Rhino Rugby News

The RaboDirect PRO12 Awards took place at the Cardiff Hilton on Sunday May 6th at the conclusion of the regular season and ahead of the Play Offs and the Final of the competition.

The prestigious Rhino Golden Boot Award for the competition’s leading goalkicker went to Jonathan Sexton of Leinster who achieved a remarkable 90% success rate and received the trophy from Rhino Managing Director Anthony Locke.

The Rhino Collision Kings Award was presented to Glasgow Warriors coach Sean Lineen by Rhino Collision King inventor Richie Gray, who together with his judging panel Phil Keith-Roach, Jim Telfer and Lynn Evans had selected the Warriors as the side showing most efficiency and technique at the breakdown throughout the season.

The Rhino party enjoyed the glittering occasion with players and coaches of the PRO12 sides, tournament officials and fellow sponsors RaboDirect and Specsavers.

Anthony Locke presents Jonathan Sexton of Leinster with the Rhino Golden Boot Award	Richie Gray presents Glasgow Warriors’ coach Sean Lineen with the Rhino Collision Kings Award.

As an Official Supplier to the 2012 Wales Grand Slam team, Rhino Rugby was offered the rare opportunity and privilege to have the 6 Nations Trophy over the last weekend.
The one thing you can’t plan however is the weather and sadly the impact of the appearance of the trophy at the Cheddar Mini and Junior Festival and the Rhino Mendip Sevens on Sunday was impacted by the cancellation and abandonment respectively of these events. The trophy did make an appearance for Cheddar Valley RFC at the White Hart in Cheddar however and at the clubhouse of Winscombe RFC, hosts of the Mendip Sevens where it received an enthusiastic response.

Rhino's plans to use the opportunity to raise donations of kit and equipment to the Rugby Uncle and Khelo Rugby charities focused on Kolkata in India were also curtailed, but even despite the abandonment of the tournaments, Tudu Sailen, Indian national fly half and Hartpury College player who is a product and leading light of these charities and who attended the events, was gratified by the generous donations still made. Rhino is working together with the RAF Spitfires 7s team to donate and transfer a pallet of equipment, including a new Premiersled scrum machine, together with other equipment including these donations to Kolkata within a month following further fundraising efforts at the RAF's Queens Diamond Jubilee Sevens tournament at Iffley Road Oxford on May 26th.

The trophy was also well received at Rhino’s Somerset HQ on Monday morning.

The 6 Nations Trophy at Rhino's manufacturing facility in Somerset.	Winscombe junior members with the trophy.	Curt Russell and Tudu Sailen both of Hartpury College and the Kolkata Jungle Crows, who attended the Sunday events.
The 6 Nations Trophy at Rhino's headquarters in Somerset with Rhino staff.

Rhino were delighted to accept an invitation to exhibit our products alongside brands such as Nike, Adidas and Puma at the Sports Direct annual convention in Newcastle last week.

In addition Rhino shareholder Martin Johnson, who led an MBI of the business together with CEO Reg Clark in late 2006, joined Sir Geoff Hurst, Joe Calzaghe, James Cracknell and other prominent brand ambassadors in attending the event, and meeting Sports Direct staff who had travelled from all over the UK to be there.

On a day of intense activity at the Sports Direct Arena, home of Newcastle United FC, including a football tournament on the hallowed turf, the 12 Sports Direct staff with the highest scores on the Rhino Collision King challenge each won a Rhino British & Irish Lions 2009 South Africa Tour vintage leather ball.

Luciano Orquera of Aironi

RABO DIRECT PRO12 RHINO GOLDEN BOOT AWARD Round 21: 20-22 April 2012 NAME TEAM GOOD ATT KICK % Jonathan Sexton Leinster 27 30 90% Ronan O'Gara Munster 25 30 83.33% Luciano Orquera; Aironi Rugby 33 40 82.50% Duncan Weir Glasgow Warriors 61 74 82.43% View Full Table >>

Jonathan Sexton of Leinster has hit the remarkable figure of a 90% success rate in the RaboDirect PRO12 Rhino Golden Boot goalkicking league table. A leader for most of the season, Sexton was briefly overtaken by a Ronan O’Gara mid season hot streak, but has now regained the lead with one round to go on May 4th and 5th before the destination of the Award is decided.

