On Valentine’s weekend in Cardiff, there was a clear sign that the Welsh public has fallen out of love with the Welsh rugby team, as the Principality Stadium witnessed its lowest crowd in history for a Six Nations match.
Just 57,744 people attended the match, out of a capacity crowd of 72,500 and many of those weren’t Welsh. From the noise and singing in the stadium, it appeared that many of those in attendance were French supporters – there to witness their team score a record eight tries against the Welsh in a one-sided contest that is rapidly becoming the norm for the team in red.
Home support is so important in sport, so for the beleaguered Welsh team to also be losing that is disastrous – and not just to the outcome on the pitch. The unsold tickets for this match equate to almost £1 million in ticket revenue alone, without taking into account spending on refreshments and merchandise – money the WRU cannot afford to lose. With currently 8,000 tickets unsold for the Scotland match next weekend, and a whopping 30,000 still available for Italy’s visit on 14 March, this could have a serious impact on the finances coming into the WFU’s coffers, and an impact on grass roots rugby in the country.
The financial impact on grassroots clubs does not just come from lack of funding through the WRU. Local clubs receive an allocation of six nations tickets to re-sell to their members. The BBC has reported that one club has lost £6,000 in unsold tickets, as club members turn their backs on the national team. The club even resorted to a ‘buy one get one free’ offer to try and mitigate its losses on the tickets.
Welsh rugby enjoyed a golden decade in the 1970s, and since then has seen many ups and downs. The consistent thing through the years has been the unwavering support of its fans, who turn up in Cardiff to support the players regardless of the team’s recent form. The current turmoil in Welsh Rugby looks as though it is breaking this united bond, which has the potential to seriously threaten the viability of Welsh rugby going forward.
Losing supporters makes it harder for the players to perform on the pitch, leading to more historic losses, leading to further loss of support. And this at the same time that Twickenham, the Aviva and Murrayfield constantly sell out, with Italy also recording an attendance of nearly 70,000 for its monsoon-like match against Scotland a fortnight ago.
As Wales loses revenue, its direct competitors are gaining record amounts, that will only make the playing field more uneven and perpetuate the Welsh downfall.
The question that has been asked for too long now is ‘what’s the answer?’. After the last match Welsh legends Alun Wyn Jones and Sam Warburton did not hold back on their source of the issue, which is the manner in which the WRU is leading the sport. Their proposed solution to becoming more competitive is by opening up more pathways for young players, through schools and academies.
The demise of Welsh rugby is tragic for fans, but it is also a big problem for the northern hemisphere’s competition. The Six Nations needs to be competitive to retain its allure – even the English will get bored of walloping the Welsh every match if it continues. Last Saturday was the fifth time in six games that Wales have conceded 40 points, and this Welsh team continues to record unwanted records. Unfortunately, however passionate the fanbase is, when you’re watching your side lose match after match and you can see no sound plan to resolve the issue, fans will vote with their wallets and not invest.
Is all lost? Not quite yet – a scrappy win against Scotland or Italy (or Ireland), would go a long way to making fans feel better in the short term and give Steve Tandy and his team a lifebelt to cling to – but the WRU has to start listening to former legends of the game as time and patience is running out rapidly, and the Welsh love affair with rugby is becoming increasingly strained.
Contact our Sports Law Solicitors
David Little is a Partner at Bishop & Sewell in our expert Sports Law and Corporate & Commercial
If you would like to contact him, please call on either 07968 027343 or 020 7631 4141 or email: company@
The above is accurate as at 17 February 2026.
The information above may be subject to change. The content of this note should not be considered legal advice, and each matter should be considered on a case-by-case basis.
