Cardiff Rugby have indefinitely postponed Saturday’s Summerfest event at the Arms Park due to the risk of Covid-19.
But their pre-season friendly against Bath will go ahead as planned at the ground on Friday night.
Some 1,500 supporters had claimed free tickets for the family fun-day event, which was set to be attended by Cardiff players.
However, with a number of club employees already impacted by Covid and infection rates rising, it was viewed as unwise to press ahead.
A statement reads: “It is with great regret and disappointment that we have made the difficult decision to postpone Cardiff Rugby’s Summerfest event this Saturday due to the risk of Covid-19.
“With case rates for the Covid-19 virus in Wales rising exponentially in recent weeks, the event posed a significant risk of infection to the Cardiff Rugby squad ahead of the season.
“Numerous Cardiff Rugby employees have already been struck or implicated as household contacts by Covid-19 as rates have surged.
“With the United Rugby Championship on the horizon and a Cardiff Arms Park opener against Connacht (Sept 24), it has been decided on medical grounds that players and coaches will be unable to attend as we cannot risk further potential exposure, which would jeopardise the start of the season.
“At all games this season there will be a number of restrictions in place to keep the the players and rugby staff, who undergo Covid-19 testing three times a week and operate in a semi-bubble, safe.
“Given that Summerfest is built around the attendance of players with numerous rugby-themed activities and supporter interaction, we have reluctantly decided to postpone the event indefinitely.”
Head of Communications and Marketing Mike Brown added: “We are all naturally very disappointed to call off the event as it has become a real highlight of the summer as we build excitement into the season.
“However, with the current situation in Wales and the fact that a number of restrictions will be in place at matches to mitigate risk and protect players, it no longer made sense to expose them at a mass event.
“We appreciate this will disappoint supporters, however I am sure everyone would agree it is far more important to go into the season with a fully fit squad and as few Covid-19 implications as possible.
“We are all now looking forward to welcoming supporters for the first time in more than 17 months when we take on Bath in our final pre-season encounter on Friday before hosting Connacht as our 2021-22 campaign gets underway.”
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