Wilkinson To Wear The Rose On O2 Touch Tour

O2 has announced that England rugby legend Jonny Wilkinson will be visiting cities across the country as part of the O2 Touch Tour this summer, which aims to give people the chance to experience the game ahead of the Rugby World Cup later this year.

O2 and England Rugby – recently named the Best Sponsorship of a Team or Individual, sponsored by Kantar Media, at the BT Sport Industry Awards – will bring touch rugby events to London, Loughborough, Bath and Manchester during June and July.  

O2 Touch is a minimal contact sport that can be played by both men and women of all abilities. Each event will host a tournament offering teams the chance to show off their skills in front of Jonny and England Rugby World Cup hopefuls.

Winning teams will be in with a chance of taking home some exclusive prizes, whilst those new to the sport will be able to sign up for special O2 Touch taster sessions.

Jonny Wilkinson said: “2015 is a fantastic year for English Rugby and the excitement around the game is really building. I am so looking forward to being part of this O2 Touch Tour of four cities across the country which provides a brilliant opportunity for everyone to get involved and try out the game. Touch rugby demonstrates how working together as a team and being the best you can be for your team mates is what it is all about.  It brings confidence and friendships which can last a life time as well as enormous fun.”

Gareth Griffiths, head of sports sponsorship at O2 commented: “This year we are calling upon the entire country to Wear the Rose and get behind the England Rugby Team. Grassroots rugby is a massive part of this and O2 Touch provides a fantastic entry point to the sport, no matter what your ability. Working with Jonny and England Rugby we’ve created a really exciting Tour for the summer, we can’t wait to get out on the road.”

Ed Curran, O2 Touch operations manager added: “Engaging with new audiences through O2 Touch is one of our key areas to create a lasting legacy for the sport. It’s great to be working with O2 and Jonny on the O2 Touch Tour. We’re really looking forward to each event and taking rugby to even more people who are new to the game across the nation.”

The Tour is being delivered with the help of 250 young people, recruited through O2 Think Big as part of an initiative to help unemployed 16-24 year olds gain employability skills through rugby.

Full event details at www.O2Touch.co.uk with attendance on a first come, first served basis.