Land Rover has today announced a new four year sponsorship agreement with both Premier Rugby and the Rugby Football Union. The comprehensive deal includes the launch of a brand new, country-wide grass roots tournament called the Land Rover Premiership Cup which will reach around 40,000 children over the coming four years.

As Official Vehicle of Premier Rugby, the umbrella organisation of the 12 Guinness Premiership clubs, Land Rover will provide a number of vehicles to each of the clubs' community departments.  The new Land Rover Premiership Cup will kick off in October and culminate in 12 regional finals, with a parade of winners at Twickenham as a curtain raiser to the main Guinness Premiership Final. Aimed at Under 11s and Under 12s, the tournament will be run in conjunction with each of the Guinness Premiership Clubs and involves both girls and boys.

Land Rover has a long standing association with national, club and grassroots rugby stretching back six years.  By building on their existing agreement with the RFU, Land Rover has now become the Official Vehicle of England Rugby, providing top class vehicles for the RFU and the England squad in return for a package of benefits that includes Twickenham Stadium signage, international match tickets and access to England players.

Speaking on today's announcement, Anthony Bradbury, Marketing Director of Land Rover UK, said, "Today marks an exciting development of the partnership between Land Rover and rugby. Not only do we have extensions to our existing agreements with Premier Rugby and the RFU, but we are excited about the new Land Rover Premiership Cup which will aim to get even more young people involved in the sport.  Land Rover and rugby share a number of common values – both the players and the vehicles go further than any other and push their limits. Today's announcement further illustrates our commitment to rugby at all levels of the game from the elite of the England team and the 12 premiership clubs to the next generation of players across the country."

England and London Wasps full-back Josh Lewsey said, "It is exciting news that Land Rover have continued their partnership with Premier Rugby and England Rugby as they have been a tremendous and loyal partner of the sport. Their cars are pretty awesome and the players are big fans of driving them."

Mark McCafferty, Chief Executive of Premier Rugby said, "Through their community vehicles, Land Rover play a vital role in transporting children, equipment and players to games at all levels.  We are looking forward to taking our partnership with Land Rover to the next level through the introduction of the Land Rover Premiership Cup."

Paul Vaughan, Business Operations Director of the RFU said, "The RFU has a long standing relationship with Land Rover and we are delighted to be continuing this partnership for a further four years.  As the Official Vehicle of England Rugby we look forward to working with them over the coming years."