ve training collection of tracksuits and other off-field apparel.The deal includes Scarlets home, away and European shirts and kits, all of which will be available to the region's supporters through the Scarlets retail store.Rhino Rugby is the UK's leading rugby equipment and apparel manufacturer and is a supplier to the Welsh Rugby Union and England rugby as well as Wasps, Bath, Edinburgh and Northampton Saints. Rhino was an official supplier to the British & Irish Lions Tour to South Africa in 2009.Scarlets Commercial Director Rupert Moon said: "We are really pleased to have Rhino Rugby on board. With so many years as a leading rugby brand and supplier to top flight clubs, they link well with our heritage and stature within the rugby community as well as with our ambitions to continue building a strong, iconic Welsh rugby brand."The new-look kit reflects the modern rugby era as well as pride in our true Scarlet colour and with it our long-standing history. For any supporter it looks stylish, practical and professional. We are sure that our followers will like the new-look kit and hope they will support us by showing their true colour with pride this season - Scarlet!"The main sponsor on the shirt is WRW Adeiladwaith. Other sponsors include INA Bearings, Coleg Sir G"r and Meridian.Rupert Moon said: "It is an honour to have these companies on board and it is great to see WRW flying the flag for the Welsh language in the region."WRW Group Chairman Robert Williams said: "We are extremely proud that the famous shirt of the Scarlets rugby team carries the company's logo, especially now that it is entirely in Welsh. The Scarlets and WRW have a lot in common, not least a pride and passion for the region. More importantly, we have a commitment to our heritage, culture and language and I'm delighted that one of the most famous rugby shirts in the world will for the first time have the official shirt sponsor's logo in Welsh, promoting the region and the company worldwide."Supporters will notice a richer colour to this season's shirts. The choice of colour ensures that products represent the region in the best way possible and that the Scarlets brand is prominent for all to see.Mr Moon said: "The new colour, the true Scarlet colour, will take us forward into the future. The colours of the away kit, meanwhile, symbolise our Welshness. The shirt will incorporate the colours of the Welsh flag with green being the most prominent colour.A Welsh army appeared in a national uniform of green and white as far back as the Middle Ages. These became the national colours of Wales by the middle of the 14 century and were later used by Henry Tudor as the field for the Red Dragon. The colours have remained on our national flag to this day."Here at the Scarlets we are keen to promote our heritage and see it as a vital part of our region. We are proud that we share our colours with the famous colours of Wales. By supporting and incorporating the Welsh language into our everyday business we see ourselves as the front runners of all the Welsh regions and hope to develop and build on this in the future."Mr Moon said: "We are very grateful to former supplier Kooga for a very successful partnership for the past 10 years. Our formal contract ended in July this year."He said the Scarlets squad would unveil the new-look kit officially at the opening game of the season on September 5 with launches of the European and away shirts at Parc y Scarlets in the lead-up to the Scarlets fixture against Munster on September 19. The lucrative new deal for the Scarlets follows a strong commercial start to the 2009-10 season with season tickets sales at Parc y Scarlets up 12% on last year - the strongest performance of all the Welsh regions from published figures.
Rupert Moon said: "We've got an exciting new season ahead of us at the Scarlets with some eye-catching new young Welsh players coming through who will capture the imagination. They have already shown their promise in our friendlies over the past couple of weeks. We're building up to a colourful opening game on September 5 - particularly with the announcement that we will be unveiling the iconic Grav sculpture at the stadium that day. We hope the occasion will give our supporters a real boost at the beginning of the season."
Scarlets and Lions fly half Stephen Jones said: "Having the best quality kit makes a big difference to the players. The Scarlets are looking forward to the new Rhino kit - having used Rhino equipment on the Lions tour this summer I am aware of their commitment to the highest standards. We are looking forward to unveiling the new kit early in the new season and hope it gets the approval of all our supporters."
Reg Clark, CEO of Rhino Rugby, said: "This is a significant deal for Rhino. To be awarded official supplier status to such an iconic Welsh rugby region as the Scarlets, with a great history over more than 100 years, is something we are very proud of.
"It is a strong endorsement of the quality of our new teamwear product range. The past twelve months has seen a great deal of activity and development of Rhino as a performance apparel brand.
"This deal will help to consolidate Rhino's already strong market position in a number of new core product areas and is indicative of our ambitions to build a market leading business, not just in the UK but internationally."
The Scarlets retail store will be stocking the new kit from the start of the new rugby season in early September. For more information please visit www.scarlets.co.uk and look out for special launch offers early in the new season.
Well I never!
Scarlets kit launches The Scarlets squad will officially unveil the new home kit at their first game of the season on September 5 2009, a Magners League fixture against Leinster, kick off 6.30pm. Subsequent launches of vibrant new-look Scarlets away and European shirts will be staged at Parc y Scarlets in advance of the Scarlets home fixture against Munster on September 19 2009.
Rhino Rugby Rhino Rugby Ltd are the world's leading rugby equipment specialists, established over 25 years ago. Rhino has long standing Official Supplier agreements in place with the Welsh Rugby Union and England Rugby, in addition to agreements with the Cardiff Blues, Bath Rugby, London Wasps and St Helens rugby league club. They supply teamwear to Northampton Saints and Edinburgh. With both specialist rugby equipment and sports apparel divisions, Rhino has shown significant growth in its apparel business in recent years adding Guinness Premiership club Northampton Saints as well as Edinburgh Rugby to his portfolio last year. For more information please visit www.rhinorugby.com.
Photo Mark Jones and Martin Roberts model the new home and away strips. Pic Riley Sports Photography
