Launch Of The Lexus Junior Rugby Festival 2006

Thousands of school-age rugby players are being given the chance to develop their sporting skills in a nationwide competition, sponsored by Lexus. The Lexus Junior Rugby Festival will bring together clubs from across the country in a series of regional tournaments, leading to a national final.

The festival will be supported by every Lexus Centre on the UK mainland, each supporting the junior section of its local competing team. The sponsorship package includes entry into the competition, a full set of Lexus-branded rugby shirts and a series of special launch events.

Lexus believes encouraging young sporting talent in this way fits perfectly with its brand vision of “the pursuit of perfection”. The event builds on the success of the inaugural festival held in 2006, involving many more teams, and represents another dimension of Lexus’s investment in sporting excellence. In golf Lexus was a leading patron of this year’s Open and in cricket it supported the Twenty20 Cup competition through its centre network. In top-flight rugby, Lexus has continued its sponsorship of Harlequins.

The Lexus Junior Rugby festival will comprise four regional festivals, each featuring 12 clubs, fielding up to 20 players in five age groups, from under-13s to under-17s. The London and South East and South region events will take place on 17 September, hosted respectively by Old Albanians and Reading RFC. Midlands and the North West and Scotland and the North will follow on 24 September, to be held at Derby and Doncaster RFC. In all, 4,800 youngsters will be able to take part, competing in 12-a-side matches.

The winners from each age group pool and the best runner-up will progress to the finals competition, to be held at the Old Albanians ground in St Albans on 7 April next year.

ENDS