WORCESTER Rugby Club have been given the go-ahead to increase ground capacity for their promotion showdown with Rotherham.

The April 12 clash had sold out some weeks ago but, after Worcester were inundated with requests for tickets, they have added another 664 to satisfy public demand.

The fire officer yesterday gave the club clearance to extend the East Stand by 504 seats while another 160 tickets will be available for standing areas. It means the club will have a record league attendance of 5,742 for the all-important National One match which will go a long way to deciding who takes the title this season.

Rotherham lead the table by two points from Worcester but face a tricky run-in with this weekend's trip to Exeter followed by the Sixways clash. And operations director Mike Robins said the demand for tickets had been nothing short of voracious.

"It has been astronomical," he said. "We have been looking at the option of extending the East Stand for a while now but of course we had to wait for the green light.

"We have decided to bring in another stand alongside the East Stand so it is a continuation of it really.

"The corporate side of things was sold out a long time ago and we've actually brought in another marquee for the game.

"It will be the biggest crowd involving Worcester at Sixways. We've brought in extra seating for National Divisions matches before but this will definitely be the largest attendance for a Worcester match.

"The extra people will all be catered for, we've seen to that and now it's a case of first come, first served."

The ticket sales will all be dealt with at the club and people can only purchase them at Sixways, not by telephone. The extra tickets go on sale on Tuesday, April 1 at 9am and will be £12 for seats, £8 for standing.

"I think everyone is very excited about the game," added Robins. "We've been looking forward to it for a long time now and it has certainly captured the public's imagination. It shows that there is a lot of interest in rugby outside the Premiership."