Hsbc Rugby Doc To Air On Nbc

HSBC has released a new, long-form rugby documentary, telling the stories of the USA Sevens team ahead of the Rugby World Cup Sevens in San Francisco.

The new film builds on the success of the bank’s ‘Sevens from Heaven’ documentary, which focussed on Fiji’s Olympic gold medal-winning players, and was shortlisted at the BT Sport Industry Awards 2018 for Film Content of the Year in association with Sela Sport.

The first episode of the two-part documentary, ‘The Pioneers’, will air in full on the NBC Sports Network and The Olympic Channel in the United States as well as across HSBC, USA Rugby and World Rugby social media channels, as part of a landmark distribution deal.

The 55-minute film will follow the US team through the 2018 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series and preparations for the Rugby World Cup Sevens. A second episode, to be released later in the year, will cover the tournament in San Francisco and the players’ reaction to the result.

HSBC has commissioned the rare, long-form piece as part of its long-term partnership with Rugby Sevens built on HSBC and World Rugby’s shared goal of supporting the growth of the sport worldwide – and particularly in the key USA market.

Speaking at the launch of the film, Leanne Cutts, group head of marketing at HSBC said: “The story of the USA Sevens team is a brilliant example of our belief that by working together we can achieve so much more than we can alone. The way that a team full of diverse characters and stories comes together to overcome the odds is truly inspiring.

“In commissioning The Pioneers, we wanted to tell this story, but also to give the US public a new set of sporting heroes to get behind ahead of the Rugby World Cup Sevens in San Francisco. Our partnership with World Rugby continues to see Rugby Sevens thrive across the world, and we think The Pioneers can take this growth to even bigger and better levels.”

Mike Friday, head coach of the USA men’s Sevens Team added: “We are thankful for the opportunity to share with the American sporting public the values, spirit and characters of rugby and our team; as well as the excitement and exhilaration the game itself brings as we the make this journey. We are proud of everything these boys do as they strive to be the best version of themselves when representing USA and rugby.”

Zoomfiji’s Bruce Southwick, director of the film, also commented: I can’t thank the USA team enough for letting us in these past few months. They are honest, raw and real, striving to get better with every chance. It’s been a privilege to be part of the journey so far and they have been every story tellers dream. They have taught me that anything is possible if you work hard and I can’t wait to see what these boys can achieve on home soil at the Rugby World Cup Sevens.”