Cardiff Blues held the special event for Owen Williams the day before the big 6 Nations opener at the Millennium Stadium. Owen continues to make progress at Rookwood Hospital in Cardiff after suffering a serious injury playing for the region last year.
Head Coaches Warren Gatland and Stuart Lancaster were special guests at the lunch, hosted by TV presenter Gethin Jones, and featured in a Q&A session with former internationals Jonathan Davies and Will Carling.
Guests on the day, who enjoyed a four-course meal in the marquee at BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park, were also entertained by the UK’s premier comedy improve troupe, The Noise Next Door, and Cwmbach Male Voice Choir.
Richard Holland, Chief Executive at Cardiff Blues, said: “We were absolutely thrilled by the response to the lunch and to welcome so many guests, including the Williams family of Huw, Sian and Gavin.
“To raise such a major sum of money for the #StayStrongForOws campaign is fantastic as every penny makes a huge difference. 100% of monies raised go to Owen and our support for him is in the long-term – he will always be part of this region.
“We have many more fundraising events planned this year. The Cardiff to Paris Bike Ride in June – that will be rode by a number of our first team players and members of Owen’s family – is just one of those special events and we would encourage our fans to get involved.
“We now hope to make this lunch an annual event and would like to thank everyone who attended, particularly Warren Gatland and Stuart Lancaster who took time out the day before the big 6 Nations fixture, and made it such a big a success.”
Cardiff Blues would like to the thank the lunch sponsors – Castle Court Wealth Management, DS Smith, Heineken, Thomas Carroll, Welsh Rugby Charitable Trust, the WRPA, Castell Howell Foods, Hush Creative Consultancy, Spiros Fine Dining, Lee Venn Studios and Uprise Marketing – for their support. Thank you also to the organising committee of Rhys Blumberg, Brynmor Williams, Tom Shanklin, Rhys Williams and Andy Booth.
