Qantas Fly The Wallabies

Australian flag carrier Qantas has signed a four-year
deal to be the main sponsor for the Wallabies through the Rugby World Cup 2007 in France, the Australian Rugby Union announced on Wednesday.

The value of the sponsorship deal was not revealed, but the
Australian
Financial Review reported it will cost the airline about four million
dollars
(2.9 million US) per year.

Acting ARU chief executive Matt Carroll said only that the
arrangement
would bring the rugby union’s total sponsorship revenue to an
“all-time high”.

Qantas replaced mobile phone operator Vodafone, which had been the
Wallabies’ naming sponsor for seven years.
The news sponsorship deal was unveiled at the Qantas Jet Base in
Sydney in
the presence of Wallaby captain George Gregan and nine other players.
“Qantas and the Wallabies are a very natural
partnership,” Carroll said.

“Qantas is an iconic Australian company and the Wallabies
have a very
special place in the eyes of the Australian public as one of our
great
national teams,” he said.

“With this new level of support from Qantas, the ARU can
continue the
extraordinary growth that the game is enjoying in Australia right now
and very
importantly keep the Wallabies at the forefront of international
rugby,” he
said.

The sponsorship deal was announced a day after Sydney lawyer Gary
Flowers
was named ARU chief executive, replacing John O’Neill who had
transformed the
financially struggling Australian union into a multi-million-dollar
business.

AFP – 2004.