RFU Signs New Deal As Sevens Breaks Record
The Rugby Football Union received a double boost this week, announcing a new partnership with Killik & Co, the independent financial services groups, to become title sponsor for the upcoming England v Barbarians game – while the weekend’s Marriot London Sevens tournament at Twickenham Stadium smashed previous attendance records for the competition.
The Killik Cup match on Sunday 27th May will be Stuart Lancaster’s first game as permanent head coach and will serve as a preview of the team to tour South Africa in June.
Killik & Co has sponsored Barbarians games held at Twickenham since December 2009 and were title sponsor for the last game, Barbarians v Australia, in November 2011.
Paul Killik, senior partner, Killik & Co, said: ‘It is wonderful for us to be associated with the Rugby Football Union, especially at this exciting time under new management. We have been long supporters of the ethos and spirit of the Barbarians games and we are delighted to continue our title sponsorship of this prestigious event with the RFU.’
Sophie Goldschmidt, chief commercial officer, Rugby Football Union added: ‘We are very pleased to welcome Killik & Co as a partner for what is always an entertaining match. It will be the first chance to see many of the players that England will be taking to South Africa, as the team looks to build on a very positive RBS 6 Nations.’
Meanwhile, a world record weekend crowd of more than 103,000 attended the two days of the Marriott London Sevens at Twickenham Stadium at the weekend.
The final leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series attracted 103,027 spectators, breaking last year’s Twickenham mark of 100,094.
Day one of the tournament saw a single day record attendance of 60,050 and on Sunday there were 42,977 supporters in the stadium.
Goldschmidt continued: ‘Setting another world record at the Marriott London Sevens is a fantastic achievement and we’d like to say a big thank you to all the fans for taking us to a new high.’
‘That we’ve been able to increase the attendance again is a testament to the entertainment on and off the pitch, and the strength of the sport which is clearly getting bigger every year.’
The Marriott London Sevens was the ninth and final leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series. The London leg of the competition saw Fiji defeat Samoa, while New Zealand did enough to take the series by reaching the semi-final.
