 19.35pm in the RDS. The fourth seeded team will be confirmed after Round 22  of the RaboDirect PRO12, on Saturday May 5th.

The other Play-off between second and third placed seeds will take place on Friday May 11th at 19.35pm. Venue and teams are still to be confirmed over the next two rounds of the regular season of the RaboDirect PRO12.

Leinster Season Ticket holders can currently avail of a 25% discount up until Thursday, 19th April at 5pm via their Leinster season ticket account. They will then have the option to buy tickets at full price up until Monday, 23rd April at 5pm. Further ticket information will follow next week via www.leinsterrugby.ie

Leinster have sewn up top spot with their 16 wins to date and will have home advantage in the Play-Offs. They will meet the fourth placed team in Dublin and, if they win, will also enjoy home status in the final.

But the battle for remaining three places is still up for grabs as Ospreys, Munster, Ulster and Scarlets – four previous winners, and Glasgow Warriors, semi-finalists in 2010, battle for the right to keep their seasons going beyond the regular season.

Even the sixth placed Scarlets could possibly still end up with home advantage in the Play-Offs if they can win their final two fixtures and other results go their way.  The team that finishes second will host the team below them and, if Leinster lose their Play-off, the winners of 2 v 3 will host the final.

“The quality of the teams vying for top four finishes speaks for itself – four previous champions, three champions of Europe, two current Heineken Cup semi-finalists and two teams crammed with 2012 Grand Slam winners,” said RaboDirect PRO12 chairman Andy Irvine.

“Leinster have qualified for a Home Play-off, but the battle below them is going to be fascinating over the next few weeks. There is everything to play for, for those five other teams and we are guaranteed some thrilling twists and turns before the regular season ends.

“The RaboDirect PRO12 has enjoyed another exceptional season and has provided players like Alex Cuthbert, Justin Tipuric, Peter O’Mahony, Dave Kearney, Stuart Hogg, Dave Denton, Lee Jones and Matt Scott amongst others with the chance to graduate into international squads, and the Test stage.

“The final two games will match the quality, passion and intensity of anything that will be seen in England or France at the same stage of their domestic seasons and should provide the fans in the four nations that make up the RaboDirect PRO12 with a feast of rugby action” he said

Round 21 this weekend features two games between teams in the top six – Ulster v Leinster at Ravenhill on Friday night and Scarlets v Munster at Parc y Scarlets on Saturday. Ulster, currently fifth with 56 points, will have to rely on other results going their way if they don’t win, especially as they travel to Thomond Park in Round 22 for a repeat of their recent Heineken Cup quarter-final clash.

The Scarlets, in sixth on 55 points, end with two home fixtures, but need a minimum of eight points according to head coach Nigel Davies to stand any chance of making the top four. They could do themselves, and the other teams around them, a favour by beating Munster and denying the reigning champions any points.

But Munster have won the last 12 games between the two teams in all competitions and are desperately trying to close the two point gap on second placed Ospreys to try to earn a home Play-Off.

The Ospreys are all set for an emotional night at the Liberty Stadium on Friday as they mark the final home fixture for legendary wing Shane Williams when Newport Gwent Dragons are the visitors. If they can keep winning – they end with a tricky trip to Aironi – then they are guaranteed the second home Play-Off based either on points or wins.

Glasgow Warriors are also well in the mix and travel to Benetton Treviso this weekend and then end with a home game against Connacht. They currently lie in fourth place and could yet end up second with a home Play-Off.