Millennium Stadium: jewel of the Red Dragons

The successor to the mythical Arms Park delights Welsh rugby fans and even English soccer fans who congregate each year for the FA Cup final while Wembley is being rebuilt.

Before moving to one of the word’s most modern stadia, Wales could pride themselves on playing at a ground considered a temple of rugby: the Arms Park. It was there that generations of Welsh fans galvanised their heroes and unsettled opponents with a mighty rendering of « Land of my fathers ». It was often enough to tip the scales as opponents were submerged beneath a wave of red-shirted Welshmen. The 1970s saw the entire country reverberating to the rhythm of a magnificent Wales side led by that incomparable scrum-half Gareth Edwards, one of the rare sporting heroes to have been raised to legendary status in his own lifetime. With Barry John and then Phil Bennett as his outside half and the mighty JPR Williams at full-back they offered Wales three Grand Slams (1971, 1976 and 1978) and six Five Nations tournament triumphs in nine years. The Arms Park, an impregnable fortress, was the setting for the golden age of Welsh rugby.

1905: the Blacks in the Arms Park

Donated by Lord Bute in the 19th Century, Arms Park, in the centre of Cardiff , was built between 1885 and 1890. It had only one stand then and did not host its first international until the All Blacks arrived in 1905. 86 years later the second Rugby World Cup set up home, as the national soccer team had done two years earlier. France have notched up some heroic wins there and Stade Toulousain came away with their first European Rugby Cup in 1996 when Christophe Deylaud’s penalty ended Cardiff’s resistance 21-18 in extra-time.

A second Rugby World Cup for the Millennium

Arms Park was considered too old for the 1999 RWC and a spanking new ground, the Millennium Stadium, with a 72,500 capacity and sliding roof, was erected in its place. Its predecessor may have a rich history but the Millennium Stadium has already carved out a niche, starting with the 1999 RWC which saw Australia beat France 35-12 in the final, the English FA Cup soccer finals and a resurgence in fortune for the Red Dragons who in 2005 achieved their first Six Nations Grand Slam since 1978. Arms Park’s glory hours are being relived...

Useful information

Address
Westgate Street
Cardiff

Access
By plane: Wales International Airport
By car: M4 then A48
By train: Cardiff station

Key figures
Capacity: 73,350