All Blacks star sings Swansea’s praises

The New Zealand outside-half sent a message from his social media accounts in his city hotel room after a tough day’s training ahead of Saturday’s quarter-final against France at the Millennium Stadium.

The message included a photo of the promenade and Swansea Bay at sunset. Carter said: “Not a bad night here in Swansea. This is the view from my room.”

His message has already been seen by close to one and half million people around the world on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Carter’s photo has generated over 40,000 ‘likes’, more than 1,000 positive comments and hundreds of Retweets.

Some of the facilities the All Blacks are using this week include the Wales National Pool and Swansea University’s International Sports Village.

Cllr Robert Francis-Davies, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Enterprise, Development and Regeneration, said: “We aren’t staging any Rugby World Cup matches in Swansea, but you wouldn’t think that’s the case because of all the teams and fans that have been staying and training here. The All Blacks are this week following in the footsteps of the Fijian and Canadian teams, who also stayed and trained in Swansea during their time in the tournament.

“It’s a huge vote of confidence in Swansea and its facilities that a team like the All Blacks has chosen to stay here in preparation for their biggest game in four years. They’re up there with the world’s most iconic sporting brands, so it’s inevitable that their arrival here has generated quite a lot of excitement. It’s also great to see photos of them dining in city centre restaurants and meeting local people – they’re great ambassadors for their sport and country. As All Blacks go, there’s no bigger name than Dan Carter. He’s travelled the world with the All Blacks for over a decade, but he still felt compelled to share a stunning sunset view of Swansea Bay with his legions of fans on social media. We work tremendously hard to promote Swansea Bay as a visitor destination, but this is the sort of additional exposure you just can’t buy.”

Carter isn’t the first sports star to be impressed with Swansea Bay. Former Premier League footballers Tim Cahill and Rio Ferdinand are among the others to have sung Swansea Bay’s praises in recent years.

The Mexico and New Zealand paralympic teams also stayed and trained in Swansea in the build-up to the Paralympic Games in London in 2012.

“We’re developing quite a reputation in Swansea for sport, not just because of our Premier League Swans and high-flying Ospreys, but also because of the world class facilities and scenery here,” said Cllr Francis-Davies. “Our fantastic communication links with places like Cardiff and London also mean lots of rugby fans are staying here during the World Cup. This is great news for Swansea’s profile and for local hotels, restaurants, shops and pubs.”

All Rugby World Cup matches are being shown live on Castle Square’s big screen.