Wales late kick-off against England is criticised

Wales have played France twice on a Friday night

Wales & England set for Friday Six Nations kick-off

Thousands of rugby fans will be inconvenienced by the late kick off time of next year's Wales v England Six Nations clash, says a train operator.

The Friday match on 4 February is the curtain raiser for the championship and kicks off at 1945 GMT.

Arriva Trains Wales said it was a "very inconvenient time for the thousands of fans that will watch the game".

The Welsh Rugby Union said it had fully consulted South Wales Police about staging Friday night matches.

In a statement, Arriva Trains Wales said it was "disappointed that a late kick off time of 1945 had been announced for the Wales v England Six Nations game".

The train operator said: "With such a late finish, travel options home after the game will be limited, especially for the many making longer journeys such as to north Wales."

We do have a positive feedback in terms of the Friday night game

WRU chairman David Pickering

WRU chairman David Pickering admitted Friday night kick offs were not ideal but said they were a way of "progressing the game of rugby" and generated funds for the whole of the game in Wales.

He added: "Before we consider what we do, we take into our confidence the South Wales Police, and I must say the police force in south Wales are very supportive of the vast majority of things we do at the Millennium Stadium, but we fully consulted them.

"We also consulted them about the potential of having Saturday games late on Saturday nights, and we listened to them, and we have been advised by them that the Saturday night fixture is not the wisest time to put an international match on because of the policing requirements.

"We do have a positive feedback in terms of the Friday night game."

Wales fans on rugby message boards gave a mixed response to the decision to play the game on a Friday night.

One supporter said it was a "great idea" because fans could go to the game and still play rugby for their own team on a Saturday.

However, others complained the decision was based on generating money, and made it difficult for fans who lived elsewhere to return home on public transport.

Six Nations games have traditionally been played on Saturdays and, more recently, Sundays but Friday night fixtures were introduced last year.

The first Friday fixture saw France host Wales in Paris in 2009, while the same fixture this year in Cardiff was also on a Friday night.