The demographic of supporters heading to Cardiff reads more like a Harry Styles or Taylor Swift concert than a traditional rugby audience and the Welsh Rugby Union is delighted.
Over 20% of tickets sold for the matches, which will see Warren Gatland’s Wales face England and the World Champion Springboks on home soil, are expected to be in the, half-price, under-17 categories which apply to every seat in the ground for the Vodafone Summer Series.
With an extra selection of prime-spot, middle tier seats initially reserved for club purchasing having also been released for public sale today.
This August there won’t just be the customary family audience, which usually attends Wales’ Autumn Nation Series matches in Cardiff or the crowd of rugby ‘officianados’ and must-see-event-goers which fill the stadium to its rafters in the annual Guinness Six Nations.
There is still a place for both groups, who are always welcome at Principality Stadium, but the Welsh national anthem ‘Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau’ is set to be sung in distinctly more youthful tones this summer.
In fact the voices should be four times more youthful than those at the warm-up games in 2019 when under-17s purchases were at 5% of total sales.
“When we sell-out Autumn Nations Series matches, with the likes of South Africa in town, tickets for children normally account for around 12% of the capacity of Principality Stadium,” said WRU interim CEO Nigel Walker.
“For Six Nations matches, where tickets are notoriously scarce, the majority demographic is older again and that can be a concern for our marketeers who are thinking about selling the professional game and sustaining the income that supports the whole game in Wales in the years ahead.
“But, to learn that there is a high demand for summer series matches coming from school children in Wales and their families is incredibly heartening.
“There are quite a few new and younger faces in this 2023 Welsh Rugby World Cup training squad and maybe this is what is appealing to a younger audience.
“Whatever the attraction is, we are delighted with the news and it really bodes well for the future of professional rugby in Wales.”
Warren Gatland’s Wales begin final preparations for the 2023 Rugby World Cup by taking on England in Cardiff on Saturday 5th August, kick-off 5.30pm.
Next, the senior men’s side travel to Twickenham to reverse the clash (Saturday 12th August, 5.30pm), before returning to Principality Stadium to face South Africa a week later on Saturday 19th August at 3.15pm, in the final round of Wales’ summer campaign.
The WRU, this week, launched a new competition for schools attending the Vodafone Summer Series to win up to £1,500-worth of Macron rugby kit for their school teams and a campaign which saw a high speed drone fly around Principality Stadium seats for the first time in the history of the ground has deliberately targeted the youth market.
Tickets have been priced to make the matches as affordable as possible and all category tickets are available at a half price reduction for anyone under the age of 17.
A family of four (two adults and two children) can watch Wales take on the current world champions South Africa for a total of £60-per-family, and watch Wales take on England for a total of £120-per-family.
To watch the Springboks, children pay from just £10 (£20 adults) and prices to see England in Cardiff start at £20 for U17s (£40 adults).
In fact all three of Principality Stadium’s new ticket categories are available at a 50% reduction for U17s, meaning the England match on Saturday 5th August, which is priced at £40, £60 and £80, can be accessed for £20, £30 and £40 by children.
For the South Africa match, on Saturday 19th August supporters can attend for £20, £40 or £60, with U17s pricing therefore at £10, £20 and £30.
Tickets are available from www.WRU.WALES/TICKETS
VODAFONE SUMMER SERIES FIXTURES AND PRICES:
Saturday 5th August, Wales v England, Principality Stadium, KO 5.30pm
CAT A £80, CAT B £60, CAT C £40 Under-17 50% concession available on all tickets
Saturday 19th August, Wales v South Africa, Principality Stadium, KO 3.15pm
CAT A £60, CAT B £40, CAT C £20 Under-17 50% concession available on all tickets
