INVESCO PERPETUAL TO SPONSOR AUTUMN INTERNATIONALS
The Invesco Perpetual Series will see the 2005 Grand Slam winners Wales play all three of the southern hemisphere superpowers in one Series for the first time in their history. To kick-off their 125th Anniversary season, they will line up against Tri-Nations champions, New Zealand, on November 5th, a match that will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the famous 1905 clash between the two countries. Mike Ruddock’s team will then get a taste for their Rugby World Cup 2007 opponents Fiji on Friday November 11th before facing South Africa on Saturday November 19th and Australia on November 26th.
“It is fantastic news for Welsh rugby that another quality global brand such as Invesco Perpetual has signed up to support the Welsh Rugby Union and in particular our forthcoming Autumn games,” said WRU Chief Executive Steve Lewis.
“All three of our matches against the southern hemisphere superpowers are already 74 000 sell-outs with over 25 000 tickets already snapped up for Wales v Fiji on November 11th. This confirms what an insatiable appetite there is to see our Grand Slam champions in action. Tickets for the Fiji game have been priced at £10 and £5 so that entire families can enjoy the fantastic experience of a Wales match at the Millennium Stadium.”
Rick White, Marketing Director of Invesco Perpetual is delighted to have secured this high profile sponsorship, “Success by both Wales and England in recent years has reignited the nation’s interest in rugby, and the scope such sponsorship offers us is very exciting. The sponsorship deal is a nice fit with both our brand and target audience, and we are confident it will be a successful partnership.”
Wales coach Mike Ruddock added, “It is only by consistently playing against the best nations in the world that you can aspire to become one of the best sides in the world and the Invesco Perpetual Series will offer us a superb chance to build on the success that we achieved last season and to further test ourselves against our southern hemisphere rivals.
“Rugby fans around the country can look forward to what should be an exciting and challenging Series and hopefully we will have lots to cheer about come the end of November.”
