Welsh Olympic and Paralympic athletes will join thousands of rugby fans at Wales’ Dove Men Series game against Samoa at the Millennium Stadium on Friday (KO 7.30pm).

The London 2012 competitors will be the guests of the Welsh Rugby Union for the autumn international fixture at the venue which brought the first Olympic Games to Welsh soil this summer.      

Thirty four of the nation’s finest athletes will be in town to support the Wales team for their clash with the South Sea Islanders and to meet the Millennium Stadium crowd from pitchside at half-time.  

Paralympic champions Mark Colbourne, Aled Davies and Josie Pearson and eight Olympians are among those attending.

London 2012 was a joyous occasion for Wales, with athletes bringing home a record seven Olympic medals and an additional 14 medals during the Paralympic Games.

At the home of Welsh sport, 11 Olympic football matches – including the opening event of the Games – played out in front of almost 340,000 fans and television audiences all over the world.

Group Chief Executive of the Welsh Rugby Union, which owns and operates the Millennium Stadium, Roger Lewis said: “In sport we unite as a nation and we’re thrilled that Wales’ Olympic and Paralympic athletes have accepted the invitation to be guests of the WRU when Wales face Samoa next weekend.  

“The Friday evening fixture is always a huge hit with families and we’re looking forward to sharing that same warm, family-friendly atmosphere that was inspired by the Olympics with those athletes that represented Wales so very well on the world stage.”

For Wales’ Friday evening fixture against Samoa, fans can still get tickets priced at £10 for Under 16s and £25 for adults from wru.co.uk, your local rugby club, selected Tesco stores and the new WRU Shop at the St David’s Dewi Saint, Cardiff.