With Christmas now just days away, the Ospreys swooped into Morriston Hospital on Tuesday to bring some timely festive cheer to youngsters currently being treated in the children's ward.
A host of senior players including the likes of Shane Williams, Adam Jones, Tommy Bowe, Ryan Jones and Ian Gough were joined by some of the latest generation of players to come through the ranks at the region, such as Justin Tipuric, Matthew Morgan and Ryan Bevington.
The players spent time touring the ward, handing out special Ospreys posters to the young patients as well as signing autographs and posing for photos – proving as big a hit with the nursing staff and parents as they did with the young children.
The festive hospital visits are now a firm fixture in the Ospreys calendar, with the players looking forward to bringing some Christmas cheer to those who need it most.
Duncan Jones was one of the players on the visit, and he said:
“The visit was a huge success. The children had a great time but the players enjoyed ourselves just as much. These visits can be very emotional and difficult because of the things that you see and hear about the poor children, but they are so important as not only can we make their day, we can make their Christmas.”
His team-mate Jonathan Thomas added:
“These visits always go down well with the players as we always look forward to brightening up the children’s day in the build up to Christmas. We must never forget that the Ospreylian family is a big one, and that not everyone is as fortunate or as healthy as we are, so if we can do something like this to make a small difference we will.
“We all realise that the least we can do in our privileged position is to give up some of our spare time to help to put a smile on the face of a sick or injured child.”
Chief Operations Officer, Andrew Hore, commented:
“It is the players themselves who come to us at this time of the year asking when are they are going to be visiting the children’s wards, these trips always prove popular with the players as well as the youngsters.
“I know that there are a number of children whose unfortunate stay in hospital will have been made just a little more bearable by the visits and they be able to show all their friends the pictures of the day, which I’m sure they will cherish for a long time.”
Visit our Facebook page here to see a gallery of images from the visit