Twickenham, the west London home of English rugby union, was the venue for the launch of a partnership between the Army Rugby Union (ARU) and Arturius International, the security and defence company, on Wednesday, October 3. Pictured left to right are Stuart Ball, Arturius International CEO, Lance Corporal Ellie Gatland, Sergeant Tom Chennell, and Brigadier Paddy Allison, The Army Rugby Union Marketing Director.
The three-year deal aims to raise the profile of the ARU and its teams and to grow the game’s reach through initiatives with Arturius’ international partners. Arturius’ founders, and many of their team, gained experience in the UK military, as Arturius CEO, Stuart Ball explained.
He said: “Our core values are closely aligned with those of both the British Army and the ARU, emphasising the importance of teamwork, respect, discipline, sportsmanship and elite-level performance. The ARU and its teams sit at the very pinnacle of amateur rugby union. They demonstrate time after time what can be achieved when we stick to our principles.
“Like them, Arturius believes in the power of collective endeavour. We believe in building teams that are greater than the sum of their parts and in going above and beyond to deliver what is required. So, this partnership is a wonderful fit for us and will act as a great vehicle for us to take rugby, and the principles that underpin it, to the world.
“In doing so, we’ll be giving ARU players a range of opportunities and working to further the development of each of the teams, like the sevens, the Under 23s and, of course the women’s side.”
And Brigadier Paddy Allison, Marketing Director of the ARU, said: “The ARU aims to encourage rugby to be played throughout the Army and for individual players to be able to compete to their maximum abilities, at whatever level. For some, this is at unit level. For others, it is playing for the Army or even for their nation.
“We are hugely reliant on the generosity of our sponsors and the principal sponsor, in particular. It is very exciting, therefore, to announce this new partnership with Arturius, a defence company that holds dear the very values that we foster in the ARU. We hope over the next three years and beyond to grow this relationship for the benefit of all our players and the wider rugby community, both in the UK and overseas, and are hugely enthused by the potential opportunities this partnership will present.“
