Guide to Llanelli Leinster V Scarlets Oct 20, 2012 Proud Sponsor of Leinster Rugby
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OFFICIAL LEINSTER SUPPORTERS CLUB GUIDE TO LLANELLI LEINSTER V SCARLETS OCT 20, 2012 Proud sponsor of Leinster Rugby 153051 BOI RUGBY - StormForce A4.indd 1 14/05/2012 09:32 INTRODUCTION LLANELLI is town of circa 47,000 people located on the Loughor Estuary on the west coast of Wales in the county of Carmarthenshire. Traditionally a mining and steel making town, it is now a centre of tinplate production. In the 1970s mining began to wind down and today the town is more known for its leisure and activity sector with many miles of the millennium coast path passing through the town. Leinster supporters will also be familiar with Llanelli, if has for many years been a popular away trip in the Celtic League and of course our last European visit in early December 2009. The city is steeped in tradition when it comes to rugby. The team’s original ground Stradey Park was located in the heart of the town but the Scarlets moved to Parc y Scarlets in November 2008. The new stadium, found four miles outside of town, will be the scene for Saturday’s encounter, kicking off at 1.35pm. TRANSPORT OLSC airport transfer buses: If you are booked on one of our airport transfer buses, these will be waiting outside arrivals at Bristol airport. They will drive directly to Llanelli to our drop-off point opposite EJ’s Café Bar and Restaurant which is serving as the OLSC base for the weekend. If you are returning home on the Sunday transfers the return bus will depart from this location also. The buses leave approximately four hours before flight departure times but you should have the specific details for the bus you are booked on. For those who are flying home after the match on Saturday evening, the departure point is outside Morrison’s Supermarket beside the ground – NOT in the city centre. The bus will be leaving at 4pm sharp – please don’t be late as we cannot wait. At the time of writing there were a small number seats for the Bristol transfer services available. To book a seat please send E25 with your name, flights and mobile number to olsc@leinsterrugby. ie via Paypal. Alternative transport: If you are not booked on one of the OLSC buses from Bristol, you can either take the Flyer bus to Bristol Temple Meads and take a train to Llanelli from there or hire a rental car. If flying to Cardiff Airport, you can take a taxi to the city centre and then a train to Llanelli, take a train from Rhoose Cardiff airport station to Cardiff Central and change for Llanelli, or hire a car and drive. If you wish to hire a rental car you can save 5% offer by quoting OLSC at www.arguscarhire.com/ corporate ACCOMMODATION Llanelli has just a few hotels, at the time of writing most were fully booked. If you are reading this and still need accommodation we would suggest a B&B, check out www.bedandbreakfast-directory.co.uk FLAGS The flags issued in the RDS (with a white plastic pole) have been cleared by the Dublin Airport Authority for hand luggage and should also be acceptable to pass through UK airports. The OLSC team will have a limited number of flags to hand out however please bring what you can from home. w SUPPORTER HQ Danny and the team at EJ’s Café, Bar and Restaurant welcome Leinster supporters as they will host the OLSC base for the weekend. Located on Vauxhall Street in the centre of Llanelli, they have a number of screens throughout to watch the other European action on offer. Free wifi is available. EJ’s opens at 10am on Saturday and noon on Sunday. They serve a full range of meals until 9pm on Saturday and 4pm Sunday. Across the weekend supporters wearing a Leinster jersey can get a prime welsh beef, chicken or vegetable burger with a pint or soft drink for £7. www.ejsbar.co.uk MATCH-DAY INFORMATION Parc y Scarlets is located just under 4kms from the town centre. On match days there are shuttle buses arranged from the library in the town centre as well as Llanelli train station, these also run after the game – the price is usually £2 return per adult or £1.50 for children. The Supporters Village at Parc y Scarlets opens two hours before KO and is a great spot to meet opposition supporters and share some banter. The ‘Barn’ is located in the main stadium bowl adjacent to the North Stand. It will open from 11.30am until kick off and for two hours post match. The Clermont V Exeter game will be shown on the