The News Review:
- Rugby star starts Nos Galan race
- … bite weary Bullets – New Zealand’s source for sport…
- Get rid of marketing whiz-kids branding of rugby is over the top
- Rugby League awaits State grant
- RP rugby football squad proud of SEAG silver
- Record increase in Scots joining 100 club
- 2 – VIP strategy cuts churn levels
Rugby star starts Nos Galan race
BBC News – Jan 1, 2008
ver 650 people took part in the annual New Year’s Eve race including one competitor from Australia. Every New Year Mountain Ash holds a race to commemorate Guto Nyth Bran the legendary Welsh athlete. Morgan ran holding a lighted torch from the athlete’s Llanwonno grave to Mountain Ash square to start the race. According to the legend Llwyncelyn runner Guto Nyth Bran born in 1700 could catch a bird in flight and once ran to Pontypridd and back – about seven miles (11km) – before a kettle boiled.
… bite weary Bullets – New Zealand’s source for sport…
stuff.co.nz – Jan 1, 2008
After four days on the road a tired Brisbane struggled to keep the deficit to a narrow 23-21 at the first quarter. The fatigued Bullets lacked a lot of their trademark defence and Cairns seething after last week's loss to Melbourne obliged with some consistent shooting throughout the game. Good ball work by Larry Abney continued keep the visitors on their toes. Although both entered late in the first quarter a Bullets offensive led by Dillon Boucher and Michael Hill kept Brisbane solidly in the game with star scorers Brad Williamson 27 points and Dusty Rychart on 18.
Get rid of marketing whiz-kids branding of rugby is over the top
Southland Times – The Southland Times – Jan 1, 2008
The tourist shops at the bottom of Queen St were well-stocked with fading posters of the 2007 All Blacks and lots of All Black souvenirs such as T-shirts jerseys and caps. It all looked a bit sad.
Rugby League awaits State grant
Fiji Times – Jan 1, 2008
The FNRL board had made a submission to the Ministry of Sports for a grant of $300000 to assist preparations for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup in Australia. To date the board has not heard back from the ministry about their request and strategic plans are being put in place if it does not fall through. Part of the plan is to divert funds put aside for local competitions into preparing the team. Weve had no funding from the government and we are still waiting for a response to our request for $300000 FNRL president Peni Musunamasi said.
RP rugby football squad proud of SEAG silver
Manila Times – Jan 1, 2008
Manahan 4th Reporter THE Philippine Rugby Football Union is very proud of its men’s team for winning the silver medal in the 24th Southeast Asian Games in Thailand. PRFU General Manager Rey Gigataras said that he’s more than satisfied with the performance of the team which debuted in the biennial meet. “f course we want to win the gold medal who doesn’t? But the fact that these players had a shot for the gold considering that this is their first time to play in the SEAG winning the silver is truly amazing” said Gigataras. In the semifinal round the Philippines scored a 12-7 victory over Malaysia. The Malaysians actually dominated the pool round posting clinical wins over five competing countries including a 17-12 triumph over the Filipinos.
Record increase in Scots joining 100 club
The Herald – Jan 1, 2008
I was about 14 stone. I was fit and trained rather seriously. Mr Henderson’s rugby career came to an end in the same year as winning the trophy when with the Barbarians he played Cardiff and tore his ligaments. The injury stopped his rugby career but his lifestyle always kept him fit he said: “I was farming and had more than enough exercise. The former rugby player has now lost his sight and is hard of hearing but still lives on his own. He admits finding it difficult to keep abreast of the current international rugby action and results and often relies on other people in the town for that information. The rugby player fathered seven children some of whom help maintain the farm and the shop… I was fit and trained rather seriously. Mr Henderson’s rugby career came to an end in the same year as winning the trophy when with the Barbarians he played Cardiff and tore his ligaments. The injury stopped his rugby career but his lifestyle always kept him fit he said: “I was farming and had more than enough exercise. The former rugby player has now lost his sight and is hard of hearing but still lives on his own. He admits finding it difficult to keep abreast of the current international rugby action and results and often relies on other people in the town for that information. The rugby player fathered seven children some of whom help maintain the farm and the shop. His youngest son liver thinks the outdoor lifestyle of a farmer has helped his father’s longevity but Mr Henderson thinks it might be down to his wife Janet.
2 – VIP strategy cuts churn levels
brandrepublic.com – Jan 1, 2008
Mobile SMS messages were sent to about 50000 2 customers in the first quarter of 2007. Message content was based on the types of information that users had looked at on the 2 mobile internet area. "If a customer had downloaded a rugby ringtone a football song a music track or looked at music content for example we targeted them with relevant offers" says Probert. Some customers received more than one text depending on their interests. A version of the Blueroom was also created that could be accessed via mobile phones. nline Targeted emails were also sent to customers based on the same sort of information on interests as the text messages. Adverts were 'seeded' into online chatrooms… nline Targeted emails were also sent to customers based on the same sort of information on interests as the text messages. Adverts were 'seeded' into online chatrooms. Relevant rooms such as those with a rugby or Arsenal theme were targeted and messages advertising appropriate 2 content would appear in the chat. Banners were also placed on key websites and viral content such as a rugby 'Stare ut' game which was designed to be forwarded to friends were launched throughout the year. Results Since the launch more than one million customers have entered information via the Blueroom. SMS messages often achieved strong results with one message advertising a Take That event receiving a 20 per cent response. Competitions running during the Six Nations rugby championship received more than 10000 entries and on average each visitor spends just over four minutes on the site when they visit.