The Rhino Golden Boot will be presented by MD Anthony Locke at the RabdoDirect PRO12 Awards in Cardiff on May 6th. Ronan O’Gara is currently second in the table on 83.33% and Aironi’s Luciano Orquera has stormed through the field to occupy third place with 82.50% just ahead of Glasgow’s Duncan Weir on 82.43%. Orquera’s rise was assisted by a PRO12 record setting 9 out of 9 penalties in the derby game with Treviso before Christmas, and Weir’s kick to convert Stuart Hogg’s last minute try against Munster the weekend before last gained a bonus point which may well be critical in taking the Warriors into the play offs.

Rhino has been involved in the Rosslyn Park National School Sevens for over 30 years now and this year we stepped up our involvement to Official Partner status, alongside main sponsor HSBC. This involved amongst other things having our staff on site at the tournament for all five days of play in glorious sunshine, displaying primarily the Rhino Collision King, senior and junior models, on the equipment side, and having a stunning display from Rhino-Turf alongside, including the ever popular Reggie the Rhino who was a magnet especially for the younger participants on the earlier days.

We also had our company mascot miniature schnauzer Simba on hand who was a star attraction for lots of the spectators on the final day played at the Rosslyn Park ground.

Rhino CEO Reg Clark joins the victorious Bishops Stortford team for the traditional victory photo on the Rhino-Turf stand with Reggie the Rhino after their win in the Prep Schools Tournament. Photo Credit: Capture the Event

Rhino and Rhino Turf were out early this morning in glorious sunshine setting out our stall for the Rosslyn Park National School Sevens. A world record 7,500 players are set to take part in the coming 5 days.

As usual Reggie the Rhino was the immediate star attraction, with the Rhino Collision Kings a close second.

L to R: Nick Fox (Sports Direct.com), Reg Clark (CEO of Rhino Rugby), Andrew Statham (Newark Chairman) and Craig Barnsdale (Captain)

Sports Direct.com as Official High Street Retailer of Sport Relief staged a rugby match to support the charity at Newark RFC yesterday.

A Sports Direct.com XV, kitted out by Rhino Teamwear, and which had prepared for the game using Rhino training equipment narrowly lost 11-10 in a keenly contested game against a Newark XV in front of a good crowd who donated generously during and after the game.

Rhino CEO Reg Clark and Nick Fox of Sports Direct.com presented the training equipment after the game to Newark Chairman Andrew Statham to thank the club for its support.

Whilst Rhino Rugby is proud of its Official supplier relationships with the Lions, England, Wales, Bath, Cardiff and Wasps, we are also committed to supporting grass roots rugby.

The nearest club to our HQ and manufacturing operations in Somerset is Cheddar Valley RFC and our West London office has for many years had a close relationship with London Japanese RFC. We therefore decided to donate the magnificent mounted Rhino head that has graced our London office for many years as a trophy for an annual game between the two clubs.

On St Patricks Day the two sides met at the Richmond Athletic Ground during Cheddar’s London tour and an excellent game ensued which was finely balanced at 10 all going into the final minutes, at which point man of the match Matt Vaughan burst through the centre for a well taken try to give Cheddar a 15-10 victory.

Both sides repaired to the clubhouse to watch the final 6 Nations games and the Rhino Trophy moved on the next day to its new home in the White Hart in Cheddar, which is looking forward to welcoming London Japanese at the time of the return game next season.

	Above: The London Japanese and Cheddar Valley sides after the game. Bottom left: Rhino CEO Reg Clark ceremonially takes down the Rhino Trophy from the wall of the company’s offices in West London and presents it to Cheddar Valley RFC Chairman Patrick Cullen during a welcome drinks reception for the touring party. Bottom right: The Trophy arrives at its new spiritual home with the returning tourists.