The Rugby Football Union has agreed to host a Friday night match between South Africa and New Zealand next year despite having previously refused to entertain the prospect of having Six Nations matches in that slot.
The World Cup warm-up match will see the Springboks and All Blacks face off just weeks before the 2023 tournament in France. It marks just the second time the heavyweights will meet at the home of English rugby.
However, even without England's involvement in the match, the decision to hold the game on a Friday night may strike fans as a little odd given their previous stance on the matter. Historically, the RFU has strongly resisted calls from the Six Nations to stage Friday night matches despite doing so on the opening night of the 2015 World Cup. But it would appear they seem keen to explore Friday matches now.
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“It’s not often we get the chance to host a Friday evening match under the lights at Twickenham and so it’s fitting that we welcome two of the powerhouses of global rugby,” said RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney.
The notion of not getting the chance to host a Friday fixture might surprise a few, given England have so far refused to host a Friday night Six Nations game at their HQ, often citing travel issues. In 2017, an RFU statement said: "Our position hasn't changed. We don't generally support Friday night matches at Twickenham for a variety of reasons, not least the challenges our fans have getting to and from the match."
The burden of hosting Friday night matches to satisfy broadcaster demands has often fallen to Wales, with fans enduring travel issues and Cardiff missing out on the financial boost of a full match day in the city.
Cardiff was once again lumbered with a Friday night match against France in this year's men's Six Nations, with the game played in front of 10,000 empty seats. Many blamed the scheduling, with hotel costs, work commitments and travel logistics keeping supporters away combined with the expense of tickets. It was the 11th Friday night match to be played in the Six Nations since they were first introduced in 2009. Wales have been involved in 10 of them, hosting seven at the Principality Stadium.
England and Ireland have refused to do so, citing travel issues in terms of fans getting to and from matches, with Scotland and Italy raising concerns that it would affect crowd numbers.
Back in 2016, then Six Nations chief John Feehan said there was "no reason" why Twickenham couldn't take on Friday night fixtures, having played host to England v Fiji at the start of the 2015 World Cup. A year later, the Welsh Rugby Union took a hard stance after being involved in the vast majority of Friday night matches, saying they expected other nations to "bear the load" going forward. That stance was later softened.
There are no Friday night matches scheduled for the 2023 men's Six Nations tournament.
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