Gilbert set to adopt 2015 Rugby World Cup centre stage and continue game’s evolution June 14, 2015 You all know the story. William Webb Ellis, with a fine disregard for the rules of the game and all that, picked up the ball and ran with it at Rugby School in 1823, thereby inventing the game of rugby football. We don’t have time to go into what happened to him after that, [...]
Rugby’s evangelist Brett Gosper sets sights on conquering new territories to grow sport’s appeal June 9, 2015 At the risk of taking hyperbole to new heights, it will be the biggest shock in the history of international sport if anyone other the usual suspects (you know who they are) find themselves in the final of this year’s Rugby World Cup. But the rugby playing field is changing and the likes of Samoa, [...]
Why Toshiba still sees value in rugby after 60 years supporting the sport May 31, 2015 Japanese firm Toshiba sees the 2015 Rugby World Cup as a chance to build B2B connections IT’S THE nature of sporting events that, for all the hype in advance, and indeed while they’re taking place, before we know it they’re over and the carousel moves on to the next celebration and jamboree. The Rugby World [...]
Tapping into a priceless showcase for sport: MasterCard’s Mark Barnett wants the World Cup to pay off for rugby and his brand May 25, 2015 For those of a certain age, the day that Erica Roe streaked at Twickenham during an England-Australia rugby international is a sporting image to rival anything that the greats of that generation, from Duckham to Underwood, Beaumont to Carling, achieved on the field of play. For Mark Barnett, president in the UK and Ireland for [...]
How to build in a wow factor: One rugby-mad VP at Marriott is serious about using fun to strengthen its brand May 17, 2015 Until the late 1990s, Osama Hirzalla had barely seen a game of rugby. The vice-president of brand marketing and e-commerce at Marriott International was educated in the USA, and it wasn’t until he first experienced the Dubai 7s that he witnessed the sport, got the bug, and became so obsessed by it that he now [...]
Rugby favourites brave Moorgate Monsoon May 14, 2015 Saracens comfortably beat the Army at the Honorary Artillery Company in the City of London yesterday evening, as the two teams battled the weather, as well as each other. Winning 38-3, Saracens said it had triumphed despite the “Moorgate Monsoon”.
How backing rugby helps to build a global head of steam May 10, 2015 Heathrow Express’s Fraser Brown looks to players’ speed on the field to win the high-speed rail link more conversions IF YOU are a lover of statistics, you’ll love this opening paragraph. Of the 50m passengers who arrive at Heathrow airport every year, around 20m travel immediately into central London. Of that 20m, nearly a third [...]
I’m being denied top-level rugby, says Abendanon May 6, 2015 NEWLY-CROWNED European player of the year Nick Abendanon has complained that England’s policy of not selecting overseas-based players is depriving him of the chance to compete at the highest level. The 28-year-old full-back joined Toulon back-row forward Steffon Armitage in the international wilderness when he signed for Top 14 side Clermont Auvergne in February 2014, [...]
Arctic scrum for record breaking rugby match May 5, 2015 CHARITY fundraisers gave new meaning to the term Arctic roll last week, when they set a Guinness World Record for playing the northernmost rugby match in history – at the North Pole. A team of 11 intrepid explorers, including the boss of LMAX Exchange, David Mercer, took to the field – or glacier, as it [...]
The strong arm of the Rugby law: 2015 World Cup legal partner Clifford Chance has long been part of the rugby family May 4, 2015 Would you like to watch this year’s Rugby World Cup through the eyes of Dan Carter or Sam Warburton? Effectively play the game with them. As them. In them. Feel what it’s like to react in that nano-second that takes them away from a defender or straight into the arms of a gigantic monster. [...]