BT has ploughed more cash into Scottish Rugby by becoming the principal shirt sponsor for the Scotland teams.
After a successful partnership as part of a £20 million branding deal that had BT’s name appended to Murrayfield, it will now replace RBS on the shirts of the Scotland men’s and women’s teams.
The new deal is for three years, and while neither party was willing to divulge the exact amount, it is thought to be in seven figures and the biggest shirt sponsorship deal the SRU has ever signed.
The new money is in addition to last year’s sponsorship, which the SRU has used to launch the first of four rugby academies in Aberdeen.
BT will become almost a blanket sponsor for Scottish rugby.
Dominic McKay, SRU director of commercial operations, communications and public affairs, said: “BT Murrayfield has already become embedded across the Scottish rugby community.
“It’s a partnership we’re really proud about, and one which has enabled us to invest in rugby in ways we’d never been able to do before.”
McKay said the initial part of the deal, when BT became shirt sponsors of Glasgow and Edinburgh two seasons ago, had already borne fruit in the performance of the two pro teams.
“But the key for us is the academies, we already have the first in Aberdeen, which was an important start, and three more will follow.”
Brendan Dick, director of BT Scotland, said the sponsorship was multi-faceted, but getting their name on the national team jerseys was important for the company’s international presence.
“We operate in 170 countries and I have colleagues in 70 countries, and the pinnacle for us is an association with the national team,” he said.
“But locally, there’s a great passion across the company for what we’re doing.
“It’s a long-term relationship, which I believe will help and support the drive to success for Scottish rugby.
“The set-up we have with the SRU has achieved all aspects we wanted to do in the first year, and the building blocks are there.
“I genuinely believe it will be successful.”
SRU president Ian Rankin said the first benefits of the academy system were already being felt.
“We’ve just started, really, but we had our U18 and U16 district championship matches here at BT Murrayfield, and a lot of the players feel the academies are something they can aim for,” said the former Dundee HSFP and Edinburgh head coach.
“That’s helping drag up the level, and this year both age-group sides have done pretty well.
“It’s long-term. We’ve got a few diamonds out there already, and hopefully this is going to help us discover some more.”
The BT Sport logo will appear on redesigned Scottish national jerseys for the four Rugby World Cup warm-up games in August and September, although during the tournament itself sponsorship is confined to training gear.