10th anniversary for Millennium Stadium

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The game will be a repeat of the same fixture which took place ten years ago this week, when Wales and Argentina opened Rugby World Cup 99 following a glittering opening ceremony.

Participating in that opening ceremony, and later the closing ceremony were many District Under 11 players, who carried out the role of flag bearers.

Ten years on and a number of those youngsters have successfully progressed through the regional and international player pathways, including Jason Tovey, then an Islwyn Under 11 player, now a regular in the professional Dragons side who carried the USA flag at the closing ceremony; Scott Andrews and Justin Tipuric, Wales Under 20 captains last season were Pontypridd and Swansea Schools Under 11 players ten years ago and carried the Tonga and Ireland flags respectively, while Rhys Williams (Pontypridd and Blues academy hooker) and Cardiff lock Ashley Sweet played for Cynon Valley and Pontypool Schools and were flag bearers for South Africa and Fiji.

Two of those young players, Scott Andrews and Ashley Sweet, spoke to wru.co.uk about their memories of walking out on the Millennium Stadium pitch, and of the inspiration they got from the experience.

Celebratory Ticket Offer

To celebrate ten years of the Millennium Stadium, the WRU is offering a free family ticket (two adults and two children) for Wales v Samoa on Friday 13 November (7.30pm) for the family of any child who was born on either June 26 1999 (the day of the Millennium Stadium’s opening game between Wales and South Africa) or October 1 1999, the day of the opening game of Rugby World Cup 99 between Wales and Argentina.

To claim your tickets, send a photocopy of the relevant child’s birth certificate by email on garethd@wru.co.uk or by post to Gareth Davies, WRU Ticketing, Millennium Stadium, Westgate Street, Cardiff CF10 1NS.

Tickets for Invesco Perpetual Series matches are still available. Call 08442 777888 or click here for online booking