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Judgement Day, the annual double header of derbies between the four Welsh regions, played out its 10th iteration in Cardiff last weekend. Back at the Principality Stadium after an erroneous year at Cardiff City Stadium, just over 28,000 rugby fans were drawn to the showpiece event. I was one of them, and here are my thoughts:
It is fun to have fans from all 4 sides in one place. To be able to stand around a table in a pub before the games and chew the fat over players, coaches and whatever other off-field drama might be happening at the time. As a side note, for all the chat that supposedly no one in Wales cares for the URC, everyone around me was checking the scores down in South Africa and debating the relative strengths of our overseas rivals.
The event definitely attracts more casual fans than a normal league match would. Granted, the 28k might not sound like much but it is nearly 2 and a half times bigger than any other regional crowd so far this season (the graphic below depicts attendances for the 24/25 season).
A big rugby event in Cardiff will always be seen as a grand day out, and the stadium is a nice one to go to. If you like celebrity spotting it’s always a winner - I spotted Geraint Thomas, got a selfie with two players in the stands and even got interviewed by BBC Wales, which I guess makes me a celebrity too? (For those who take literally everything that they see written down: that was a joke).
Williams (10'), Spencer (59'), Hardy (75')
Tries
Mann (14', 34'), Hamer-Webb (20', 28', 79'), Penalty Try (79')
Edwards (10', 76')
Conversions
Sheedy (15'), Thomas (80')
The first game between Ospreys and Cardiff was thrilling. It was a defensive shift from the Blue-and-Blacks-who-wear-red that we are unused to seeing as they shut down extended periods of Ospreys possession despite being, at times, a man down. The Ospreys just about managed to get within striking range of Cardiff only for the game to be sealed by an electric score direct from the kick-off. Cardiff therefore win the Welsh Shield once again having lost just once to Welsh opposition all season.
The record crowd for a Judgement Day is 68,000, so to be 40,000 shy of that tells the story of Welsh Rugby in 2025 - the fans (who very much exist) are not motivated to leave the comfort of their homes and show up in person. What’s more, a very large proportion of those who do come do not stick around for both games, meaning there was probably never anywhere close to 28k actually in the stands. This rather defeats the point of it being a double header.
One reason for that is probably the kick-off times. 15:00 and 17:30 is too late, it should be 13:30 and 16:00. Thanks to the diaspora of Welsh rugby fans, many families would have driven well over an hour and a half to be there. Several I spoke to had forked out hundreds on hotel rooms, rather than face a 9 or 10pm ETA back at home.
Rosser (25', 45'), Hewitt (41')
Tries
Thomas (19'), Hepburn (49'), Fifita (54'), Murray (71')
O'Brien (42')
Conversions
Lloyd (20', 50', 55', 73')
O'Brien (39', 57')
Penalties
Lloyd (80')
The second game wasn’t much to write home about, but it almost never is. Scarlets needed a bonus point win to keep their top 8 dreams even faintly alive but they made such hard work of it their scores were more accompanied by sarcastic slow claps than rapturous applause.
The following is a list of grievances I personally have with the event that may or may not be shared by anyone else:
The ridiculous pretence that Judgement Day is a home game for anyone other than Cardiff has to stop. Yes, we know that the Ospreys and Dragons gave up home games to facilitate the event, but wrapping the posts in Ospreys post protectors and saying ‘come on Ospreys’ over the tannoy does not make us be in Swansea. It’s laughable. Imagine trying to explain this to anyone outside Wales, it’s like something out of Yes, Minister.
The between game ‘entertainment’ of the Stickmen Project wasn’t very good. My understanding is that a large part of their act is the lights show, so doing it in broad daylight (the stadium’s sliding roof was - brace yourself - broken) defeated the object.
The stadium tannoy is always way too loud. This annoys grumpy old people and content creators who are trying to record a piece to camera. It really does not need to be that loud, especially when 50k of the seats are empty.
Would I go again? I almost certainly will, I always enjoy going to rugby matches anyway. The best things about it is meeting fans from all four elite teams, something no other rugby nation is facilitating. The crowds will come back when Wales start winning again, which cannot come soon enough.
