Wales v New Zealand: Autumn fixture to raise up to £4m for Welsh game

Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) chief executive Steve Phillips says the autumn international sell-out against New Zealand will make between £3m and £4m.

The game on 30 October is being staged outside World Rugby's international window which means Wayne Pivac is without his English-based players.

Wales also have a lengthy injury list but Phillips is looking forward to the All Blacks' arrival.

"I would guess we will probably make between £3m and 4m," said Phillips.

Wales will be without Dan Biggar, Callum Sheedy, Louis Rees-Zammit, Taulupe Faletau, Nick Tompkins, Thomas Young and Christ Tshiunza against the All Blacks because the English clubs will not release their Welsh players for the fixtures.

Head coach Pivac is also without the injured Justin Tipuric, George North, Dan Lydiate, Josh Navidi, James Botham and Leigh Halfpenny for the autumn series, while full-back Liam Williams is doubtful for New Zealand after having his appendix removed.

Wales have not beaten New Zealand since 1953 and it will be the All Blacks' first visit to Cardiff since 2017.

Phillips believes the Principality Stadium fixture has merits on the field against the top ranked side in the world and off it as it raises revenue to fund the domestic game.

"To be the best you've got to play the best and they are up there with the best," said Phillips.

"In terms of financial contribution for the year, it's fundamentally important.

"It's vital because that's what funds the game and it takes us over the community ring fence and deals with the other professional strategy we have to deal with and also addresses a lot of concerns we hear from the region."

Phillips insists the demand is there with New Zealand the only game currently sold out with matches against South Africa, Fiji and Australia to follow.

"It's great financially, commercially, for our brand and literally everything is sold out," added Phillips.

"We could probably sell it out again. Every ticket, every hospitality space; in fact the team were looking around last week trying to create hospitality space.

"The fourth autumn international is not a new thing and we've done this since I can remember.

"It's always been part of our business planning. I think the quirk has always been in the past that we play at the beginning not at the end."

The Six Nations organisation, which includes the WRU, have struck a television deal with Amazon Prime which ensures no free-to-air live coverage of Wales' games this autumn.

In 2020, the fixtures were screened live on both Amazon Prime and S4C - this year fans must pay Amazon to do so, with highlights later on S4C. Amazon will offer a live Welsh language service.

Phillips pointed out the Six Nations remains on free-to-air platforms on BBC and ITV.

"It's about getting the mix right," said Phillips.

"The Six Nations will be staying on BBC and ITV for four years and that was the right thing to do.

"It's done within the collective of the Six Nations and it's not just what Wales thinks, it's what everyone thinks.

"We work well with our Six Nations partners. In terms of the best offer looking forward to the autumn series on a collective series, it came from Amazon.

"I'm pleased they are recognising the Welsh language and investment they've put into it.

"I accept there's a lot of people who don't like that it's not free to air but I can remind people the Six Nations is going to stay on free to air and the deal we have with Amazon is for two years. We will review and report back."

For the autumn series, Pivac has selected Wasps flanker Young in his 38-man squad despite the players having less than 60 caps.

Young will join Cardiff next season and has been included in Pivac's party, despite the fact he will be playing outside Wales for the rest of the regular campaign.

The WRU introduced a senior player selection policy (SPSP) in 2017 deeming a player representing a club outside Wales and with fewer than 60 international caps would be ineligible for the national side.

Young, 29, has been given special dispensation to feature despite the WRU's 60-cap rule because of the flanker injury crisis.

Phillips believes the 60-cap rule is still effective with an ambition to bring more English-based club players back to Wales.

"You have to go back to the beginning what the rule was there to do," added Phillips.

"It was there to keep international players in Wales or return them here. Based on what we have seen recently, it's not just Thomas Young, it's the likes of Tomas Francis coming to Ospreys, so I think it's working.

"The case put by Wayne was about exceptional circumstances with the injuries to Justin Tipuric and Josh Navidi and others. It was the right thing to do.

"All the policies we have are reviewed annually by the Professional Rugby Board (PRB).

"I believe it's doing what it intended to do. It is trying to do two things, benefit the international team and regional game because you get the international players back.

"If the player is based in Wales we can manage them better and their workload, so it's a shared resource between Wales and the region.

"So it's not just to suit Wales, I would like to think the regions are pleased to have players coming to Wales."