Aviva Stadium - Events - Rugby Union

Rugby Union

Rugby union matches
Date Competition Home Away Score Attendance
31 July 2010 Challenge match Leinster/Ulster Munster/Connacht 68–0 34,000
2 October 2010 2010-11 Magners League Leinster Munster 13–9 50,645
6 November 2010 Test match Ireland South Africa 21–23 35,515
13 November 2010 Test match Ireland Samoa 20–10 37,955
20 November 2010 Test match Ireland New Zealand 18–38 49,640
28 November 2010 Test match Ireland Argentina 29–9 45,340
18 December 2010 2010–11 Heineken Cup pool stage Leinster Clermont Auvergne 24–8 44,873
13 February 2011 2011 Six Nations Championship Ireland France 22–25 51,700
19 March 2011 2011 Six Nations Championship Ireland England 24–8 51,700
9 April 2011 2010–11 Heineken Cup quarter-final Leinster Leicester Tigers 17–10 49,672
30 April 2011 2010–11 Heineken Cup semi-final Leinster Toulouse 32–23 50,073
20 August 2011 Test match Ireland France 22–26 45,165
27 August 2011 Test match Ireland England 6–20 48,523
4 November 2011 2011–12 Pro 12 Leinster Munster 24–19 48,365
17 December 2011 2011–12 Heineken Cup pool stage Leinster Bath 52–27 46,365
5 February 2012 2012 Six Nations Championship Ireland Wales 21–23 51,000
25 February 2012 2012 Six Nations Championship Ireland Italy 42–10 51,000
19 March 2012 2012 Six Nations Championship Ireland Scotland 32–14 51,000
7 April 2012 2011–12 Heineken Cup quarter-final Leinster Cardiff Blues 34–3 50,340
28 April 2012 2011–12 Heineken Cup semi-final Ulster Edinburgh 22–19 45,147
6 October 2012 2012–13 Pro 12 Leinster Munster 30-21 46,280
10 November 2012 Test match Ireland South Africa 12-16 49,781
24 November 2012 Test match Ireland Argentina 46-24 43,406
15 December 2012 2012–13 Heineken Cup pool stage Leinster Clermont Auvergne 21-28 48,964
10 February 2013 2013 Six Nations Championship Ireland England 6-12 51,000
9 March 2013 2013 Six Nations Championship Ireland France 13-13 51,000
18 May 2013 2013 Heineken Cup Final Clermont Toulon 15–16 50,148
Row colours: green for club matches, yellow for international ones

The Ireland rugby union team is playing its home games at the stadium, as it did previously at Lansdowne Road, taking over from their temporary home, Croke Park, where games were played during Aviva's construction. Ireland's first international game was on 6 November 2010 against South Africa, with the Springboks winning 23–21. The game drew a disappointing crowd of 35,515, mainly due to a backlash by Ireland supporters over the IRFU's controversial ticketing strategy for the November Test series. Initially, the IRFU announced that tickets to the November Tests would only be sold as packages for all four matches. Later, it announced that the tickets would instead be split into two packages, with the South Africa Test bundled with the following week's match with Samoa for a minimum of €150, and the New Zealand and Argentina Tests bundled for a minimum of €190. Single-game tickets were to be available only for the Samoa and Argentina Tests. On 1 November, the IRFU backed away from this plan amid heavy criticism from member clubs that had problems selling the packages in a difficult economy.

The first rugby union game at the Aviva was an exhibition game on 31 July 2010, billed as the O2 Challenge, involving under-18 and under-20 players from all four of Ireland's provincial sides, with a Leinster/Ulster side defeating a Munster/Connacht combination 68–0. As part of the run-up to the event, O2 ran a promotion which gave the winner the opportunity to attempt to score the ceremonial first points at the Aviva via a simulated conversion kick on the day before the match. The winner of the promotion, John Baker of Ennis, was successful. The first official points at the Aviva were scored by Ulster's Craig Gilroy with a try in the O2 Challenge.

The stadium also hosts some home games for Leinster when the RDS Arena's smaller capacity doesn't satisfy demand. Leinster won their opening home game in the Aviva against Munster 13-9, in the Magners League (now PRO12) season, in front of a record PRO12 attendance of 50,645.

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Famous quotes containing the word union:

    “How can I explain the difference to me between America and Russia?... the America I’ve known is a place where men on horseback escort union marchers, the Russia I’ve known is a place where men on horseback slaughter young Socialists and Jews.”
    —Golda Meir (1898–1978)