No fans allowed into Edinburgh Rugby’s final home match of the season

No fans will be allowed into Edinburgh’s final home match of the season against Ulster on 5 June.

Murrayfield will be empty once again when Edinburgh play Ulster on June 5. Picture: Paul Devlin/SNS

The Rainbow Cup game at BT Murrayfield will be played behind closed doors as work begins on readying the national stadium for the match between the British & Irish Lions and Japan on June 26.

The game against Ulster is likely to be Edinburgh’s last before they move to their new stadium built on the back pitches at Murrayfield.

Fans have been permitted back into Scottish football matches recently, with 500 supporters allowed into stadiums in parts of the country which have moved into Level 2.

However, there will be no supporters at Murrayfield a week on Saturday.

Douglas Struth, Edinburgh Rugby’s managing director, said: “Obviously this update is disappointing. We’ve worked very hard with Scottish Rugby, our stadium operator, to explore the possibility of having 500 people at the Ulster game in accordance with current Level 2 restrictions. However, current Covid requirements and mitigations have made this very difficult.

“Moreover, Scottish Rugby also needed to take into account the requirements of the British & Irish Lions. By supporting Scottish Rugby in the successful delivery of that match for 16,500 fans, we hope we can all take one step further towards welcoming crowds back in significant numbers for the new season.

Edinburgh Rugby managing director Douglas Struth has expressed his disappointment that no supporters will be allowed into the match against Ulster. Picture: Ross Parker/SNS

“This pandemic has proved repeatedly that our club is nothing without its fans, which makes this update even more disappointing. Our fans mean everything to us and we hope our actions so far during this pandemic have demonstrated that.

“While we conclude our Rainbow Cup fixtures on the pitch, Edinburgh Rugby will continue to focus on ticketing for next season in our new home and the plans for a series of events over the summer to welcome our fans back – and allow them to see our new home in person before the new season starts.”

Murrayfield, which has a capacity of around 67,000, will be around a quarter-full for the Lions match against Japan. The attendance limit was set following consultation with the Scottish Government. It will be the UK’s largest rugby crowd since the start of the pandemic.

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