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Pitch invasions and ‘poor behaviour’ prompt WRU to shut stadium bars after half-time during Six Nations

02 Feb 2022 5 minute read
The moment the pitch invader runs on to the playing area during the Wales v South Africa game last November.

Pitch invasions and “poor behaviour” have been cited as the Welsh Rugby Union announced that they will shut bars for half of each match in this year’s Guinness Six Nations Championship at the Principality Stadium.

A number of high-profile incidents, including two intrusions onto the pitch in consecutive matches, marred matches in the autumn at the 74,000 seater venue.

The WRU said that while it was important to note that issues reported only concern the behaviour of a small minority of supporters in attendance, they had “embraced the feedback” and taken stops to stop it from happening again.

A series of measures, which include closing food & beverage outlets in all concourses after half-time in all three home matches against Scotland, France and then Italy, have been put in place on a trial basis for the 2022 Championship and will be subject to an ongoing review, they said.

Pre-match messaging on all WRU channels and in-house stadium messages will emphasise responsible drinking, positive behaviour and consideration of others.

Lower percentage alcohol draught beer will also be phased into bars on concourses, with official brewer Heineken International bringing in 4.1% ABV Amstel Bier to eventually replace the stronger Heineken (5%) product.

WRU CEO Steve Phillips has called on supporters “offer a warm Welsh welcome and help create the atmosphere Welsh rugby is famous for”.

“We want our supporters to remain passionate and enthused and to continue to bring their best voices to the Principality Stadium – throughout the recent pandemic it is our supporters who we, and the Wales team, have missed most – but we also need them to behave responsibly and to encourage those around them to do the same,” he said.

“We have taken a series of measures which are designed to change a direction of travel from some quarters which was detected at our Autumn Nations Series matches, but do so without negatively impacting the experience of a hardcore and hugely significant base of supporters who make the Principality Stadium experience what it is. ”

‘Reputation’

The WRU said that it was the first Union to introduce a recognised Alcohol Free Zone in 2018.

“We know from our customer surveys that our food and beverage offering is an important part of the enjoyment of international rugby for many supporters, for 10s of thousands of supporters in fact,” said Principality Stadium manager Mark Williams.

“But we have listened carefully to all customer feedback and conducted our own extensive surveys and we will be trialling a number of new measures which we hope will encourage improved behaviour from the recognised minority at matches who risk spoiling the experience for those around them.

“There is a balancing act at play here. A safe and positive experience for all fans is of primary importance, but we are also acutely aware that actions can have unintended consequences so will be watching closely.

“We have a global reputation for excellence in terms of our matchday experience at Principality Stadium and we are trialling these measures to both enhance and protect that reputation.

“We constantly review our customer offering and we will look carefully at the effects of these new measures and evolve our match day experience accordingly.

“It is incredibly important to us that supporters enjoy their visit to Principality Stadium and we will continue to do all that we can to ensure this is the case for all.”


‘Improvements’

The WRU said that surveys showed that drinking socially at rugby matches is an important part of the event experience for many attendees.

And it is was not clear that/if there is a causal relationship between alcohol consumption and any poor behaviour at matches, with other factors like kick-off times to consider, they said.

So the trial is expected to reveal more and could equally lead to more or less or different measures.

“Customers who filled out our surveys gave us an eight out of ten rating for their overall experience, which is a very high score in industry terms,” added Williams.

“This tells us we are doing a lot right, but we have had higher scores in the past and we, of course, would always look to improve in the future.

“There is evidence, some of which has commanded significant media coverage, that crowd behaviour at some matches has been a problem in some areas.

“We feel that there are improvements that can be made and we would like to do all we can to aid that process, but we do need supporters to help us out and work with us to achieve our aims.

“That means reporting poor behaviour to stewards and also looking in the mirror and making sure you are acting in a reasonable way from the perspective of those around you.

“Watching rugby at Principality Stadium should be one of the most enjoyable experiences you ever have, it is a once in a lifetime event for many and an annual pilgrimage for dedicated fans.

“The last thing we want to do is get in the way of people’s enjoyment, but we think these new measures will help ensure the greatest number of visitors have the very best time. Most importantly, they are entirely open to review so we will be listening to all feedback during the Six Nations and we will properly consider the evidence and react accordingly if necessary.”


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Nobbytary
Nobbytary
2 years ago

Stop selling tickets to the general public. Make them available through the clubs only, just like the they used to be.

Wynn Jones
Wynn Jones
2 years ago
Reply to  Nobbytary

That will sort nothing! The idiot who ran on the pitch was from a rugby club. I no longer play rugby, I gave up playing at 54, and I now live in York, so I’m not about to join a rugby club just to be able to buy tickets.

Glen
Glen
2 years ago

The simple solution is to ban spectators from taking drinks back to their seats.
Then if they want a beer they have to drink it in the stadium concourse.

Y Cymro
Y Cymro
2 years ago

Something’s got to be done or we’ll have the same drunk morons invade the pitch costing Wales a would-be victory. I’ve never understood combining sporting matches with alcohol during play. A recipe for disaster?

Dafydd Huw
Dafydd Huw
2 years ago

So they’ll double up on the amount they take back to their seats during half-time.

hdavies15
hdavies15
2 years ago

Rugby particularly at international level – WRU in Wales’ case – needs to take a long hard look at itself. In this context I refer particularly to the spectator experience. Improving the stadium is obviously a “good thing” but they need to get a grip on what they permit to go on there. Tickets are now expensive and the last thing most fans want is the unhappy, indeed risky experience of sitting next to a bunch of abusive drunks who are up and down like yo yo’s to the bar or the toilets. WRU has become obsessed with their revenue… Read more »

Llyn
Llyn
2 years ago

I predict this laughably weak gesture will do nothing to prevent excessive drinking.

If I wanted to get pie eyed and drink throughout the game at ht I’d just get a second or third pint to take back to my seat! As for reducing the alcohol limit of booze that’s unlikely to have any impact and if it did I’d just have a few shots to go with my pre-match drinks!

Wynn Jones
Wynn Jones
2 years ago

The plan is weak, badly thought out and making the huge majority suffer for the actions of the stupid minority. Closing bars after half time will only make people drink more before hand and make them even more drunk. It will be the usual minority who do it and cause the issues. Let’s just make the idiots embarrassed, sod this political correctness, belittle them.

Ed Jones
Ed Jones
2 years ago

I don’t mind the drinking, being a bit partial myself, although the rivers that pour past your feet at times can be grim, it’s the constant too-ing and fro-ing, can’t these people sit still for more than a few minutes?!

John Rowlands
John Rowlands
2 years ago

Some spectators dont drink in the Stadium because of the long queues and the high price of drinks.They fill themselves up outside the stadium prior to the game.So, closing the bars at certain timesin the stadium will have little effect.
In my opinion,more pitchside stewards should be employed, kitted out in tracksuite bottoms and football boots,specially trained to face the crowd at all times and stop any drunken louts trying to enter the field of play and be dealt with quickly and professionally.

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