screens. Buying a ticket at the gate: The away allocation for Leinster supporters is the North Terrace – for those supporters who want to stand, and the North Stand – for those who wish to be seated, so if you are buying a ticket at the gate and want to be in with the blue army please bear this in mind. w KEEP IN TOUCH WITH THE OLSC Did you know that the OLSC is on the world wide web? You can keep up to date with all the latest news and information from the Club on our website, by liking us on facebook and following us on Twitter. You can also view all our video content on our YouTube channel. Just search for us or simply scan the QR codes below to find us. Official Leinster Supporters Club www.olsc.ie Twitter: YouTube: OLSCRugby OLSCRugby OLSC DISCOUNTS FOR SUPPORTErs – HOME AND AWAY Leinster clothing: The Heineken Cup final has become a showpiece of European rugby and with all the colour that this brings we need to make the Leinster colours stand out. The boys need to see as much blue as possible so please bear this in mind when packing. If you need new gear don’t forget that the Leinster Rugby Store offers all season ticket holders 10% discount on presentation of their plastic card – see www.leinsterrugbystore.ie for details. Car hire: If you need to hire a rental car for an away trip, or any other time, you can save 5% offer by quoting OLSC at www.arguscarhire.com/corporate Dublin airport specials: The Slaney Bar (after security) has offers some special offers this weekend for those with a match ticket including 20% off full priced food – see the back page ad for details. Bristol airport specials: Bar Zero 9 (after security) is offering anyone with a match ticket this weekend the following specials: • Four bottles of Heineken for £10 • Burger and a pint for £9.50 • Pizza and a pint for £8 Save EEEEEE • Jugs of beer and bottles of wine from £11 with the • 20% discount off food other than promotional items OLSC Offers at ‘home’: The OLSC has a number of on-going offers for season ticket holders and match ticket holders including food and drink specials with The Horse Show House, Bear restaurant, Alfie Byrnes in the Conrad, The Exchequer and Kielys of Donnybrook. Follow us on facebook and Twitter for details. MESSAGE FROM THE COACH Dear Leinster Supporter, On behalf of the team and management I would like to thank you for making the trip to Llanelli for our Heineken Cup Round 2 clash against the Scarlets. Games between the two sides are traditionally keenly contested and the history between the two sides is long and competitive. I have no doubt that Saturday afternoon’s game will be another very tough and fast-paced encounter. The Scarlets are a fantastic side. They are a settled group with plenty of attacking options. Their big and fast loose forwards caused plenty of headaches last time we played them, with Josh Turnbull, Rob McCusker and Aaron Shingler very much standing out, not to mention them having the bulk of the highly successful Welsh backline including Tavis Knoyle, Rhys Priestland, Scott Williams, Jonathan Davies, and teenage star George North, all of whom are difficult to contain. I have been impressed by the stamp that Simon Easterby has already made on the team and I have no doubt that they will pose a major threat for the whole of Europe this year. Given the manner of their victory over us in the opening weekend of the PRO12, they will no doubt approach this game in a confident manner. So, for us, it’s imperative that we start strongly, and that we are accurate in our attacking play and resolute in defense. The team is highly motivated for this weekend’s game and will be reassured by the knowledge that we’re likely to have a very vocal band of supporters in full cry, spurring us on during the match. Our thanks to the Official Leinster Supporters Club and to all of you who have travelled from across Ireland, the UK and Europe to back the team. Travel safely and enjoy the game. Best wishes, JOE SCHMIDT Leinster Head Coach MESSAGE FROM THE OLSC COMMITTEE So, we begin our first match on the road in the defense of our back-to-back Heineken Cup titles. As supporters we have our part to play to help the team in its quest for a fourth title – getting results on the road is always difficult, especially in Europe. Llanelli is famous for its passion for all things rugby. Since1876 when the club was founded they have faced many opponents and they will be well up for a visit from the European champions.