The first game to mark the opening of the redeveloped Lansdowne Road will be held on August 7 next and will see a composite Leinster/Ulster team face a Munster/Connacht selection, the IRFU announced today."To mark the opening of the Aviva Stadium, the Irish Rugby Football Union today confirmed that the first game to be played in 2010 will be an historic rugby match between two composite provincial teams," reports breakingnews.ie. Leinster and Ulster were the first representative teams to play in the old Lansdowne Road nearly 133 years ago on December 16, 1876. Both provinces were also on hand to play the final game in the stadium on New Year's Eve 2006, when Leinster beat Ulster 20-12 in the Magners League.
The game will form part of the provincial preseason calendar. The Aviva Stadium will also play host to some of the top teams in world rugby during the Guinness Series in November next year. Ireland is scheduled to play four internationals for the first time during that period against World Champions South Africa, followed by games against Samoa, New Zealand and Argentina.
