Ryan advises fans to pre-register for tickets

Over 13,500 people have taken the advice of Wales captain Ryan Jones and pre-registered for tickets to the 2010 RBS Six Nations Championship at the Millennium Stadium – launched via the Welsh Rugby Union’s website on Saturday, 21 November.

Wales will play three games at the Millennium Stadium next year as they chase their third championship title in six seasons and fans from all over Wales have registered their support for the national squad via www.wru.co.uk and joined a priority list for access to any tickets the WRU has for release prior to public sale.

Last week Ryan Jones took time out of his gruelling schedule to encourage fans to sign up and get behind their national team for the upcoming RBS 6 Nations Championship which brings Scotland to Wales (February 13), sees France arrive for the first championship Friday night fixture at the Millennium Stadium (February 26) and welcomes Italy for the 2010 championship final Saturday (March 20).

The build-up to the championship has been a healthy one with Wales boasting victories over Canada and the USA during the pre-season tour to North America and recent results at the home of Welsh rugby this Autumn closing the gap with New Zealand and defeating Samoa and Argentina respectively.

It means Wales have risen to sixth in the IRB world rankings – above England and Argentina – ahead of their clash on Saturday against third placed Australia.

A sell-out crowd will turn out at the iconic rugby venue this weekend when Wales take on the Wallabies and WRU Head of Group Compliance Julie Paterson urges fans that have missed out to pre-register now and be in with a chance to snap up tickets for Welsh rugby’s next enormous event.

She said: “Over the last three seasons we have looked at our ticketing strategies and tried to benefit the consistent fans out there who are not directly linked to a club. The pre-registration process allows fans to register their interest in the championship and get the first chance to buy any tickets that are unclaimed by our member clubs.

“We’ve had huge response since we launched on Saturday as the fans are now familiar with this system and understand that for the big games, when there is no general sale, the only tickets available are offered to fans who have signed up.”

Fans will be asked for their name and contact details only and will be given a passcode to access and pay for tickets to the games when they are released.

Julie added: “This system does not take your money at the point of registration and allows members the option to pay for any tickets that are unclaimed by our member clubs and debenture holders prior to the games.”

Ticket prices for the RBS Six Nations are £25, £45, £58, £63 and £68. Details of hospitality packages will be released on Saturday – to pre-register for this information please contact hospitality@wru.co.uk.

Fixture Schedule (GMT)

Week 1

• Saturday 6th February
• 14:30 – Ireland v Italy
• 17:00 – England v Wales

Sunday 7th February

• 15:00 – Scotland v France

Week 2

Saturday 13th February

• 14:00 – Wales v Scotland
• 16:30 (17:30 local) – France v Ireland

Sunday 14th February

• 14.30 (15:30 local) – Italy v England

Week 3

• 20/21 February – Rest Weekend

Week 4

Friday 26th February

• 20:00 – Wales v France

Saturday 27th February

• 13:30 (14:30 local) – Italy v Scotland
• 16:00 – England v Ireland

Week 5

• 6/7 March – Rest Weekend

Week 6

Saturday 13th March

• 14:30 – Ireland v Wales
• 17:00 – Scotland v England

Sunday 14th March

• 14:30 (15.30 local) – France v Italy

Week 7

Saturday 20th March

• 14:30 – Wales v Italy
• 17:00 – Ireland v Scotland
• 19:45 (20:45 local) – France v England

Phytophthora ramorum – known as Sudden Oak Death – is a fungal infection and has been found on rhododendron in the small woodland area around the motte. DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) has been informed and under its instructions the Council now has to remove and destroy all affected vegetation to limit the chance of the disease spreading.

Phytophthora spores spread through water, including airborne droplets which can be carried on animals, and through infected water in soil. The Moundfield site is extremely waterlogged and there are no footpaths.

Motte and Bailey at Radyr from the top

The area will now need to be fenced off before any works take place to ensure that there is no public access to the infected area.

All vegetation will then need to be removed from around the mound and burnt in accordance with the destruction notice issued by FERA (the Food and Environment Research Agency), an agency of DEFRA.

Because the site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, consent has been obtained from Cadw for this work to begin.

A second fenced off area in the north western corner of the field will need to be created for the burning to take place. Due to this area being close to an adult-sized football pitch, use of this pitch will be suspended while the burning operations are in progress until at least the end of the year, subject to ground conditions.

This burning is also expected to take until at least the end of 2009.

The fencing will need to be retained on the main site to exclude public access until it has been declared free of the disease, which could take between three and five years.

The infection was detected when the rhododendrons on the site were routinely tested as part of the process of preparing the Conservation Management Plan for the Moundfield Motte site in early November.

This outbreak does not appear to be linked to a similar recent infection at Parc Cefn Onn.

Councillor Nigel Howells, Executive member for Sport Leisure and Culture, said: “Outbreaks like this are beyond the Council’s control and we are acting quickly, under instruction from DEFRA, to contain and eliminate this problem. Unfortunately this area will have to remain fenced off for some while, with a football pitch out also out of commission for several months.

“However it is vitally important that we destroy all the infected plants to prevent this problem spreading and the measures we are taking are vital to ensure that this is done properly.”

A DEFRA spokesperson said: “The Food and Environment Research Agency and Cardiff Council are working to contain and eradicate Phytopthora from Moundfield Motte. All members of the public are urged to observe restrictions in the area affected, keep to public footpaths, and keep dogs on leads, in order to minimise the risk of spreading the infection any further.”

Phytophthora ramorum was first noted on oak trees in California in the 1990s, but is now affecting a wide range of plants in parts of North America and Europe.

With the exception of the large trees growing on the mound, a large proportion of the trees and shrubs will be removed so all the infected plants can be taken out. The area will be opened up allowing more light and air in, which will make conditions less favourable for the infection to spread to other plants.

The disease has been discovered as a result of the preparation of a Conservation Management Plan for the Norman motte, which is believed to have been constructed between the late 11th and mid 12th centuries.

However, the discovery of the Phytophthora infection will delay progress on some aspects of this work.

Cardiff Council in partnership with Cadw, will continue to work with the local community to develop and implement the Conservation Management Plan proposals to make the Moundfield Motte more accessible in the future and to raise awareness about the motte as an important historic feature in the local landscape. This work is being part funded by a scheduled Ancient Monument Grant from Cadw.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is the government department responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the United Kingdom. Part of its role is the protection of the countryside.