Judgement Day at Principality Stadium has broken the Guinness PRO12 attendance record again, this time with nearly three weeks still to go until kick-off – on Saturday 30th April.
Last year's Welsh regional double-header was attended by 52,762 fans, comfortably surpassing the previous championship record, held by an Irish derby clash at the Aviva Stadium between Leinster and Munster in 2014.
The annual event, now in its fourth incarnation, more than doubles nearly every other attendance figure in Guinness PRO12 fixture list so far this season and has been tipped to become a must-see capacity occasion in the Cardiff capital by Welsh Rugby Union chairman Gareth Davies.
With the 52,763rd ticket sold by the Principality Stadium ticket office this morning, the only comparable fixture to Judgement Day this year, to date, is again the Munster versus Leinster derby which attracted 43,108 to the Aviva at the start of this month.
The celebration derby day in Wales, dubbed JDIV, will see Cardiff Blues face the Ospreys at 2.30pm and then European Rugby Challenge Cup semi-finalists Newport Gwent Dragons host the Scarlets at 5pm in back-to-back clashes under the Principality Stadium's famous roof – in the penultimate round (21) of the Guinness PRO12.
"Last year's Judgement Day fixtures saw us process thousands of tickets on the day of the event and we fully expect a large walk-up crowd at Principality Stadium for another guaranteed record breaking day this year," said a WRU spokesperson.
"It will be a proud moment when during the second match of the day we announce our final crowd figure and set another new record for attendance at a Guinness PRO12 match-day."
Commenting on the record-breaking crowd, Martin Anayi, managing director, PRO12 Rugby said:"Judgement Day has become one of the Guinness PRO12′s 'must-go-to' events and it is terrific news that with three weeks to go until the event the previous attendance record has been broken.
Mark Davies, Chief Executive of Pro Rugby Wales said: "It's very positive for Welsh Rugby and Guinness PRO12 that this major club rugby event in our season is building so successfully and that we'll exceed last year's record crowd at the Principality Stadium."
