Lansdowne Road will host Ireland v New Zealand on Saturday

Although the blaze hit just a small area under the North Terrace, the entire area will be closed for safety reasons until after the game.

The IRFU has requested that holders of tickets for the North Terrace do not turn up as they will not be admitted.

The ticket holders concerned will receive refunds from the IRFU.

"We regret the closure, disappointment and inconvenience," said an IRFU statement.

The IRFU statement went on: "The decision to close the North Terrace was taken in the interest of safety following consultation between the IRFU, the Gardai and other relevant authorities.

"North Terrace ticket holders are advised it will not be possible to gain access to any other area of the stadium.

"In the interest of safety and crowd control, North Terrace ticket holders are asked not to come to the vicinity of the ground."

The closure does not affect the seats immediately behind the goal-line.

The Irish Rugby Football Union did not say whether New Zealand fans were affected by the closure.

The loss of seating has reduced Lansdowne's capacity to 42,000.

The fire was started accidentally on Friday evening during engineering repairs in the ground.

Damage is not serious and Lansdowne Road will be back to full capacity for next Saturday's international against Australia.