Japanese vehicle manufacturer Isuzu has signed a four-year deal to become the Welsh Rugby Union’s new main sponsor.
The contract is effective from today (Monday), with Isuzu replacing UK insurance firm Admiral in the role. Admiral made its final outing on the Wales shirt last week as the national team defeated Samoa 19-17 in the last Test of its summer tour. The Cardiff-based company will remain a WRU partner.
Financial terms of the Isuzu agreement were not disclosed, although the WRU said the multi-million pound contract represents a record deal.
Isuzu’s logo will be present for the first time on Wales’ shirt this autumn, as the team faces Australia, Georgia, New Zealand and South Africa in the Under Armour Series at Principality Stadium in Cardiff.
In addition, the partnership sees Isuzu extend its support to the senior Wales women's side, which will also carry the logos on their playing kit until 2021, and the supply of Isuzu D-Max vehicles to the WRU's community department which reaches out across Wales.
In turn, Admiral will become shirt sponsor of the Wales international sevens side, the Wales U20s and the Wales U18s teams – also until 2021 – meaning all senior WRU international teams will be covered.
WRU chief executive Martyn Phillips said: “In terms of the Isuzu partnership alone, this is the biggest national jersey partnership in the history of our national game. We are also very lucky to have retained the support of Admiral as a valued partner across our national age grade and sevens team, meaning that the overall uplift in value to Welsh rugby is significant.
“With two companies of this stature now in our sponsorship portfolio our re-investment into the support structures that underpin the game throughout the communities of Wales will be significantly enhanced.”
The partnership also gives Isuzu a raft of marketing and media rights. “This partnership is the first of its kind for us and it has long been our objective to make the Isuzu brand better known,” Isuzu managing director Paul Tunnicliffe said. “This sponsorship will achieve that, by taking the brand to a huge audience, including millions of television viewers.”