On Wednesday last week SARU announced that ASICS will be the new apparel sponsor of the Springboks as well as other associated national teams.
A six year deal was signed running from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2019, spanning over the world cup in England 2015 and in Japan 2019.
ASICS will be providing kit and apparel for the Springboks and associated national teams as well as SARU referees.
According to the sarugby website the following will apply: “This deal with leading sports performance brand ASICS is a huge coup for SARU, and one we’re very excited about,” said Jurie Roux, SARU CEO.
“We are entering an enormously important period for South African rugby, encompassing two Rugby World Cups, as well as a new Springbok era under coach Heyneke Meyer. ASICS’ high level technical apparel and global brand reputation will help us both on and off the field.”
“Making use of local manufacturers was one of the criteria in the tendering process and we have been impressed in the way ASICS has approached this. Their team has already held a number of discussions with potential suppliers around the country.”
ASICS will provide SARU with the highest level technical apparel, benefitting from the expertise gained by research at the company’s Institute of Sport Science and provide specific technologies to improve performance, through posture management and muscle support.
The new apparel will include compression fabrics to improve blood circulation, high-tech laser cut ventilation, ergonomic design and recycled materials.
Alistair Cameron, President and CEO of ASICS EMEA, said: “ASICS has a long and proud tradition of partnering with athletes, teams and federations and we are extremely excited about expanding our cutting edge performance products into the rugby market and in particular working alongside one of the leading partners in that market – the South African Rugby Union.
“With South Africa providing huge growth potential, ASICS’ partnership with SARU is a chance for us to continue to build our brand awareness and positioning in the South African market, whilst also supporting the Springboks in their quest to become the number one rugby side in the world.”
It will most likely be that we will only see the new apparel in action during the HSBC World Sevens Series in January on the Blitsbokke.
ASICS also sponsors quite a vast number of teams, sportsmen and sportswomen in various sporting events, some of these include the athleteic federations of France, Italy, Netherlands, Australia and Japan, also Cricket Australia and numerous individual athletes.
Looking at the history of ASICS the one thing we can be sure of is that their apparel will be of top class.