Northampton Rugby

European Club Rugby has finally come out with an explanation for its decision to hold the European Challenge Cup final later this month between Aviva Premiership rivals Bath Rugby and the Northampton Saints at the Cardiff Arms Park.

The ERC was blasted by fans of both the clubs after it was revealed that the two clubs would be allocated just 1,000 tickets apiece for the showpiece event which is scheduled for the 23^rd of this month.

The remaining 10,000 tickets had been put up for general since the competition began in September but the ERC has now confirmed that it has released a further 400 tickets for both the clubs.

The ERC released a statement on its website recently where it stated that the board had taken a unanimous decision for the European Challenge Cup and Heineken Cup finals to be played on the same weekend in the same city to create a unique celebration of rugby and since the 2010/11 season, this method has seen successful staging of the two European Cup finals in cities such as Cardiff, London and Dublin.

And this month, the European finals will be held at Cardiff once again with Toulon taking on Saracens FC at the Millennium Stadium and Cardiff Arms Park hosting the European Challenge Cup final between the Northampton Saints and Bath Rugby.

It further read that the ERC is aware of the huge demands for tickets from both sets of fans and as a result, the ERC has undertaken the duty of increasing the capacity of the stadium by 400 more so that fans of the two clubs can enjoy the spectacle.

According to the ERC statement, the Northampton Saints and Bath Rugby will be notified of their decision shortly and fans will be allocated the tickets in a few days’ time.