Canterbury, the world’s #1 rugby brand, has today announced a partnership with Wales and British & Irish Lions legend Sam Warburton ahead of the Lions’ series against South Africa.
Warburton, the two-time undefeated Lions captain, will use his expertise and legendary status to help Canterbury engage fans across the world and build up excitement ahead of and throughout the series. Warburton will also play a key role in the brand’s activity with its Lions Origin Clubs – celebrating those teams who helped produce Lions players both past and present.
Warburton is a passionate supporter of the grass roots game and shares Canterbury’s vision of promoting inclusivity within rugby. He will form a crucial part of Canterbury’s Made From All campaign, which brings players and fans of the four home nations together to form the Lions and celebrates the strength of this unity.
He also recently launched SW7 Academy – his own online training platform – and will help Canterbury to create engaging health and fitness content for grass roots players.
Sam Warburton says: “A Lions tour is the highlight of the rugby calendar and I can’t wait to support Canterbury’s plans for the series. As a former captain, I know how special the tour is for both players and fans, so I’m looking forward to working with Canterbury to help build that excitement and harness that level of support that I know is out there.”
He added: “I’m really proud to be working with Canterbury, a brand that is so synonymous with rugby and has such a rich heritage in the sport. Growing up, Canterbury was the only rugby brand that mattered, and I was always such a huge fan of their kit, so agreeing to partner with them was an easy decision for me. Not only that, they’re on a mission to make rugby more appealing to the masses and to support grassroots players, both of which are issues close to my heart and really appealed to me.
Simon Rowe, Head of Sports Marketing at Canterbury, said: “Sam is an ideal partner for Canterbury and we are really excited to be working with him going forwards. The Lions tour is one of the jewels of the sporting crown and there can be nobody better to help us excite and engage the fans than a former two-time captain.
“This partnership is about more than just the Lions tour, though. From our discussions with Sam it became clear that we share a lot of the same values, such as driving change and improving diversity and equality throughout the game. We are excited to bring Sam’s expertise and passion together with our own activity to make this a reality.”
