The All Blacks will play before 74,500 Welsh rugby fans in the first capacity crowd in Cardiff

Wales will face New Zealand at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday 30th October. This will be the first of four autumn internationals to be played by Wales in 2021.

In their most recent encounter, Wales lost 40-17 to the All Blacks during the Bronze Final at Rugby World Cup 2019.

Overall, Wales and New Zealand have played each other on 35 occasions since their first meeting in 1905. The All Blacks have won 32 matches, whilst Wales have won just three matches.

The All Blacks will play before 74,500 Welsh rugby fans in the first capacity crowd in Cardiff since the Covid-19 pandemic.

All blacks vs Wales Rugby All tickets have been snapped up for the October 31 clash.

“The first capacity occasion to return to Cardiff’s Principality Stadium since the pandemic began, has sold-out,’’ the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) announced in a statement.

It said “there won’t be a spare seat in the house’’ for the All Blacks’ first visit to Wales for four years.

It will be the biggest crowd that the All Blacks have played in front of anywhere since a 16-15 win over England in 2018 before 82,149 fans at Twickenham.

The All Blacks last played in Cardiff in 2017 when they beat Wales 33-18.

The sell-out – six weeks before kickoff – demonstrates the All Blacks’ pulling power as Wales will be without some leading players based with English clubs because the match falls outside the official international window.

The All Blacks have traditionally been a box office draw at Cardiff’s showpiece stadium, rated one of world rugby’s most atmospheric venues.

They have attracted crowds of up to 75,000 there in 10 visits since the central city stadium was built for the 1999 Rugby World Cup.

The Wales test will be the second of the All Blacks’ northern hemisphere tour.

They open with a game against the United States in Washington DC on October 24 (NZ time) before moving onto Cardiff.

Ian Foster’s team then play Italy in Rome on November 6 and Ireland in Dublin on November 14 before ending their tour with a November 20 test against 2023 Rugby World Cup hosts France in Paris.

Sporting crowds in Britain have been limited due to the pandemic, due to social distancing restrictions.

Twickenham – with a capacity of 82,000 – was only allowed to be half-full for England’s July test against the United States.

But crowd restrictions have now been removed.

source https://thedailyrugby.com/the-all-blacks-will-play-before-74500-welsh-rugby-fans-in-the-first-capacity-crowd-in-cardiff/