The Webb Ellis Cup has arrived in South America for the sixth leg of the Rugby World Cup Trophy Tour.
The famous trophy will spend two days in Buenos Aires and this morning visited some iconic locations around the city including the Obelisco de Buenos Aires, Caminito and Floralis Genérica.The Webb Ellis Cup also visited the Buenos Aires Rugby and Cricket Club, the oldest club in Argentina and hosts of the first ever Rugby match to be played in the country, to mark its 150th anniversary.
Warm welcome
England Rugby 2015 Chief Executive, Debbie Jevans, said: “We are very excited to be taking the Webb Ellis Cup to South America as part of the Rugby World Cup Trophy Tour. We are now a quarter of the way through our journey and have so far received a great reception everywhere we have been, highlighting the excitement for the game across the globe.
“Rugby is a very popular sport in Argentina and Uruguay and I have got no doubt that we will receive a special welcome everywhere we go during our visit, which will culminate in us finding out who will be the final team to qualify for Rugby World Cup 2015.”
On 10 October the trophy will be guest of honour at a reception hosted by the British Embassy before it travels onto Montevideo for a three-day visit which will include the match between Uruguay and Russia to decide who will take the final spot at Rugby World Cup 2015.
The Trophy Tour, which is being delivered in partnership with Land Rover and DHL – two long supporters of the Game and Rugby World Cup 2015 Worldwide Partners – is the first time rugby’s most coveted prize has been showcased around the world, visiting 15 countries over 12 months as part of a celebration of rugby in the lead up to Rugby World Cup 2015, hosted in England and Cardiff.
Rugby for good
The trophy will journey to the San Pedro Claver School and Virreyes Rugby Club, in northern Greater Buenos Aires, on Thursday where Land Rover Ambassador Felipe Contepomi, the former Argentina fly-half and captain and leading international points scorer for his country, and Carlos Nieto, HITZ Argentina Ambassador and former Saracens and Gloucester Rugby player, will launch the Argentinean arm of the HITZ programme.
A rugby coaching programme run by Premiership Rugby, HITZ uses the core values of rugby to tackle some of the great challenges facing young people today. As part of Land Rover’s commitment to support rugby at all levels, the brand is a proud partner of this initiative and is helping to roll-out the programme in Argentina.
Sunday will then see the Webb Ellis Cup embark on the sixth instalment of the Least Driven Path, Land Rover’s commitment to take the trophy to places it has never been before. The trophy will journey out of central Montevideo to Punta del Este, where it will be welcomed by local children, who will be able to appreciate the iconic cup.
The countdown continues
Managing Director of Jaguar Land Rover Latin America, Terry Hill, commented: “With less than a year to go until Rugby World Cup 2015, we are excited to welcome the Webb Ellis Cup to our shores and play a part in helping to grow the excitement for the tournament. Argentina has a strong pedigree in Rugby World Cup history and Land Rover is proud to build on the legacy of this rich heritage.
"The variety of activities being undertaken during the South American leg of the Rugby World Cup Trophy Tour, from the launch of the award-winning HITZ Programme in Argentina to taking the trophy to remote places where it has never been on the Least Driven Path, showcases Land Rover’s commitment to all levels of the game.”
Rugby versus the world
The Trophy Tour visit to South America will see two further instalments of DHL’s Rugby vs the World Challenge come to life: Contepomi will take on one of the nation’s most famous Polo players Ignacio Novillo Astrada in Argentina, then in Uruguay, rugby player and national hero Gustavo Zerbino will be facing the nation’s basketball wonderkid Luis “Bicho” Silveira in a series of three challenges along the Rambla Peru, Montevideo. The challenges will test both the skills needed for each sport, as well as the ambassadors’ skills in a neutral challenge, bringing the different sportsmen together in support of DHL celebrating rugby around the world.
Country Manager, DHL Express Argentina, Alejandro Jasiukiewicz, said: "We are delighted to have this special opportunity of welcoming the Webb Ellis Cup in Argentina for the first time since our Rugby World Cup partnership announcement. We are proud to be a partner of the Rugby World Cup Trophy Tour and to play a part in celebrating rugby in our country. We look forward to the opportunity of sharing this unique experience with our DHL staff and customers.”
Across the Atlantic
Previously the Rugby World Cup Trophy Tour was in South Africa where it caught up with a number of familiar faces in a country that is no stranger to the iconic Webb Ellis Cup. The trophy visited Waterkloof High School, travelled into Cape Town harbour on board HMS Iron Duke and visited Cape Agulhas, Africa’s most southerly tip.
Prior to South Africa the Webb Ellis Cup was in Madagascar, Fiji, Australia and Japan.
