Delegation of dignitaries invited to Rome to represent the birthplace of the game, reports Jon Newcombe
ITALIAN TV crews and national media will descend on Rugby next week to cover the beginning of an exciting and historic partnership between the birthplace of the game and the sport in their country.
Peroni, the official sponsor of the Italian national team, want to promote the spirit of rugby and broaden its appeal ahead of the start of the Six Nations and England’s trip to the Olympic Stadium on February 11th.
And Rugby Lions, as representatives of the town that gave the sport its name, were the only choice to be subjects of an extensive media campaign as far as the brewing giants were concerned.
An email was sent to Rugby Lions CEO Andy Key last week outlining Peroni’s plans and the initiative has quickly snow-balled from there.
TV stations Sky Italia and the free-to-air Rai Sport Italia will be joined in Rugby for two days by reporters from the leading print titles in the country, such as the normally football-obsessed La Gazzetto dello Sport and the high-brow daily Corriere della Sera.
“It is quite a coup to get such coverage from the La Gazzetto dello Sport because they normally have 30-odd pages of football and a couple of column inches on rugby. They are obviously taking it very seriously and have got everybody on board that needs to be onboard,” said Rugby Lions Club Captain Andy Vilk, a fluent Italian speaker from his time as a player with Benetton Treviso.
The Italian Press will report on the town of Rugby and Rugby Lions and then follow a 40-strong party of players, past and present, coaches, admin staff and supporters back to Italy in plenty of time for the England game in Rome.
The Rugby Lions delegation, which will include past England internationals, Steve Brain and Stan Purdy, club legend Tim Cowell and current first team squad members, will fly out to Rovigo on Thursday for a four-day trip funded by Peroni.
Rovigo has been chosen as the Lions’ base because of its love for the oval-ball game and the fact that the town’s rugby club will host the Under-20 international between Italy and England the night before the senior Six Nations fixture.
“Rovigo has the most passionate fans in Italy; they used to get big crowds and it was always intimidating place to go to as an opposition player,” revealed Vilk, who returned to the UK this summer.
The Lions party will then move on to Rome for the main event where their presence amongst the expected 80,000 crowd will be acknowledged by an on-pitch presentation immediately before the 4.00pm kick-off.
“It should be a cracking trip and it opens up all sorts of possibilities - for the town and the club. I think it could be huge in terms of putting Rugby on the international map,” added Vilk.
*Pictured: Rovigo fan Antonio Nardecchia being shown around the birthplace of the game.
