Ey Backs Women’s Rugby World Cup

World Rugby has agreed a new partnership with EY, who will become an official sponsor of the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017.

With less than a month to go until the tournament gets underway in Ireland, the global assurance, tax, transaction and advisory service is expanding its portfolio of partnerships, which also includes the British & Irish Lions 2017 tour of New Zealand and the EY Hockey League.

EY also oversees every minute of the official steering and judging process for the BT Sport Industry Awards. Find out more about the full process here.

Mike McKerr, managing partner for EY Ireland, said: “Building the highest performing and diverse teams is core to our success in EY and, when it comes to leadership, teaming and developing winning strategies, there is a great deal to learn from professional sports people. By supporting the highest performing teams in the sporting arena, as exemplified by the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017 along with the EY Hockey League, we hope to expand on our own strategy to inspire effective and engaged teaming while promoting the importance of diversity within our firm”.

Bill Beaumont, World Rugby chairman, commented: “We are delighted to welcome EY as an official sponsor of Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017. As the game grows across the world, it’s important that we work with a brand that is the right fit and reflects the character-building values of our sport.

“This year’s tournament promises to be the biggest and best yet and we look forward to working with EY toward further promotion and engagement within Ireland and around the world. As women’s rugby goes from a grassroots level all the way to the top of the sport, it’s exciting to have global organisations like EY realise the human capital potential of the players and the values they bring including team-work, tenacity, hard work and discipline.”

Women’s rugby is currently played by nearly 2.2 million women and girls in more than 110 countries.

The eighth Women’s Rugby World Cup tournament will be held in Ireland in August. The qualifying nations competing this year include Australia, Canada, England, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, USA and Wales.

Tara Lillywhite-Torpey, EY assurance partner, added: “Professional sport is a powerful metaphor for business. Facing fierce competition, building effective and diverse teams, while developing both long and short term strategies are just some of the key areas where business and sport overlap.  A recent report commissioned by EY shows that investing in D&I pays dividends – companies with a D&I strategy not only have enhanced reputations but they also report even higher sales revenue and profit margins. This makes it even more critical that businesses develop and implement a D&I strategy that works for them, otherwise they will pay the ultimate price and fall behind the competition. D&I is a central component behind some of the key sporting events which EY Ireland support and we would like to wish all the countries participating the very best of luck.”