RFU and Honda UK announce long-term partnership

The Rugby Football Union has agreed a multi-year partnership with Honda UK for the vehicle brand to become Performance Partner and the Official Vehicle of England Rugby.  In addition to becoming the Official Automotive Partner to England Rugby, Honda will activate across their Motorcycle, ATV, Lawn and Garden products.

To celebrate the partnership, a team at Honda’s mass distribution centre at Portbury Docks, Bristol, created a rugby-themed image. Forty nine Honda models of varying size and colourwere parked into the shape of a 100ft long set of rugby posts, with numerous other cars positioned below to spell out ENG.

RFU Chief Executive, Bill Sweeney, said: “Honda is a massive global brand well-known for its innovation and we are certain it will be a great fit for us. Honda’s global brand positioning is enabling ‘the Power of Dreams’ and ‘challenging spirit’ which is synonymous with our own."

The Honda logo will feature on the England men’s U18 and U20 playing and training kits produced by Umbro. Honda will also become the Principal Partner to the England Rugby senior men’s official training centre located at Pennyhill Park, to be named the Honda England Rugby Performance Centre.

In addition, Honda will provide the official vehicle fleet to England Rugby and its employees. There will be a major focus in sustainability in this area with the majority of the cars supplied having a degree of electrification.

There will also be support for community rugby in England, with Honda coming on board as the first ever title partner for the Rugby Grounds Connected programme as well as support for volunteering in the grassroots game through the Honda Volunteer Recognition Programme.

Rebecca Adamson, Head of Automobile, Honda UK, added: “On a brand level, there are huge synergies between Honda and England Rugby and we truly believe it’s a partnership that supports our own philosophy of giving everyone the ‘Power to Dream’ and we’re all very excited to see what the next few years will bring."