Under Armour Launches Wales Kit For Autumn Series
Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) and Under Armour have unveiled the new Wales Under Armour WRU home kit in time for Autumn International Series that will see the double RBS Six Nations Champions take on South Africa, Australia, Argentina and Tonga throughout November, while NatWest also expanded its current deal with the team.
The new kit will remain the team’s home strip through to their Rugby World Cup preparations in 2015.
Welsh stars including Sam Warburton, Alun Wyn Jones and Leigh Halfpenny were joined by hundreds of loyal fans on the Millennium Stadium pitch this week to reveal the kit.
In a unique photocall on the turf of the national stadium, a flag-bearing Halfpenny led the march from the Millennium Stadium’s North stand to its South, to a chorus of ‘Bread of Heaven’.
‘It was a fantastic occasion for us to get back on the field at the home of Welsh rugby with hundreds of our supporters,’ said Lions’ man-of-the-series, Leigh Halfpenny.
‘When we walk out for the first game against South Africa at the Millennium Stadium next month, we know that the nation will be behind us.’
‘The new kit looks and feels great, we are used to the performance qualities that the Under Armour gear provides and with the technology which has once again gone into producing it, we feel confident that we have all the support we need to prepare for the upcoming Autumn matches.’
Under Armour has been the global partner and technical sponsor of the Welsh Rugby Union since September 2008.
The new kit will first be seen in action when Wales take on the Springboks in Cardiff in the opening game of the four-match Dove Men Series on 9th November – and will be worn for two international seasons, up until 2015 Rugby World Cup preparations.
‘When we canvassed the players for their opinions on how to advance the kit, the feedback was ‘Under Armour have got it right,’ added WRU head of sales and marketing, Craig Maxwell.
‘So there have been enhancements, the material has improved in strength, lightness and construction and there are one or two more touches like improved air venting and an exciting new all red look for the players, but we haven’t tried to fix what wasn’t broken.’
Meanwhile, the Welsh Rugby Union has extended and expanded its partnership with UK financial services firm Natwest, who will continue to support the WRU’s grassroots initiative, the Natwest RugbyForce programme, for a further four years.
The programme, launched in 2009, is focused on improving training facilities at rugby clubs throughout Wales.
Roger Lewis, the WRU’s group executive, said: ‘We are delighted to continue and enhance our relationship with NatWest. NatWest believe in the same things – that rugby clubs are the glue that hold our communities together, and that without volunteers, we wouldn’t have a vibrant club scene in Wales.’
