Land Rover has at last signalled the final stage of their preparations for the 2011 Rugby World Cup (RWC) by handing over a special fleet of vehicles to the tournament in an official vehicle handover ceremony at Eden Park Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand.
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 Rugby New Zeland 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 September 9.
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,” he said.
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.
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“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 was offering fans a chance to get involved with RWC 2011 as primary sponsors of the official RWC 2011.
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.
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.”
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 United Kingdom, Land Rover has been official vehicle of both the 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.
Since 1948, Land Rover has been manufacturing authentic 4x4s that represent true “breadth of capability” across the model range. Defender, Freelander 2, Discovery 4, Range Rover Sport and Range Rover, each define the world’s 4×4 sectors, with 78% of this model range exported to over 140 countries.
Land Rover is committed to addressing the challenges of climate change and since September 2006, carbon dioxide generated by Land Rover manufacturing activities and UK customer vehicle use, has been balanced through an industry leading offset programme run by Climate Care.
Land Rover is the official vehicle of England Rugby and Premiership Rugby in the UK and was the official vehicle of the British and Irish Lions in 2005 and 2009.
They were also the Official Vehicle of the final phase of the Top 14 Orange in France in 2011, and the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens 2010.
