Wales v South Africa: Fans asked to wear masks at match

Fans at the Principality Stadium

Fans heading to the Principality Stadium last weekend were given staggered arrival times

Rugby supporters have been asked to wear masks inside the Principality Stadium for Saturday's international.

Wales take on South Africa in the second of their autumn tests, with more than 70,000 expected in Cardiff.

Restrictions were in place for the New Zealand game last Saturday, with all those attending having to show a Covid pass, as they will again this week.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Eluned Morgan said scenes of people mixing in Cardiff had left her concerned.

Mark Williams, manager of the Principality Stadium, praised the response of the public to entry requirements for the New Zealand match, adding it was "no easy task" getting everyone in before kick-off.

Mr Williams said: "As we look to next weekend and the game against South Africa, I'd like to remind all supporters to wear their masks when inside the stadium.

"Masks are one of the important ways to stopping the spread of Covid-19, so we urge all supporters to respect their fellow fans and keep their masks on when on the concourses."

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Full houses have returned to the Principality Stadium for the first time since the Six Nations in 2020

Ms Morgan said she was concerned about what "Christmas will look like if we see the kind of scenes that we saw in Cardiff on the weekend everywhere in Wales, in terms of people mixing when Covid is still peaking".

She warned that if rates continued to go up, passes would be required for pubs and restaurants.

"What I'm very reluctant to do is to go into the Christmas period with rates so high without any kind of forward plan," Ms Morgan said.

"This is why we thought it was really important to give that kind of forward warning to hospitality, in case we're in a situation where we do have to introduce these passes quickly."

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