There will be more people at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff to watch the Wales-France Rugby World Cup semi-final on the big screen at dawn than there will be at the actual match in New Zealand on Saturday.
The Welsh Rugby Union said about 65,000 free tickets were picked up by the time the box office closed.
Eden Park, the semi-final venue in Auckland, holds only 60,000.
Wales needs to beat France to reach the World Cup final for the first time.
Roger Lewis, the WRU group chief executive, described the response of fans to the “Wake Up to Wales” event as magnificent.
“We always believed we had the best fans in the world and gestures like this prove it,” Lewis said.
“The response from supporters since we said we would open up the stadium on Saturday has been magnificent.
“Their voices will be raised at the home of Welsh rugby and the sound will echo around the world to New Zealand.”
The stadium, built in time for the 1999 World Cup hosted by Wales, will open at 7:30am local time, with live music acts to keep the crowd buzzing before the game starts at 9am.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
Owen Finegan believes that the Brumbies have a strong chance to finish in the top two following breaking their 15-year drought over the Crusaders.…
Outgoing Waratahs coach Darren Coleman says he’s “sorry and embarrassed” that he couldn’t lead the Super Rugby franchise to more success, but the affable…
'I think he was given the rough end of the stick.' Matt Toomua and Christy Doran discuss the decision for Darren Coleman to depart…
Suliasi Vunivalu has received a one-match ban for his double trips in the Queensland Reds loss to Fijian Drua. The Wallabies winger was handed…
The brief was to examine why an Australian franchise either can or can’t win this season’s Super Rugby Pacific title. That’ll come as a…
Kurtley Beale says he would love to play for the Wallabies again, and knows his golden ticket could be earned by guiding the Western…
