Monthly Archives: August 2011

Tournament organiser Paul Bickerdike at the prize-giving ceremony

Rhino was delighted to sponsor a recent groundbreaking Tag Rugby tournament staged at the Sri Jayendra School in Tamil Nadu, India.

Paul Bickerdike of Mill Hill School in North London has taken a lead in forging strong links between the Indian school and the UK in the form of a series of scholarships and teacher and pupil exchanges.

The tournament, for which Rhino supplied the equipment via its Indian partner Sports Syndicate of Jalandhar in the Punjab, was just the latest of these initiatives and generated enormous enthusiasm and interest.

Rhino Collision King inventor Richie Gray and CEO Reg Clark recently visited the Georgian national side whose pre Rugby World Cup camp kicked off at 2010 French club champions ASM Clermont Auvergne. The Georgians, guided by former Scotland coach Richie Dixon, took delivery of two Collison Kings and Gray took the opportunity to coach the Georgians on the use of the machine at the same time as demonstrating it to ASM’s highly rated New Zealand coach Vern Cotter and Scottish Team Manager, Neil McIroy.

The visit also provided the opportunity for Richie Gray to renew acquaintance with French rugby legend Pierre Villepreux at his nearby birthplace of Pompadour. Pierre’s influence on the game goes way beyond his 34 caps as a fly-half and fullback for France between 1967 and 1972 and his role as assistant coach to the national side in the late 1990’s. A long standing proponent of free running rugby, Villepreux, now a senior advisor to the IRB, despite having famously described the ruck as a ‘failure’ throughout his coaching career, nevertheless was enthusiastic about the Collision King as a coaching aid designed to make players more efficient at recycling the ball quickly from the breakdown.

PRESS RELEASE

Rugby Stars Give Thumbs Up to New Ball

Rhino Rugby unveils new ball for RaboDirect PRO12

Rhino Rugby today announced its appointment as Official Ball Supplier to the RaboDirect PRO12 for the next 4 seasons.

The ball, called the Rhino Vortex Elite, was trialled by some of the tournament’s leading kickers, including Stephen Jones (Scarlets) and Chris Paterson (Edinburgh) as part of the approval process – it passed with flying colours.

Previously Rhino supplied the Official Ball of the British & Irish Lions 2009. However, the RaboDirect PRO12 deal represents an extremely significant move into the performance rugby ball market, which has to date been dominated globally by a small number of suppliers.

In addition to the match balls, Rhino will continue to supply the kit for the competition’s referees and touchline officials.

John Feehan, CEO of RaboDirect PRO12, said ‘We are delighted that Rhino has entered into this agreement with the tournament to supply both match balls and officials’ apparel.  It is one of a small, elite group of sponsors involved in the RaboDirect PRO12 and we are looking forward to building a strong relationship’.

Best known as the world’s leading supplier of scrummaging machines, contact and training equipment, Rhino has recently made its mark in other areas such as artificial turf, teamwear and fashion under CEO Reg Clark.

Reg Clark commented ‘This deal is fabulous news for Rhino. As a company and as a brand we are on a roll.  It’s going to be great to see the leading professional sides of Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales using our top of the range ball for the next 4 seasons’.

The RaboDirect PRO12 begins on Friday 2^nd September. All twelve teams in the competition have been training with the new ball since 1^st August. Limited numbers of Rhino Vortex Elite balls will be available for public purchase exclusively via Amazon until 31^st August 2011.

ENDS

For more information please contact Steve Munford at ENS on 020 7934 9031 / steve@ensltd.com

Rhino adds innovation as Official Supplier to Rugby Expo 2011

Rhino Rugby has re-affirmed its commitment to Rugby Expo, the world’s leading convention for professional and community rugby, by signing as an official supplier of the 2011 event at Twickenham on November 23 and 24.

Read the news update on the Rugby Exp 2011 website...