The teams were all recipients of playing kit made available to them through Admiral’s Community Chest scheme for staff which is a fund set up to provide financial support to Admiral staff and their families involved with local charities, organisations and sports teams.
The festival of rugby was a joint initiative between the rugby development department who showcased many of the activities currently being rolled out in schools, clubs and communities around Wales, and the sponsorship department, whose business relationship with Admiral was key to the event taking place.
In addition to participating in an afternoon of fun rugby activities, the team members and their families had the chance to meet Wales players Ryan Jones, Gethin Jenkins and Andries Pretorius and have their photo taken with the RBS 6 Nations Trophy.
WRU sponsorship manager Simon Rowe said, “The Admiral Festival of Rugby was a great example of the WRU’s rugby and sponsorship teams coming together to showcase some of the best elements of Welsh rugby. Our rugby department got the team members involved in some cage rugby, atomic touch and other fun activities, while our commercial partner Admiral sponsor the teams themselves so it was an example of everyone helping each other.”
Admiral Communications Manager, Justin Beddows, commented, “The Admiral Festival of Rugby was a unique opportunity for children’s rugby clubs who’ve received funding from Admiral’s Community Chest to have great fun while learning new skills with expert guidance in a fantastic setting. We are very grateful to the WRU for putting together such a brilliant experience for the youngsters involved and unsurprisingly, the feedback we’ve received within the company has been very positive.”
Wales and Ospreys back row Ryan Jones added, “It was great to get back to basics and see so much fun that can be had through playing rugby. The various games on offer certainly help to improve skills but aren’t what you might traditionally call rugby training. Everyone had a smile on their face which is great to see because these are the future players – and fans of Welsh rugby.”
