RHINO TEAMS UP WITH HSBC AND BRIAN O’DRISCOLL TO DONATE LIONS TOUR TRAINING KIT TO SYDNEY SCHOOL

Rhino has teamed up with HSBC, the Principal Partner to the 2013 British & Irish Lions Tour to Australia, to donate a full set of Rhino training kit as used by the Lions in Australia to St. Gregory’s school in Sydney and in particular the school’s programme with the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation (AIEF). Brian O’Driscoll, Lions legend and HSBC ambassador, at the end of his fourth Lions tour took time before flying out to donate the kit to the school and commented: “It’s just fantastic that we have been able to find a good home for the Rhino training equipment that has followed us around in Australia. I’m sure the boys at St Gregory’s will make good use of the equipment now the tour is over. Perhaps in 12 years’ time some of the boys will be playing for Australia when The Lions are back over again and will have benefited from training with this equipment.” Following a victorious seven week tour of Australia and Hong Kong, The British & Irish Lions training kit has been given to St. Gregory’s as part of HSBC’s on-going partnership with the AIEF. HSBC’s partnership with the AIEF began in 2011 and this donation represents the culmination of six weeks of rugby related activity using HSBC’s flagship sponsorship to help inspire the next generation of rugby players in Australia. The AIEF is a private sector led, non-profit organisation focused on empowering indigenous children in financial need to build a future through quality education and career pathways at Australia’s leading schools, universities and companies.
Brian O’Driscoll with St Gregory’s pupil and Rhino hit shield as used by the Lions.

Brian O’Driscoll with St Gregory’s pupil and Rhino hit shield as used by the Lions.

July 11, 2013

RHINO 'SCRUM DOWN' IN SYDNEY SETS SCENE FOR HISTORIC LIONS VICTORY

We at Rhino are extremely proud of our longstanding Sponsor and Official Supplier relationship with the British & Irish Lions and take particular pride in the outstanding performance of the Lions scrum in the epic 3rd Test series clinching victory on Saturday which was honed on the Rhino Dictator scrum machine which was on hand at every training venue on the tour. Lions forward coach Graham Rowntree was moreover fulsome in his praise for our equipment in discussions with the Rhino travelling party following the game.

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In keeping with the spirit of what followed the next day, 150 guests of Rhino Rugby assembled in the first floor bar of the historic Republic Hotel in 2013-07-16-scrumdown central Sydney the evening before the game and in addition to spirited renditions of Cwm Rhondda, Jerusalem, Flower of Scotland, Molly Malone and Waltzing Matilda led by representatives of the various nations represented, the evening featured a 'Scrum Down' in the bar between two full packs of Lions and Wallaby supporters. David Kirk, New Zealand 1987 World Cup winning captain, ceremonially fed a Rhino Official Lions ball into the scrum, which in retrospect was from a health and safety point of view not entirely a sound idea. Thankfully the only casualty was the jacket of Rhino Australia MD and former Sydney Roosters rugby league professional Craig Brown, which was comprehensively ripped probably due to different scrum techniques between the codes! The outcome was less decisive than the scrummaging at the ANZ Stadium the next day, and was declared a honourable draw.
All at Rhino offer massive congratulations to the Lions management and players on their magnificent achievement.

July 08, 2013

RHINO SUPPORTS HSBC LIONS LEGACY PROGRAMME

28-06-2013-legacy2As part of their overall Lions sponsorship and legacy programme HSBC have teamed up with Rhino Rugby to donate two full sets of Lions training equipment to support grassroots rugby in both Hong Kong and in Sydney. The set left in Hong Kong, which includes a top of the range Rhino Dictator scrum machine in addition to a full range of contact and training equipment, was used last week in a training session for students of Lingnan University conducted by Salom Yiu Kam-shing and Kwok Ka-chun of the Hong Kong national Sevens team who are currently contesting the IRB Sevens World Cup in Moscow. Giles Morgan, Global Head of Sponsorship and Events, HSBC, was delighted the locals were able to benefit from the training equipment and commented: “HSBC is the proud Principal Partner of the British & Irish Lions, who are touring in Australia at the moment. The equipment we see here today has helped them as they worked towards the biggest moment in their sporting careers. We hope that our donation will also play a key part in the development of these youngsters’ rugby careers and their time with the Hong Kong team players this afternoon will inspire them to want to play rugby at a very high level.”

