Six Nations rugby might be back under the Friday night lights in Cardiff but it is not proving universally popular.

But Wales and France will again meet under the Principality Stadium floodlights to kick off a Six Nations weekend.

The game is set to be played in front of thousands of empty seats with the attendance expected to be the lowest for a home Six Nations match against France since the Principality Stadium, which holds 74,500, was built in 1999.

The attendance is expected to be not much more than 60,000 with factors like Friday night rugby and travel, Covid-19 concerns, a smaller French travelling support and expensive tickets costing £100, all contributing to the absent fans.

Former Welsh Rugby Union chairman Gareth Davies believes the empty seats is a mixture of ticket prices and Friday night rugby.

"It's a bit of both in the sense that, £100 for a ticket, so if you are going as a family it almost renders it impossible I'd have thought for most people in Wales," Davies told Radio Wales Breakfast.

"Plus of course the fact the Friday night is not that attractive for any travelling French fans as well.

"The French normally pile into Cardiff in big numbers but that Friday night with work commitments makes it more challenging.

"If there are 10,000 tickets available for tonight then, the Union will be disappointed because France is one of the attractive games at home and it will be a financial hit."

Davies admits it is hard to discount tickets once prices have been set.

"It makes it difficult for the people that have already paid £100, that's the problem," added Davies.

"Perhaps if the WRU had seen it coming a bit earlier and maybe some intelligence coming from clubs that they couldn't offset the cost.

"Having pitched the price it does make it unfair then to change the price having seen people having already paid out the full amount."

There are tickets remaining on the WRU website, while some are sold via Welsh rugby clubs who pay the governing body for them months in advance.

Clubs can then be left having to cover the cost if they are unable to sell them to their members.

Three home matches in one tournament mean Wales sometimes have to host a game on a Friday night or Sunday.

In 2017, Davies said the Principality Stadium would not host Friday night matches for a couple of years but it has now returned to Cardiff, while other countries refuse to stage fixtures in this slot.

"The media, more particularly television pay a lot of money for the rights so they need games spread on Friday, Saturday and Sunday," added Davies.

"Going back to my time, it does become a negotiation around the Six Nations table where every nation has to stage a fixture away from Saturday.

"The intelligence we had at the time was that Sunday was less popular than a Friday, but that may very well have changed."

Players perspective

Wales captain Dan Biggar admits he prefers playing on a Saturday afternoon.

"It (Friday night rugby) is a little bit different and probably not quite the same as a Saturday afternoon," said Biggar.

"If it was purely down to us and me I would like to see Saturday afternoon.

"Even Sundays don't quite feel the same for Six Nations. I've always felt like a Saturday afternoon in the Six Nations is special and traditional.

"I think getting to the ground for people is more of a pain on a Friday night.

"It is what it is, we have had quite a few games on Friday nights and you just get on with it.

"It's not a huge issue for us, it's just that if you were going to ask me what I associate with Six Nations rugby it would be Saturday afternoon.

"For whatever reason we're Friday night and just get on with it and enjoy the challenge.

"We will get on with it on and hopefully do the business.

"We are still excited about Friday night in Cardiff, especially for where the stadium is, right in the mix with all the bars and restaurants and that atmosphere.

"A night kick-off, playing the form team in the world at the minute, it doesn't get any better than that."

France captain Antoine Dupont played down any fears of a reduced travelling support and the stadium not being full.

"We weren't aware of that but we're not very concerned," added Dupont.

"We hope to have the same sort of French support as we had in Edinburgh, but the most important thing is what happens on the pitch."