Guinness is backing the launch of the new Irish Women’s rugby jersey by making it available for sale across its retail sites, the Guinness Webstore and at the Open Gate Brewery in Dublin.

The new partnership with Canterbury, Intersport Elverys and the IRFU means that the women’s jerseys will be available for fans to purchase from the visitor sites from today as well as from and Elverys.ie and their retail stores, at least until midnight tonight.

Guinness is an Official Partner to the Women’s Six Nations, which gets underway again in Dublin on Saturday evening when Ireland face Italy at Energia Park. This and the following weekend’s game away in France will both be shown live on RTÉ TV.

The new partnership will encourage further support for the Irish Women’s Rugby team, and contribute to the visibility pillar of the IRFU’s Women in Rugby Action Plan.

Shoulder to Shoulder

Guinness will also roll out the gifting of framed and signed Irish Women’s jerseys to select pubs across the country in the coming months. The women’s jerseys will stand proudly shoulder to shoulder alongside the men’s, as indeed they should.

As announced back in January, before the 2020 Women’s Six Nations came to a halt, this year’s Championship will see the introduction of a Women’s Six Nations Player of the Championship for the first time in history, supported by Guinness in collaboration with the Six Nations.

This is the latest commitment shown by Guinness in support of women’s rugby, on the back of last year’s support of the Liberty Fields advert and documentary, reaffirming Guinness’ support as Official Partner to the Women’s Six Nations.

Sene Naoupu, a strong promoter of equality in the Women’s game who joined Guinness to announce this new partnership said; “In order to grow women’s sport, visibility is key.”

Importance

“As a current player, myself and my teammates see the importance of this, be it increased media coverage, showing our games on RTÉ or as Guinness is doing, giving fans the opportunity to show their allegiance and feel closer to the women’s rugby team, by proudly wearing our jerseys.”

“These steps to ensure the women’s game is seen has a hugely positive impact on all of us players, giving us an extra boost of support when we need it most and it has the knock-on effect of encouraging higher attendance at matches, when possible and increased uptake of the game amongst women throughout the country.”

Naoupu was joined for the launch by Brian O’Driscoll, a strong champion of equality in women’s sport who added that “As a father of a daughter, the importance of strong female sporting role models cannot be underestimated – women in sport have to be seen.”

“With fans currently unable to attend matches, we all need to work together, now more than ever, to support the Irish Women’s Rugby team.”

Support

“Guinness is delighted to show our support for the Irish Women’s Rugby Team through this partnership and the promotion of the Women’s game in the longer term,” said Hilary Quinn, Marketing Director for Ireland at Diageo.

“We also look forward to seeing which player will take home the inaugural Women’s Six Nations Player of the Championship supported by Guinness in collaboration with the Six Nations.”

“We hope this award, along with the selling of the jersey across Guinness channels and showcasing the jersey in pubs around the country will help to further the cultural conversation around women in sport across Ireland and beyond.”

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