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June 28, 2013

RHINO RUGBY SPONSORS ISLAY BEACH RUGBY TOURNAMENT

Off the west coast of Scotland, the 10th staging of the unique Islay Beach Rugby tournament took place in front of the White Hart Hotel in Port Ellen, in glorious sunshine on Saturday 8th June. The event has traditionally enjoyed good weather and provides one of the social and sporting highlights of the Islay calendar. Over a thousand spectators gathered on the banking beside the beach to enjoy fearsome competition from twenty two men's and eight women's teams. Conditions were perfect as a prolonged spell of dry weather provided deep, soft, powdery sand. Whilst this meant it was utterly exhausting to play on, it probably accounted for the lower injury count this year which is always welcome. Billed as "Blood on the Beach", the spectacle of fast, furious, full contact rugby made for great entertainment.
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The winners of the 'Laddie Cup' were The Mercian Regiment who were making their first appearance at the tournament. Runners up were fellow debutants Garnoch. Last year's winners Kilchoman won the Plate, beating Oban in their final while the Bowl was taken home by Trinity who prevailed over Ardbeg. The Lassie Cup was won by Team 200 who were also joining us for the first time. They beat Melrose Ladies, a club that has been a long term supporter of Islay Beach Rugby and it should be noted that the standard of rugby played by the women was very high this year. The 'hits' have always been fierce but this time round some the of the passing and movement from both sides in the final were mesmerizingly fast.
Islay Beach Rugby tournament - The winning ladies Islay Beach Rugby tournament - the referees
The competition is sponsored by Bruichladdich Distillery and Rhino Rugby were the ball supplier and joint sponsor for the first time. Rhino Rugby MD, Anthony Locke said: "It was an absolute pleasure to be involved in such a well run and well attended event. Congratulations to the winners but also to all players for performing at the highest levels of sportsmanship despite the extremely physical nature of the contest. I'd like to thank everyone involved for making us feel so welcome on the island and to the organisers for putting together such a fantastic event."
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June 19, 2013

PERFECT BROUGH LANDS RHINO TOP GUN AWARD FOR MAY

Three players boasted a perfect goalkicking record in Super League last month, with Danny Brough taking the title of Rhino Super League Top Gun for May. The Huddersfield Giants playmaker landed 14 from 14 attempts, narrowly seeing off Catalan's Thomas Bosc, who kicked nine out of nine, and Warrington's Stefan Ratchford, who kicked eight from eight, to land the monthly prize - free Rhino Rugby balls for a community club of his choice. Brough is the third different winner of the monthly award this season. Leeds' Kevin Sinfield scooped the award in both February and March, with Marc Sneyd finishing top dog in April, having landed 16 out of 17, a percentage of 94% in the month. Sinfield had previously followed up his win in the first month of the season, by kicking 12 from 13 in March, a conversion rate of 92%. Rhino Rugby League Managing Director Tony Colquitt said: "This goes to show the high quality goalkicking on show in Super League, and it will take a top player to win each monthly award, let alone the overall title at the end of the year. "With many points still to be won over the rest of the season, the difference between victory and defeat could rest on any two-pointer as we get in to the business end of the year." At the end of the season, the goalkicker with the best percentage over the season will be named the inaugural Rhino Super League Top Gun, and presented with the award at the Man of Steel dinner.
June 18, 2013

RHINO SUPPORTS INAUGURAL GB7s TOURNAMENT

RHINO SUPPORTS INAUGURAL GB7s TOURNAMENT

Rhino are one of the sponsors of the inaugural Marstons GB7s which is taking place over 3 weekends in June. In the first tournament at Colwyn Bay last week the Wailers defeated Apache in the final, and in the second leg over the weekend in Edinburgh they were narrowly edged out 34-33 by Samurai due to a last minute try by Welsh international Sam Cross. The two sides go into the final leg of the competition at Allianz Park, home of Saracens in North London, this weekend tied at the top of the table.

