CONFIRMED: Pro14 release details of 2018 'Judgement Day'
Judgement Day, the sixth annual regional double-header at Principality Stadium, has been confirmed for the afternoon of Saturday 28th April, the final weekend of Guinness PRO14 Championship action before the knock-out stages.
JDVI is on sale now and will be more accessible than ever before this season after a new partnership has been established for Welsh rugby with Amazon Tickets.
Prices have been frozen again at £10-per-head for any seat in the ground at the derby day which sees the Dragons take on the Scarlets and Cardiff Blues face the Ospreys in back-to-back clashes in the capital.
The partnership with Amazon – who launched Amazon Tickets in the UK in 2015 to offer customers quick and easy booking, low and all-inclusive pricing and a trusted customer experience when booking tickets to the most popular and in demand music, theatre, comedy and live events across the UK – helps to further establish Judgement Day as a key event in the UK rugby calendar
Cardiff’s Principality Stadium has had a magnificent year already, even by its own standards, with a sold-out Champions League Final and a world record indoor heavy-weight boxing crowd watching Anthony Joshua’s world title defence, just two of the highlights.
Welsh rugby is going from strength to strength too. The international side’s Under Armour Series is breaking records with two sell-outs on the cards (against New Zealand and Australia) this autumn.
There’s been healthy attendances at the four professional teams in both the Guinness PRO14 and European Rugby this season – with total attendances up by over 10,000 from the same point last season and crowds at this month’s popular Welsh derby contests also higher than last year.
Over 170,000 fans have attended Judgement Day across three years alone and a record attendance for any match involving a regional team was set in 2016 – when 68,262 watched the Ospreys beat the Blues 27-40, followed by a Scarlets’ 20-34 victory over the Dragons.
Last season Cardiff Blues triumphed over the Ospreys for the first time at the event 35-17 and the Dragons went down to their West Wales rivals a close-fought 16-21 in the second game of the day.
A major highlight of the Guinness PRO14 Championship season, Judgement Day will this year see the Scarlets and the Dragons kick off proceedings for the first time since year one (2013), on Saturday 28th April (KO 15.05hrs).
The second fixture of the day sees the Blues take on the Ospreys (KO 17.35hrs), with supporters who buy before 19th December guaranteed to receive JDVI tickets ahead of Christmas Day (make sure you choose the Christmas post option on screen on completion of purchase)
“Judgement Day has become a must-see, must-visit fixture in the Welsh sporting calendar,” said WRU chief executive Martyn Phillips. “It’s a true celebration of the very best of Welsh rugby when our international stars and their teammates come together under one roof to compete against each other in regional colours.
“It is a unique event which the players, coaches and supporters all look forward to in equal measure and we are set for another exciting day out at Principality Stadium on 28th April.”
Tickets went on sale at 11am this morning (Wednesday 1 November) and are available at Amazon tickets https://goo.gl/qsnBf9 from www.wru.wales/tickets or via each of the four regions, prices are £10 for each seat in the ground with a £1-per-ticket online booking fee, as well as postage, payable at the time of purchase.
Season ticket holders for the Cardiff Blues and the Dragons should contact their respective ticket office to gain access to JDVI.
Martin Anayi, CEO of PRO14 Rugby, said: “Judgement Day has become one of the marquee occasions in our Championship and hosting it on the final day of the season will only add to the drama it creates. These derby games mean so much to Welsh rugby fans and on top of that passionate rivalry among the regions all four teams are likely to be chasing a place in either the Guinness PRO14 Final Series or the Champions Cup Play-Off game.
“Each year we see fantastic crowds descend on Cardiff for this truly innovative event in the Guinness PRO14 and once again the WRU and the regions have rewarded fans by freezing the ticket prices at £10. That can only encourage supporters of Cardiff Blues, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets to set another attendance record for the Guinness PRO14 and what promises to be a day of excitement, tension and Test-level rugby.”
Mark Davies, Chief Executive of Pro Rugby Wales, which represents the four professional rugby teams said: “This season our double derby day at the national stadium will be the finale to the conference stages of the Guinness PRO14, so it will be an even bigger occasion for our rugby teams, players and supporters.
“The Judgement Day games will have so much on them with Guinness PRO14 Final series places or European Champions Cup play-off places potentially at stake – so critical for our teams and will be highly competitive rugby fixtures. Once again we are looking forward to this successful rugby spectacle in the capital which attracts wider audiences and one we are all proud to be a part of in partnership.”
Cardiff Blues coach, Danny Wilson said: “Derby matches are always the games we all look forward to in a season, but to finish the Guinness PRO14 fixtures with Judgement Day will be particularly exciting for all involved.”
Dragons coach Bernard Jackman, said: “It will be my first Judgement Day event, but I’ve heard great things. There is obviously a lot of rugby to be played between now and then but it’s an event we are all looking forward to.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Probably the worst article on a rugby match I have ever read
198 Go to commentsWho hurt this man.. LoL 😭
198 Go to commentsIt unfortunate for the Jaguares that they became formidable just as super rugby as we knew came to an end. However, the idea of bringing them back is nonsensical. While I enjoyed the Jaguares and the South African flavour of the comp, a selling point of this incarnation of super rugby is that all games are on a decent time for an Aussie audience.
