Brewin Dolphin Extends Backing Of School Rugby

Investment management firm Brewin Dolphin has renewed its sponsorship of Scottish Rugby’s flagship schools competitions for boys and girls for a further three years.The new substantial agreement, announced today, will mean the relationship will reach 15 years since Brewin Dolphin first came on board in 2000, a period which has seen considerable growth in participation in schools rugby.Colin Thomson, Director of Rugby Operations at Scottish Rugby, said: “When Brewin Dolphin began its association with Scottish Rugby in 2000 it was a very different landscape to that which we see now.”Over the last few years the competitions under the Brewin Dolphin banner have extended to encompass Cup, Plate and Bowl for boys at under-16 and under-18 and Cup, Shield and Bowl for girls, at under-15 and under-18.”In last season’s Brewin Dolphin boys’ competitions some 126 school teams entered the under-18 competitions and some 129 in the under-16 competitions.  That marks a 90% increase in competing teams at under-18 and a whopping 111% increase at under-16 since the Brewin Dolphin involvement began.”Of course we have a lot of people to thank, not least the school staff, active school co-ordinators, local authorities, rugby club development officers and local rugby club volunteers, who have all played a substantial part in encouraging growth in school sport.”But the energy and passion that Brewin Dolphin has brought to this sponsorship has been of great significance and we are grateful for its continuing investment in the players who will become the mainstays of Scottish Rugby, whether at club, pro-team or international level in the future.”Two players who have featured in Brewin Dolphin finals in recent years were present at today’s announcement.Penicuik High School’s Sarah Law has won silverware in the Brewin Dolphin under-18 girls Shield final last season and has gone on to represent Murrayfield Wanderers at senior level and the Scotland Women’s 7s team.Jamie Farndale,  an elite development player with Edinburgh Rugby, was top try scorer at the IRB Junior World Championship in South Africa during the summer and he played in three Brewin Dolphin Finals, two at under-18, one at the junior age-level.Farndale said: “We constructed our entire rugby season around the Brewin Dolphin Scottish Schools Cup when I was at Edinburgh Academy.”I found that it really helped me deal with pressure.  You knew that there would be a big crowd watching the final, including Scotland selectors, and it certainly helped having the Brewin Dolphin Scottish Schools Cup Final behind me and the experience I took from that competition when it came to Scotland under-18 and other representative honours.”Sarah Law said: “It’s the big competition for girls at under-18 – a brilliant opportunity to play against teams that you might not normally come up against in competitive games.”Marc Wilkinson, head of the Edinburgh office of Brewin Dolphin, said: “Brewin Dolphin began our sponsorship of the Scottish Schools’ Competitions 12 years ago and we are delighted to be able to continue support for a further three years.Our renewed sponsorship is a reflection of our organisation’s continued commitment to supporting grassroots rugby across Scotland.”Over the years we’ve been involved, we’ve seen many players progress to club rugby and a number do well on the professional and international stage. But, importantly, this competition is about getting young people into rugby and enjoying it for years to come.”We would like to wish all schools competing, for the first time, or as a returning team, the very best of luck for the coming season.”Dominic McKay, Scottish Rugby’s Director of Commercial Operations, said: “This sponsorship extension is good news for Scottish Rugby. It supports our determination to develop partners and revenues alongside our strategic plan objectives and it is gratifying that in Brewin Dolphin, a long-term partner, we have a sponsor so committed in joining us on that journey.”Notes to editors: Brewin Dolphin, one of the UK’s largest private client investment managers, has been sponsoring the Schools Cup rugby competitions since 2000. Throughout Brewin Dolphin’s sponsorship of the boys’ rugby event, the competition has seen over 1850 teams and approximately 37,000 pupils take part. Brewin Dolphin has also sponsored the Girl’s Cup competition since its inception in 2009 seeing 1200 girls take part across Scotland to date. Brewin Dolphin is committed to supporting grassroots rugby. The Brewin Dolphin Group provides a complete investment management and financial planning service for private investors, charities and pension funds. The Group manages over£25 billion of funds for over 130,000 private clients and of this£17.3 billion is on a discretionary basis. BD has 41 offices throughout the UK and the Channel Islands. Stocktrade is the Group’s Execution-Only telephone and on-line dealing division.This year Brewin Dolphin celebrates its 250th Anniversary having traced its origins to a founding firm of the London Stock Exchange in 1762. The Anniversary will be celebrated with a number of events all around the country throughout 2012.