China’s EV brands are all over sport in the west. Why? Sport Business Electric vehicle brands from China are snapping up sport sponsorship opportunities across the west. Matt Hardy asks why. The automotive sector has long had an association with sports sponsorships: think the century-old deal between Ford and AFL side the Geelong Cats, or Volkswagen’s enduring patronage of Bundesliga side Wolfsburg, originally a works team from its [...]
Is Henry Pollock’s biggest problem Eddie Hearn? Sport Business Henry Pollock’s first few months with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Talent Agency has felt less like a commitment to rugby union – and reaching the heights within the sport – and more like a scattergun approach to marketing a player in a way rugby players hadn’t experienced before. Except they have. Seeing Pollock in the front [...]
Allowing South Africa vs New Zealand to clash with NFL is classic rugby Sport Business South Africa and New Zealand choosing to stage their money-spinning Greatest Rivalry rugby match in Baltimore on the opening weekend of the NFL season is, at best, short-sighted and realistically rather daft. What is the point in the sport trying to break the US, five years out from a North American World Cup many are [...]
England Rugby in first ever back-of-shirt deal with £5m a year Lloyds signing September 9, 2026 Banking giant Lloyds has become England Rugby’s first ever back-of-shirt partner after the world’s richest union added the City staple to its sponsorship portfolio. It comes six months after City AM revealed Lloyds had held talks with England chiefs over back-of-shirt and back-of-shorts sponsorship. The deal will see the financial giant’s logo appear above the [...]
RFU left waiting on Twickenham gig planning meeting after NIMBY opposition September 8, 2026 England Rugby chiefs are being forced to wait for a crucial planning meeting over the future of events at Allianz Stadium. Hopes had been raised that a meeting to determine whether the Twickenham arena could significantly boost its number of non-sporting events – from three to 15 – would be held in September. But the [...]
Women’s rugby can teach the men’s game exactly what it needs right now September 6, 2026 For the last 10 years, the story of women’s rugby has been told through the lens of investment and comparison. How quickly could it catch up with the men’s game? When would attendances improve? When would broadcasters pay for it and big brand sponsors follow? Those were understandable questions, but they are now the wrong [...]
Prem Rugby needs a draft, but not one for the very best players September 4, 2026 Top flight domestic rugby is back this weekend in the form of the Prem Rugby Cup – the former Anglo-Welsh, British and Irish, and inter-Prem/Champ competition that is now just a little bit of a nothing league. But that’s for another day. Because the return of rugby in England feels underhyped. We’ve had an entire [...]
Why the smart money should be on rugby sevens September 3, 2026 Why should we be taking more notice of rugby sevens at the moment, asks former player Jim Hamilton. There are different versions of rugby, and while the 15-a-side game will always be my Everest, sevens offers something completely different. The sport is simple to follow, fast and incredibly athletic, and it allows individual personalities and [...]
Qatar Airways-backed airline Airlink defends Springboks flypast manoeuvre August 31, 2026 The Qatar Airways-backed airline, Airlink, have defended a double flypast over South Africa’s rugby union match against New Zealand after online backlash. Two passenger jets flew above the DHL Stadium in Cape Town with flight tracking website Flightradar24 stating that one of the two planes cleared the arena’s roof by less than 15 metres. And [...]
South Africa need cash from New Zealand Tests but All Blacks fans not like Lions August 21, 2026 It is quite simple really: the Greatest Rivalry series between South Africa and New Zealand, which starts on Saturday, needs to be a real money-spinner for the Springboks. It should see every seat occupied for the three Tests – in Johannesburg and Cape Town – and healthy crowds for the All Blacks matches against the [...]