Wales to play Fiji at Cardiff City Stadium

Wales will face Fiji at the Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday, 4 July, in the opening round of the new Nations Championship.

It will mark the first time the Wales men’s rugby side have played an international at the home of Cardiff City Football Club. Fixture details are expected to be confirmed later this week.

Why Cardiff City Stadium?
The match is officially a Fiji home fixture and is not being organised by the Welsh Rugby Union. Fiji are staging their Nations Championship home games outside their own country because of travel logistics and the opportunity to generate greater revenue at larger venues.

Wales traditionally play home Tests at the Principality Stadium, but that venue is unavailable in late June and early July due to other events. The Fiji game is therefore classed as an away fixture for Wales.

The Cardiff City Stadium, which opened in 2009 and holds 33,280 supporters, has become the regular home of the Wales men’s football team and has previously staged rugby events, including Judgement Day and a European Challenge Cup final.

Summer campaign schedule
The fixture forms part of World Rugby’s new biennial Nations Championship. Wales will also play away matches against Argentina and South Africa during July. South Africa have confirmed their meeting with Wales will take place in Durban on 18 July, while the Argentina clash is expected to be held in San Juan on 11 July.

In November, Wales will return to the Principality Stadium to host Japan, New Zealand and Australia in the second half of the competition.

The 12-team Nations Championship brings together the Six Nations sides and leading southern hemisphere nations including South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, Fiji and Japan. The tournament concludes with a finals weekend at Allianz Stadium in Twickenham in late November to determine the overall champions.