Welsh rugby union team Scarlets has been gearing up for this season’s on-field battles in the Guinness Pro12 League in the club's newly-refurbished performance gym.

Wales-based strength and conditioning equipment specialist Absolute Performance (AP) has carried out a major refurbishment of the gym used by the Llanelli club’s first team and academy squad.

AP created the strength and conditioning facility using high-performance flooring, custom-built equipment from the company’s AP Power Series, as well as by renovating existing equipment.

Caerphilly-based Castle Coatings was brought in by AP to help renovate the existing equipment by applying powder-coating in team colours, ensuring the Scarlets’ distinctive red and black colouring and branding is a dominant feature throughout the facility. The gym is part of the range of facilities at the Parc y Scarlets stadium, which the club moved to in 2008.

New training equipment includes a heavy-duty leg press, a hack squat machine – to allow the players to replicate game-related movements – and a bespoke platform for Wattbike testing and general cardio work. The centrepiece of the facility is a customised 25m (82ft) track, featuring AP Evolution turf to enable the squad to use conditioning sleds indoors, as well as being able to perform specialist sprints and drills.

“Our experience of working with elite clubs such as the Scarlets means that we can react quickly to deliver outstanding facilities for our clients,” said Absolute Performance elite sport division consultant Simon Britton.

“The addition of the specialist indoor AP Evolution turf now means that the players can perform conditioning and training drills all year and in any weather and, because it is a multipurpose surface, the training options are endless.”