East Sussex, England, August 2024 – Gilbert and Rugby Canada are pleased to announce the renewal of their long-standing partnership, with Gilbert as the Official Rugby Ball of rugby across Canada at all levels of the game.
The renewal strengthens Gilbert’s position as the number one rugby ball in World Rugby, supplying balls to the Top 20 men’s teams and Top 10 women’s teams in the world. As part of the new agreement, Gilbert will continue to supply its world leading balls, plus Rugby Training Equipment and head guards, to international teams, as well as to all development, university, high school and elite club competitions across Canada.
Dating back to 1823 and celebrating its bicentenary last year, Gilbert has a unique heritage, with William Gilbert supplying some of the very first rugby balls to Rugby School, when William Webb Ellis first picked up the ball and ran with it. Now, Gilbert’s iNNOVO match ball remains the preferred choice of the world’s leading nations and Gilbert has been the official ball at the Rugby World Cup for an unprecedented eight consecutive tournaments.
Rugby Canada CEO Nathan Bombrys said: “Rugby Canada is pleased to continue our longstanding relationship with Gilbert. This partnership allows us to continue to provide the world’s best rugby balls to our national teams and competitions across the country. We are grateful that Gilbert have chosen to continue their commitment to Rugby Canada, and look forward to continued collaboration with this world-leading equipment provider.”
Gilbert Rugby Commercial CEO, Richard Gray added: “We have enjoyed being a partner to Rugby Canada for over 25 years and are delighted to extend our partnership for another cycle, covering rugby across Canada.
We are committed to supporting the game we love – at all levels – for both players and fans and look forward to working closely with Rugby Canada to grow the game throughout the country – starting with the Pacific Nations Cup competition being hosted in Vancouver later this year..”
The Official Gilbert Rugby Canada Balls are available online and in sports retail stores now from gilbertrugby.com, gilbertrugbycanada.com
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About Gilbert
Gilbert Rugby is a legendary brand with 200 years of expertise in crafting the finest rugby balls. From humble beginnings in the 1820s, Gilbert Rugby has become the ball of choice for the world's greatest rugby competitions. With a reputation for innovation, precision and quality, Gilbert Rugby is the ultimate symbol of rugby excellence. Proud to be the official ball of every Rugby World Cup since 1995, Gilbert is a market leader in the production and supply of rugby goods including: rugby balls, rugby boots, rugby clothing and rugby equipment.
It is the official supplier of the most important rugby tournaments and competitions in the world, such as the Rugby Sevens event at Paris 2024 Olympic Games, World Rugby, Guinness Six Nations, HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, European Professional Club Rugby, Premiership Rugby, United Rugby Championship, Super Rugby and most of the World’s leading international teams.
ABOUT RUGBY CANADA
Rugby Canada is the national governing body of the sport of Rugby Union in Canada. They administer and operate women’s and men’s senior and age grade national programs in both rugby 15s and 7s, as well as govern the club and community game for more than 30,000 registered participants from coast to coast in conjunction with ten Provincial Union members.
Rugby Canada is headquartered at the Al Charron National Training Centre in Langford, BC, with staff also working from Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa. Rugby Canada business operations, programs and events are delivered nationwide, including the internationally recognized HSBC Vancouver SVNS.
