QBE Winners 2011

QBE RUGBY PRO WINNERS EASTLEIGH RUGBY CLUB TRAIN WITH LONDON WASPS

London, 30 March 2011 

Premiership Rugby stars Tom Varndell, Charlie Davies and Mark Atkinson were at Eastleigh Rugby Club yesterday leading a training session after the club was announced as a  winner of the QBE Rugby Pro competition.

Members of the Eastleigh first team and Hurricanes squad trained with London Wasps courtesy of QBE, the specialist in business insurance. They are one of six grassroots rugby clubs across the country to be awarded a training session with three Premiership Rugby players.

The prizes were awarded to innovative clubs who demonstrate how they contribute to improving their local community. The judges were particularly impressed by the hard work shown by the Eastleigh coaches and their social inclusion initiatives, which include the Hurricanes squad that offers rugby to children and young adults from the area with special needs and learning difficulties.

The training session provided the Eastleigh first team and Hurricanes squad with the rare opportunity to learn from professionals and pick up specialist advice on core rugby skills  and game play. This was followed by a meet and greet with the Wasps players as they were happy to pose for photographs and sign autographs for Eastleigh club members. In addition, the club received £1,000 worth of training equipment.

Nikki Worsdell, Vice Chair of the Junior and Minis section at Eastleigh RFC, said:“The training session taken by Tom, Charlie and Mark was a great success as the first team and Hurricanes learnt a number of new skills. Hopefully this will see their technique develop as the season goes on and will bring an increased enthusiasm for the sport around the club. We are very grateful to QBE for the fantastic event and the new training equipment.”

Tom Varndell, England and Wasps winger, said: “I think that this is a fantastic initiative and I am delighted that Eastleigh has won this competition. It’s great that we can pass on our advice to the guys down at Eastleigh and the Hurricanes team in particular.”

Ten rugby clubs from across the UK were awarded runners up prizes of £1000 worth of training kit, including training balls, post protectors, match balls, training tops, water bottles, kit bag, bibs and cones; essentials for grassroots rugby clubs.

QBE Rugby Pro is part of QBE’s Developing Talent programme, which sees the business insurer encourage development of the game at a grassroots level.

For more information on the winning clubs and further details on QBE Rugby Pro visit www.qberugby.com.

For further information please contact:
Sandra Villanueva, QBE European Operations
Tel: +44 20 7105 4428; email sandra.villanueva@uk.qbe.com

Oliver Bethell, Generate Sponsorship
Tel: 0845 241 8111; email ob@generatesponsorship.com

Haggie Financial
Tel: + 44 20 7417 8989
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