I knew Lens was a problem but hadn't appreciated how inadequate it is to host Wales v England until I saw Sport Wales last night which had an excellent feature on it.

The stadium looks superb but along with two dominating slag heap mountains seems to be all it has got. The stadium capacity, even though only 40,000, is almost 10,000 bigger than the population of the place.

It is one road in and out, the centre described as similar to Pontypridd so bars and restaurants will be difficult to get in. They are begging non-ticket holders to stay away and go to a fan village 35 miles away and admit they will not be able to cope if loads of ticketless fans, just wanting the experience, show up.

Can't wait!


I was also sad when Sport Wales announced that last nights show was its last. Presumably budget cuts have killed it but it seemed to be very sudden. I thought it was an excellent show with great production values. More importantly, it covered all Welsh sport which was a novelty for BBC Wales with its notorious egg chasing bias. Shame to see it go.