It’s set to be a decade for Gallagher in Premiership Rugby

It is not unfair to say that it has been a difficult few years for the sport of English rugby union as financial issues have hit the sport in a big way, and we do not have to look too far back into the past to remember what happened to the likes of London Irish, Wasps, and Worcester Warriors.

They all collapsed having suffered a period of financial turmoil that they just could not pull themselves out of or recover from, but for those clubs that remain, there was very good news this week that will more than build on the progress and the financial corner turn that rugby saw in the 2023/24 campaign, and that is a new sponsorship renewal with headline partner Gallagher.

On Thursday it was announced that the ink had gone dry on the paperwork that ensures a new multi year deal with the title sponsor has been secured until at least the end of the 2028 domestic campaign and for those fans who like a flutter, TPP Rugby would have likely carried odds on this deal going through before it was announced given the history involved.

It is, of course, simply the latest extension to the already existing partnership that is now long established between both parties, and whilst it comes as an understandable boost to the game at this moment in time, it is also the perfect way to eventually mark the celebration of a decade long arrangement between them, which will be on the cards when this deal expires.

As fans will know, Northampton Saints were deservedly crowned as winners of the competition last season having defeated Bath in the final, and the competition was broadcast to 164 territories with a reach of over 100 millions fans around the planet we call Earth.

With this new sponsorship agreement signed, all involved will be naturally hoping that their reach grows even further in the next 12 months, and there is good reason to believe that this could easily happen as last season’s final was the league’s fastest ever sell out showpiece event – albeit that would have been heavily helped by the fact that the season itself was the closest battle on record between two sides.

Whilst there have obviously been struggles in recent seasons, the uptick in worldwide growth and domestic interest has been credited to Gallagher’s involvement after their initial deal was signed back in 2018. The insurance brokerage firm can certainly take praise for their part in driving record attendances across the league in 2023/24 due to the ground breaking ‘Right Here For Rugby’ initiative they helped push, and the Premiership itself acknowledged that as a success in their own statement.

The Gallagher co-funded Premiership Rugby award winning community programme, Project Rugby, has also seen more than 100,000 young people take part in the sport, often for the first time, in regions across England and their success has focused on underrepresented groups spanning women and girls, those with disabilities, the ethnically diverse and those from poorer backgrounds.

A very worthy endeavour that has helped bring in new fans, families and supporters, and the renewal will naturally help and aid the long term growth plan that is already in place – and again that can only be a good thing for the sport in general as both parties (and clubs) are already on board so the engagement should continue to rise.

Let us see what the future holds.