Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Wales & England set for Friday Six Nations kick-off



Wales and England will kick off the 2011 Six Nations in the Championship's first Friday night curtain-raiser.
The arch rivals will clash at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on 4 February for the landmark fixture.
Six Nations games were traditionally played on Saturdays then latterly Sunday but controversial Friday night fixtures were introduced in 2009.
France hosted Wales in the Six Nations' first Friday fixture last year before the reverse game in Cardiff this year.
The full fixture list for the 2011 tournament is due to be announced at midday on Wednesday.
The Six Nations' organisers will confirm Wales are to play in their third Friday night game in successive seasons.


Wales lost 21-16 in Paris in February 2009 before a 26-20 defeat at the Millennium Stadium as Six Nations chiefs hoped to capitalise on the tradition of Friday night rugby in France.
But the Friday night project will be a new experience - although they have played in Paris late on Saturday nights.
The Six Nations' Friday night initiative has sparked complaints from both fans and players who would rather play on traditional weekend days.
Rugby fans have bemoaned the inconvenience of internationals on work days, citing travelling to games in time for kick-off as the major difficulty.
And Wales captain Ryan Jones has also publicly voiced his displeasure on playing on Fridays.
But Six Nations chiefs are keen to continue the ongoing Friday night experiment due to bumper television viewing figures and other commercial rewards.

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