2 Go to commentslol that’s your opinion Ben, All Blacks benefited from a forward pass try, SA played 77 min without a recognised hooker, missed a no try conversion and a penalty could have would have but didn’t
198 Go to commentsBrett, from my distant perspective, I hope you get to keep the Rebels. Any ideas of teams from Japan or Argentina are just crazy. Won’t happen. If you look at logistics, it is much easier to get to LA from Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney than to Buenos Aires. All with direct non-stop daily flights. You may even get some “gringos” to watch the games, with some younger players compared to Giteau and Nonu who still “play” in the area. I think it is virtually impossible to get a competitive Argie team for SR. All Pumas are in Europe, almost all second tier players are also in Europe. Fringe players are in South American pro rugby tournament (and many still in the MLR!) but these players who might be most interested in joining a new Jaguares do not have the skills to compete. As I have been saying since the Jaguares joined, they should have had TWO teams to make logistics for visiting teams better and Argie player development improved as well. Jaguares/Pumas was not ideal. But this is where Pichot and his cronies did not think long enough. Further the country with he new president “No hay Plata” Milei is in a very difficult situation. Galperin, the richest man in Argentina owns the Miami franchise of MLR. I don’t think you can get him to invest in Argentina. Actually, he played rugby himself. He was a fly half. He is worth around $6 billion!
2 Go to commentsWell done Baby Boks we will take the Draw. No 9 senseless long passes in those conditions. let’s move on and hope for some good weather
4 Go to commentsHow did it end a draw. South Africa didn’t score any points as far as I can see
4 Go to commentsNo doubt this will be a fantastic occasion and I plan to be there, but I think the bean counters have won out over the rugby brains. In my opinion, it is foolhardy to give the Black Ferns the experience of playing in front of 60,000+ at Twickenham a year before they might be playing there in a World Cup Final. Better to play France at Twickenham and Black Ferns at Kingsholm. The difference in takings would be miniscule.
1 Go to commentsDom kant
198 Go to commentsBen is a little incel desperately trying to stir the pot and stay relevant. We used to get mad at his articles. Now we just feel sorry for him
198 Go to commentsPerhaps we may need to put an asterisk on NZ’s ‘87 WC win since the Boks weren’t there. You know, just as a reminder. Poor Ben Smith. Go cry somewhere else.
198 Go to commentsNz should have won. I didn't watch the game, but the ref was at fault and the bounce of the ball and the Bokke used the Bomb squad and the Bokke slow the game down and the Bokke scrum. They should remove the scrum. The Bokke are to strong. Not fair. Nz should have won
5 Go to commentsThanks for a much more balanced piece Ned and not that BS that Bin Smuth just posted a short while ago. read this article and then Bin Smuth’s and tell me there isn’t a huge difference🙄
5 Go to commentsWere the Baby Boks part of this game or did the Baby Blacks play themselves?🤔 That man Bin Smuth once again does a little write-up on the game and it is like 95% about the Baby Blacks🤣 Glad he ends off with the Baby Blacks were actually in cruise control for most of the game and weren’t actually playing for the win WTF🤣🤣 Maybe he was expecting the Baby Blacks to run rampant….
4 Go to commentsOne does not expect anything more from Ben Smith who epitomises the worst of New Zealand media arrogance and an inability to balance what he has to say about any team that beats the All Blacks. His reference to context is pathetically thin. He does not comment that Frizell deserved a red card given his blatant manipulation of his body to ensure that he could drop his body weight onto Mbonambi’s lower leg. No mention of the ball lost forward before the All Black’s try (lost in-field of the 5 metre line and gathered beyond). The All Black commitment and effort was superb and there was little in it. Given the Springbok passage to the final and the loss of their hooker in the first three minutes, their resolve and capacity to win their fourth final out of eight attempts (not three out of ten) deserves the praise that has been forthcoming from media around the world, worth reading and listening to. Ben should join his “pundit” friends on TV - he would fit in well. This sort of article reduces any credibility Rugby Pass has ever had. Why persist with this sort of nonsense? The man does his country and a rugby blog a disservice.
198 Go to commentsEtzebeth went on to say: “I would never dream of saying that systems stay in place following a change in captain. To say that would be deeply, deeply, disrespectful of Siya. A while back an Irish person told me they would be fine without Sexton, so I’m just responding to that.”
3 Go to commentsClose games are what we want to see…. What a match it was…. I am sure that everyone was drained by the end of it. The reality of it all there has to be a winner and a loser. The fact that we still talking about it is almost 6 months to the day Rugby is the winner.. Asante sana… Here is to 2027 and what it will bring out.
198 Go to commentsIt’s going to be a good game. COYQ
1 Go to comments“Shock”, the guy was casually saying he was just slightly surprised. Nowadays if you say anything it gets taken completely out of context. Calm down everyone.
156 Go to commentsAll I can say after reading this bitter, sour, sad piece is… Thank you very much! This will be read in the change room just before kick off on 31 August…
198 Go to comments