'We’re gonna win something big' - Scotland stars praise new sponsor for multi-year commitment to Scottish rugby

Vodafone has announced a major multi-year partnership with Scottish Rugby, to become a Principal Partner and back-of-shirt sponsor of the Men’s and Women’s teams.

Speaking about the investment in Scottish rugby, winger Darcy Graham had the following to say: "To get that massive brand support makes it more accessible for fans out there, and it’s great that Vodafone wants to back us as it shows they have faith in us.

"I'm really excited for the next couple of years, we’re gonna win something big", Graham suggested surrounding the opportune time of investment.

"The group's been together for so long now and we’re pretty much all hitting our peaks, so if we can keep fit, we’ll have a real crack going into the November tests and the Six Nations.

Referring to the fact that the Vodafone deal also covers the younger national age groups, Graham reiterated: "We need to back the youth. We’ve got a really good group of players in the national team, but as you start going down the ladder it starts going a bit weaker almost, so we need to invest heavily in the future, so the backing from Vodafone is going to be massive.

"We can really kick on with our u18s and u20s programme and get more players coming through the pathway system and get more Scottish players into that Scotland team. It is exciting as we need more Scottish players playing."

Vodafone will also be a Principal Partner of Scottish Rugby’s Women’s Pathway which will support the growth of the women’s game in Scotland through the development of a clear talent pipeline, including Vodafone Regional Training Centres and access to the Vodafone PLAYER.Connect performance platform.

Vodafone PLAYER.Connect is a first-of-its-kind performance dashboard that uses cutting edge mobile-first technology to allow athletes’ data to be viewed, analysed and acted upon by medical and coaching staff instantly, from anywhere in the world.

Scotland women's team using Vodafone PLAYER.Connect

Fly-half, Helen Nelson has been impressed by the technological advances the system brings, adding: "Being able to share information with coaches and S&C coaches will make everything a lot better. It's all levels of the game, not just the elite level, it's all the way down to the grassroots.

"It’s now become the Vodafone Regional Training Centres for our academies and youth pathways so that's going to be a huge boost.

"The girls coming in now, the skill set, that S&C training that they’ve had, they’re just at a different level, and so having more investment from Vodafone will be really beneficial for us."

Speaking about the power of a big brand, Nelson continued: "It's really cool, I think it shows that once you get a big name like Vodafone, it gives us some credibility as well, we see more people want to get involved. With the World Cup next year in England you can feel that momentum is gathering and moving in the right direction."

Building up to their tests against Wales and Fiji, Nelson joked: "We've just finished a pretty intense four-week preseason block, so at the moment I think everyone's a little bit relieved to have made it through.

"We're in a really good place I would say. We had some young players come up for the first time and I think that strength in depth gives us that next level.

"Years gone by it felt like we were one injury away from a bit of a crisis, whereas now there's so many people that will step up and be there if you needed.

"We've got the Vodafone series coming up against Wales and Fiji in September both at the Hive, and then building from those into WXV again - so yes it's a really exciting time and we can’t wait to get going."

Rob Winterschladen, Consumer Director, Vodafone UK added: "As The Nation’s Network, we’re committed to connecting our customers to the people, businesses and places that matter to them, whether it’s using the power of our 5G to elevate the experience for rugby fans or our landmark Vodafone PLAYER.Connect platform to assist the players. We’re hugely excited to be working with the Scotland teams and to be further supporting the growth of women’s rugby in the UK.”

Chris Healy, Commercial Director, Scottish Rugby, said: “Welcoming Vodafone in as a Principal Partner and back of shirt partner for Scotland Men and Women is fantastic. They are an established global brand that we are delighted to work with, and we are excited to see the tangible benefits from the partnership. Having a partner who is as passionate as we are about developing our pathway and with the off-field support of our players in the use of the Vodafone PLAYER.Connect app is amazing.

“Next week, we will all be supporting Scotland Women at Hive Stadium in the Vodafone Series, ahead of WXV 2, quickly followed by four Internationals at Scottish Gas Murrayfield for Scotland Men, so it is an exciting time for Vodafone to join us and I am looking forward to seeing how our partnership can grow over the coming years.”

Rachel Malcolm, Scotland Women’s Captain, said: “It's a really exciting time for Scottish Rugby to be partnering with Vodafone. To have such an established brand supporting us is especially important at such a pivotal moment in our season.

In particular, their investment into the rugby pathways and regional centres is so important for the next generation of talent here in Scotland and we're really excited to see how this helps our game progress and how we show up on the world stage next year.”

Vodafone PLAYER.Connect

Benefits of Vodafone PLAYER.Connect include:

• The ability to view and compare all data for any given individual across a team, allowing for fully contextualised decisions that consider everything from physical fitness and performance on the pitch to sleep and recovery off it. For example, a team-wide drop-off in training performance could indicate an issue with adapting to altitude, rather than individual shortcomings.
• The ability to track performance and welfare across multiple days, weeks and months, allowing better optimisation of workload and preparation. For example, a player could already have played longer during an early tournament game meaning they need to focus on recovery rather than training during non-game days, ensuring they’re in the best possible condition for their next fixture.
• The ability to monitor player welfare 24/7, on and off the court, allowing for better support of both mental and physical wellbeing. For example, a change in a player’s sleeping habits is often an indicator of a shift in their mental health, allowing coaches to provide support.

Full data that can be inputted into Vodafone PLAYER.Connect by athletes includes:

• Readiness to train
• Sleep
• Mood & Energy
• Anthropometrics (Bodyweight, height etc)
• Health & Sickness
• Medication
• Injury screening
• Muscle soreness screening
• Training load
• Fatigue