ERC confirms Heineken final date

Published on Wednesday 15 October 2008 23:36

THE Heineken Cup Final will return to Murrayfield for the second time in the tournament's history on Saturday, 23 May. The date was confirmed yesterday by ERC, the tournament organisers.

The showpiece occasion in European club rugby will kick off at 5pm and be broadcast live by Sky Sports and France 2. Already more than 20,000 tickets have been sold for next May's final, making it the fastest selling in the tournament's 14-year history.

The SRU has also been encouraged by ticket sales for the opening match of the 2009 RBS 6 Nations Championship against Wales at Murrayfield on 8 February, with 17,000 briefs already bought in the first tranche of public sales. The next phase of ticket sales will start on Monday, 17 November, and will include the remainder of tickets for Wales as well as Scotland's other home matches against Italy on 28 February and Ireland on 14 March.

An SRU spokesman said: "There's a tremendous appetite from supporters to sample the special occasion of big matches at Murrayfield, an atmosphere that will be enhanced by the installation of the largest permanent big screens at a sports stadium in Scotland. The screens are on schedule to be operational by next month's Tests."

Meanwhile, Wasps will stage their Heineken Cup clash against Leinster in January at Twickenham. The game, on 17 January, could ultimately decide who secures a quarter-final place as winners of Pool Two, which also includes Edinburgh. The game has been moved from Wasps' normal Adams Park base in High Wycombe, which has a capacity of just 10,000.

Wasps have fond memories of Twickenham, having landed European titles there in 2004 and 2007, plus four Premiership crowns. The announcement comes three days before Wasps meet reigning Magners League champions Leinster in Dublin.

Wasps chief executive Tony Copsey said: "Taking the game to Twickenham gives our players and supporters a fantastic opportunity to make this one of our biggest fixtures of the year. This is an opportunity to welcome a larger crowd to a big Wasps occasion. It is our intention to open the lower bowl of Twickenham, a capacity of 30,000."

Rugby director Ian McGeechan said: "Twickenham has always proved to be a fantastic second home. We've enjoyed some great displays there in the past, and the support has been overwhelming."