Every Wales home fixture over the next two years will be played with Cardiff’s most famous lid shut
It’s been a fixture of the Six Nations championship for years but the annual debate about the open/shut status of the Principality Stadium roof is now well and truly closed.
“Roofgate” was conspicuous by its absence ahead of Wales’ recent match against Ireland, and there’ll be no roof-related arguments before their closing Six Nations fixture against England on 15 March, either.
There’s a reason for the silence, and it’s not that rival coaches have decided they’d rather avoid the wind and rain associated with Cardiff in February and March.
Instead, a “change of protocol” introduced ahead of this year’s tournament means the famous Principality Stadium lid will be shut for all of Wales’ Six Nations matches in Cardiff – as well as the side’s other home internationals – over the next two years. In other words, a closed roof will now be the default position.
Read more: Why Wales and Ireland will no longer clash in their traditional red and green
Ready to rumble
While Wales have long had the final say on shutting the roof for Autumn Internationals and other home Test matches, Six Nations rules previously decreed that both teams had to sign off on its closure. Occasionally – most notably during Warren Gatland’s first reign – Wales would decide to leave their famous pitch open to the elements. But more often it was the visiting coach who would opt to take the roof – a unique proposition in international rugby, though Top 14 side Racing 92 play at the indoor La Défense Arena in Paris – out of the equation.
It’s easy to see why. Although both teams could be seen to benefit from playing a match in dry, windless conditions, the Principality roof helps to generate an atmosphere unlike any other. Along with the stadium’s steep sides, it creates a massive echo chamber that amplifies the roars of 74,000 fans.
Read more: The 12 biggest rugby stadiums in the world.
The rumble of an on-song Cardiff crowd is like nothing else in sport, so much so that former England international James Haskell once described it as “an oppressive force upon you”. That sound is arguably Wales’ greatest home advantage: as Principality Stadium manager Mark Williams put it, “When the roof is shut, the noise is intimidating. It’s fantastic for both the fans and players.”
Principality Stadium roof: To open or not to open
The Principality Stadium in 2000 and 2025.
Over the years, “Roofgate”, the seemingly annual stand-off over the status of the roof, generated nearly as many headlines as the players, as rival head coaches attempted to nullify one of Wales’ greatest assets. The results were mixed.
In 2017, former England boss Eddie Jones – never afraid to engage in a mind game or two – spent the build-up to Wales v England saying he “didn’t care” whether the roof was open or closed. Then, as soon as the 48-hour deadline for making a decision arrived, he decided to keep it open after all. England won the match 21-16.
In 2019, with Wales chasing a Grand Slam and heavy rain forecast, then-Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt denied the home side’s request to close the roof. Wales ultimately ran out comfortable 25-7 winners on a very damp afternoon in Cardiff.
And, in what might be the last-ever example of “Roofgate”, Scotland asked for an open stadium – “I much prefer playing with the roof open if we can, because when it’s closed, obviously it’s noisy,” said Gregor Townsend – only to change their mind ahead of kick-off. Under that closed roof they raced to a 20-0 halftime lead, before a spectacular Wales almost-comeback saw the game finish 27-26 to the Scots.
Putting a lid on it
Of course, to Welsh fans it seems bizarre there should even be a debate.
Home advantage can take many forms, whether it’s watering the pitch, mowing the grass a certain way, or just being familiar with the surroundings. In football, the saying about “a cold wet Tuesday night in Stoke” probably owes something to the Bet365 Stadium’s two open corners creating challenging weather conditions for teams visiting the Potteries.
How, fans wonder, is a closed roof any different? If the WRU had the foresight to build a stadium protected from the elements, why shouldn’t they use the lid? Or as Gatland so memorably put it during his first spell in charge: “It’s our stadium and we should be able to do what we want with it.”
