The Scarlets took a break from their rigours of pre-season training to enjoy a team day out at Oakwood Theme Park.
More than 40 players and officials from the West Wales region, who are gearing up for their opening game against Leinster in the RaboDirect PRO12 at the start of September, descended on the park and sampled the rides in last week’s sunshine.
Among the stars who attended the day out were Scarlets captain Rob McCusker, Scarlets and Wales internationals Josh Turnbull, Jonathan Davies and Liam Williams and new South African second row signing George Earle.
During their visit the team enjoyed rides on the world-famous wooden coaster Megafobia, Speed and Vertigo – the skydiver-designed extreme flight experience.
As well as enjoying the thrills of the theme park the players were on hand to mark the start of a joint marketing partnership with the Pembrokeshire attraction.
Oakwood’s Park Director, Dominic Jones, said: “I’m a massive rugby fan and to have the opportunity to welcome so many of the players here to Oakwood was amazing.
“We’re delighted to be working with the Scarlets and believe it’s a great opportunity for both parties.
“Teaming up with the Scarlets will bring an added dimension to the visitor experience here at Oakwood and we’re all very much looking forward to establishing closer ties with both the players and the region’s supporters,” he added.
The squad’s visit to Oakwood was one of a number of new initiatives trialled by the Scarlets during their pre-season training, new captain Rob McCusker went on to explain the benefit of team bonding exercises on the squad’s morale, he said: “Pre-season training is always pretty intense because it’s the only time we get to trial new moves, get to know new players and work on playing patterns.
“Having the opportunity to enjoy an afternoon away from the training field as a squad is very important to us and is a great way of interacting as a group of friends and not just practising our rugby drills as teammates.
“We had a great welcome at Oakwood and all of the boys enjoyed the rides and took advantage of the warm weather! We look forward to returning to the park during the season.”
There will be more Scarlets initiatives launched in conjunction with Oakwood during the forthcoming season including a fantastic Rugby and Rollercoaster Camp during October half term and all Scarlets junior season ticket holders (under 11) go free at Oakwood!
Scarlets Community Manager Kate Jenkins added: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Oakwood, one of the main attractions situated right in the heart of our region.
“One of our key aims this season was to build relationships with key visitor sights and attractions throughout the region in order to create a fantastic Scarlets Leisure Pass for our members. We had a fantastic welcome from Dominic and his team at Oakwood and look forward to returning in the near future,” she added.
