The North Terrace in Lansdowne Road Stadium was closed last night following a fire and 7,500 ticket holders will not be able to attend today's match between Ireland and the New Zealand All Blacks.
The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) said it was closing the terrace for safety reasons to allow time for a full safety inspection after a fire on the terrace.
A spokesman for the IRFU said that the decision to close the North Terrace was taken following consultation between the IRFU, the gardaí 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 and have been asked to stay away.
It is not possible within the timeframe to complete that inspection and provide adequate notice to patrons, the spokesman said. He added that the IRFU regrets the closure and the disappointment and inconvenience caused and will issue notices as soon as possible in relation to refunds. The North goalline area is not affected and ticket holders for those seats will gain access.
The capacity of the stadium has been reduced to 42,000.
The fire started at around 4.30pm beneath the North Terrace and two units of the fire brigade attended. The incident was complicated by chemicals being used in the stadium at the time and officers using breathing apparatus remained at the scene late last night.
Engineers were also in attendance along with the chief fire officer and local gardaí.