Wales' cinematic response to New Zealand's Haka on Saturday, which saw the matchday 23 illuminated in red as the All Blacks performed their war dance, was the result of 12 months of planning and was designed to show the nation standing behind the team.
The moment, which featured production lighting behind the Welsh team in red with a black silhouette, was choreographed to hit broadcast cues and involved clearing 240 people from the pitch in just 90 seconds after the anthems.
A Year in the Making
Alex Luff, head of event sales and operations at the Principality Stadium, said planning for this year's response began immediately after last year's New Zealand game, following the success of the previous Haka response.
"Basically, as soon as we finished last year, as a team we sat down and reviewed what went well and where we thought we could improve upon," Luff told WalesOnline.
"And the question was what's the difference? Because you can't keep presenting the same old matchday experience. You've always got to find new ways to engage, connect, and excite our fans."
The Challenge and Response
The idea was to design the light show around Wales' response to the Haka, rather than just letting New Zealand's challenge unfold. The sequence saw the first five seconds focus on New Zealand, before the production lighting behind the Welsh team in red came on.
"That's our team standing up to that challenge. They're going to give everything for our country. Then we brought the crowd in," Luff said. "You then had the colour strikes in the main bowl going into red, you then had the architectural lighting going red, and we finished then with the national flag coming on the LEDs."
Logistical Feat
Putting the response together was a remarkable logistical feat, with a stadium events team working alongside external suppliers and contractors. A2H Live took care of the lighting, with John Trincus from Zeal working as the lighting designer, while Kojo Live looked after the logistics.
From the moment the anthems ended, around 240 people - including choristers, band members, and military holding on-field banners - had to be cleared from the pitch, along with 11 flame units that spout fire pre-match. Over 30 crew and stage managers worked on the sequence to ensure everything ran without a hitch, with the match kicking off on time.
Rehearsals involved using cones to replace the All Blacks, with planning for two scenarios depending on the coin toss result, as teams can swap ends after the anthems.
A Historic Afternoon
Luff said the reaction to the moment, and the match itself, has been extraordinary, with people texting him from all over the world. The result, which saw Wales end a 73-year wait, has cemented the Haka challenge into Welsh rugby folklore.
"It's that satisfaction you get of all the months of planning and the rehearsals the night before, the late hours, and you see it working in front of you," he said. "It's a privilege really."
Thoughts have already turned to the next time Wales face the Haka, with Luff adding: "When the All Blacks come to town, I'm going to have to get the old thinking cap on and see what we do next time round because how do we top yesterday?"
