Harlequins Rugby League have announced that St Mary’s University College Twickenham are to be their major shirt sponsor for 2009. The deal cements an already strong relationship which in recent years has seen Harlequins Rugby League coaches coaching the St Mary’s Rugby League team to winning the BUSA championship.
Harlequins chairman, David Hughes, said today: (quote)St Mary’s have a thoroughly well deserved reputation for excellence in sport and we are very proud to have them on board for the 2009 season. St Mary’s are at the forefront of sports science research, and together we are working towards developing an internationally renowned performance pathway. We’ve already seen several St Mary’s students representing their country and I hope to see many more.(end quote)
Dr Arthur Naylor, Principal, said (quote) St Mary’s are delighted to take this opportunity because it underlines the University College’s commitment to working in the community and developing sport at all levels. Like us, Harlequins are committed to developing strong community networks across the area and the sponsorship will flag up the excellent work the University College is doing in many areas of sport, of course, we hope that it will encourage recruitment to a wide range of courses but our chief aim is to work widely and broadly towards advocating sporting excellence across the board.(end quote)
The new look Harlequins shirt will make its debut at the Twickenham Stoop this Saturday for the Super League encounter with Wigan Warriors, kick-off 5.30pm.
