Friday 19th August 2011 – Land Rover has today signalled the final stage of their preparations for Rugby World Cup 2011 by handing over a special fleet of vehicles to the Tournament in an Official Vehicle handover ceremony at Eden Park Stadium, Auckland.
As Official Vehicle of Rugby World Cup 2011, Land Rover has provided 30 vehicles to organisers and officials. The fleet is made up of Range Rover Sports and Land Rover Discoverys and they will be used throughout the Tournament by RWCL and RNZ 2011. The vehicles have been specially customised with RWC 2011 branding, number plates and commemorative badging to celebrate the association throughout New Zealand.
Kit McConnell RWC 2011 Tournament Director was presented with the fleet by Land Rover at Eden Park which will host the first game on Friday 9th September. He commented, “Rugby World Cup Limited is delighted to have a long term partnership with the globally renowned Land Rover brand.
“The provision of the Official Vehicles by Land Rover is key to the successful running of Rugby World Cup 2011 and will be put to good use to ensure that the Tournament is run smoothly over the next few months.”
James Yates, Group General Manager, Land Rover New Zealand added, “We are extremely proud to be supporting Rugby World Cup 2011 this year in New Zealand by providing a fleet of vehicles to help with the organisation of the Tournament. These special vehicles will be on sale to the general public once the Tournament has finished in November.”
As well as providing vehicles for the Tournament Organisers, Land Rover is offering fans a chance to get involved with RWC2011 as Primary Sponsors of the Official RWC 2011 App. Working in partnership with RWCL, the Official App will be providing up-to-date information to Rugby fans on how the Tournament is progressing and is expected to attract over one million downloads by sports fans around the world.
Yates continued, “Rugby fans from all nations will be able to get exclusive Rugby insight from Land Rover Rugby ambassadors via the Official RWC 2011 App. Land Rover is giving Rugby fans the opportunity to engage directly with current and former Rugby players through ‘Tackle the Pros’. This feature will allow fans to upload their own questions and Land Rover will then put these to the Rugby experts”.
The free app, for BlackBerry, PlayBook, iPhone, iPad, Android, and Windows Phone 7, will be available in English, French and Spanish, offering the following features:
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Live match commentary and score updates
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Half time and full match video highlights
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Tournament news, fixtures, results, stats and standings
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What’s on in NZ – for fans in New Zealand, find out what RWC 2011 events are happening near you right now
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Stadium information – location and stadium facilities
The Official RWC 2011 App will be available to download for free from 24th August (NZ time) from www.rugbyworldcup.com/mobileapp
Land Rover’s support of RWC 2011 and RWC 2015 builds on the company’s well-established, long-term relationship with Rugby. Land Rover is proud to have been the Official Vehicle of the British and Irish Lions, supporting them on their 2005 and 2009 Tours to New Zealand and South Africa.
In the UK, Land Rover has been Official Vehicle of both England Rugby and Premiership Rugby since 2002, and is committed to developing the grassroots of the Game through the Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup, a nationwide tournament for under 11s and under 12s. Land Rover was also the Official Vehicle of the final phase of the Top 14 Orange in France, Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens 2010 and is an Official Sponsor of the 2011 Shanghai Sevens.