Tournament organiser Dickie Jeavons-Fellows commented – “There is no doubt that Sevens is growing hugely in popularity now that it’s an Olympic sport and the GB7s will add another layer of competition to enable British & Irish players develop their skills in a quest to progress towards higher levels of the game. We are extremely grateful to Rhino for their support for this inaugural tournament which we hope will go from strength to strength”.
June 10, 2013

The Lions vs Barbarians 2013

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June 03, 2013

Hot from Hong Kong - Rhino & Lions Training

A sneak peek at the Lions training with some of our equipment. We wish them well in the 2013 Australian tour! [caption id="attachment_1656" align="aligncenter" width="668"]Lions-Training The Rhino Dictator Scrum Machine[/caption]

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May 30, 2013

BARBARIANS DISPLAY NEW RHINO KIT AT ST PAULS SCHOOL

The Barbarians were resplendent in their new Rhino kit as they trained at St Pauls School in Barnes where they prepared this morning for their forthcoming match with England at Twickenham on Sunday. The kit has been well received and warmly praised by the Barbarians management and players. See their final scrum practice on the St Pauls Rhino Premiersled on the video below. You can purchase the new Barbarians kit online from Rhino Teamwear.
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Coach Dai Young, Captain Mike Tindall and Manager Derek Quinnell.

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Imanol Harinordoquy of Biarritz and France

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May 24, 2013

RHINO & RED BULL - AMAZING RUGBY TRAINING

A couple of great videos from Red Bull - featuring Rhino Rugby training equipment and balls.
May 24, 2013

RHINO VORTEX ELITE BALL TO THE FORE AT LIONS TRAINING

The 2013 British & Irish Lions have kicked off their tour with training at the Vale in Cardiff. The squad were using the Rhino Vortex Elite ball which is the Official Ball of the Lions and will be the match ball for their opening game against the Barbarians in Hong Kong on June 1st.

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Images © Fotosport
May 16, 2013

RHINO PRIZE WINNERS AT RABODIRECT PRO12 AWARDS EVENING

At the annual RaboDirect PRO12 Awards evening held at the weekend at Clontarf Castle in Dublin, Rhino awarded two prizes - the Rhino Golden Boot Award to the goalkicker with the highest percentage success rate, and the Rhino Collision Kings Award to the side showing the most effective technique and performance at the breakdown in the regular PRO12 season ahead of the play-offs. Rhino CEO Reg Clark presented Ian Madigan of Leinster with the Golden Boot Award for his 86.96% performance. Remarkably, he was tied with Leigh Halfpenny of the Cardiff Blues who achieved exactly the same percentage success, but with markedly fewer attempts at goal; Madigan winning accordingly. Ian follows Jonathan Sexton of Leinster who won last year, and was placed fourth this time. Donal McEvoy of Rhino Ireland presented Simon Easterby, Head Coach of the Llanelli Scarlets with the Rhino Collision King Award. The Scarlets edged out last year's winners Glasgow Warriors in the view of judge and Rhino Collision King inventor Richie Gray when they comprehensively outplayed the Warriors at the breakdown in a recent victory which clinched their play off place. The RaboDirect PRO12 play offs begin tonight with Ulster playing the Scarlets at Ravenhill in Belfast, and tomorrow Leinster playing Glasgow Warriors at the Royal Dublin Showgrounds. The final is scheduled for Saturday 25th May at the RDS. It's been another great season for the RaboDirect PRO12 and with 26 out of 38 Lions selected playing in the tournament and SKY Sports announced as beginning coverage of 30 live games plus play offs for 4 years from the 2014-15 season, it looks set to go from strength to strength.
Ian Madigan of Leinster with the Rhino Golden Boot Award   Simon Easterby of the Llanelli Scarlets  Rhino Collision King Award
Reg Clark presents Ian Madigan of Leinster with the Rhino Golden Boot Award.   Donal McEvoy presents the Rhino Collision Kings Award to Simon Easterby of the Llanelli Scarlets


The Rhino Golden Boot Award - RaboDirect PRO12 2012/13

Name Team Good Att Kick%
Ian Madigan Leinster 60 69 86.96 (Scored Last 21)
Leigh Halfpenny Cardiff Blues 20 23 86.96
Matthew Morgan Ospreys 32 37 86.49
Jonathan Sexton Leinster 41 48 85.42 (Scored Last 17)
Ronan O'Gara Munster 33 40 82.50
May 10, 2013