Less than 24 hours later 12,488 fans turned out at the Arms Park to witness not only Jonah Lomu’s first try for the Blues since returning to competitive rugby, but also the fastest try in Celtic League history courtesy of Dragons’ Nathan Brew.
Tournament Director David Jordan said; “The recent record attendances in the Celtic League reflects the growing competitiveness and attractiveness of the league with teams now able to select their current internationalists for most matches and to play them alongside world class players from other countries. Many of the Celtic League matches that have taken place over this festive period have been as intense and as exciting as Heineken Cup matches can be.
“With Heineken Cup qualification for all teams now based on the finishing position in the league relevant to other sides from the same Union, it has made the Celtic League a much more meaningful competition; fans now have real interest in every result. For the last two seasons the Welsh teams have been the dominant force in the league however with the improvements in the performances of the Irish and Scottish teams, particularly Edinburgh Gunners, we can expect an exhilarating finale to the season with all three Unions having teams in contention for the title.
“The move to new grounds by some of our teams, (Ospreys now share the purpose built Liberty Stadium with Swansea City whilst Leinster have switched a few of their fixtures to the RDS Dublin), there is a real opportunity to expand our fan base, and as some of the most exciting players in the world are now on view in the Celtic League we have some great games to look forward to as we enter the second half of the season.”
