Thousands of supporters will watch Wales - in and out of the stadium

Half of the crowd will watch the game at the Millennium Stadium, with the rest in pubs and at City Hall lawn, where a big screen has been set up.

Emergency services and bars are preparing for a busier occasion than New Year's Eve.

An extra team of rapid response paramedics has been drafted in.

The crews will be on duty to deal with 999 calls in the city centre, alongside a mobile casualty unit set up to treat rugby fans with minor injuries.

It was decided to bring in the extra crew to help cope with the numbers of people expected.

A spokesman for the Cardiff Community Safety Partnership (CCSP) said: "We are expecting it to be a very busy weekend, as busy if not busier than New Years Eve."

ROADS CLOSED FROM SAT, 1330 GMT Westgate Street St Mary Street Castle Street Duke Street Caroline Street Central Square Duke Street High Street Havelock Street Guildhall Place Golate Park Street Guildhall Place Wood Street Scott Road

"But because of the nature of rugby crowds traditionally, we are expecting the main problems to be crowd control really," he added.

Hotels in the city have been booked up for months.

"We have been fully booked since before Christmas," said a spokeswoman for the Big Sleep hotel.

"We had a group cancellation of about 20 and the rooms were all gone within a day."

Roads will be closed in and around the city centre on Saturday and police are advising people to arrive early.

Pubs and shops are expecting a day of mixed fortunes.

Harriet Davies, a member of Cardiff's Traders' Association, said: "On match days, retailers do suffer a loss of trade but because rugby crowds are renowned for being friendly, people do still come into town and shop on match days.

'Really busy day'

"I haven't heard of anyone who is planning to shut up shop for the day because of the rugby but it will be quieter for retailers."

Brewers Brains, the sponsors of the Welsh rugby team, are expecting to beat records for the amount of their beer drunk over the weekend.

"In previous matches, Brains have sold a week's worth of beer in one day alone," said spokesman Stewart Dobson.

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Nick Newman, from the Cardiff Licensees' Forum said: "We are all looking forward to a fantastic weekend - the cellars are chock-a-block.

"We certainly expect this to be the busiest day of the year," he said.

Preparations have also been made for the big clean-up.

The company which usually collects thousands of empty bottles from the city's clubs, pubs and restaurants, are expecting a "really busy day".