New Zealand Rugby announce six-year partnership with INEOS

New Zealand Rugby (NZR) has announced INEOS as the Official Performance Partner of its seven Teams in Black* in a unique new six-year partnership kicking off in 2022.

The Performance Partnership will see NZR’s Teams in Black including the All Blacks and Black Ferns join INEOS Sport teams; Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team; INEOS Grenadiers cycling team; INEOS TEAM UK sailing team; and football clubs OGC Nice and FC Lausanne-Sport as part of a unique sport performance group. 

The INEOS Sport performance group will bring together some of sport’s best people and teams to tackle the greatest sporting challenges, through technology and human performance, and will officially launch later this year. 

The teams involved will work together to identify opportunities for performance gains that can be shared and applied across the group, utilising the unique knowledge and skill of the world-leading experts who operate across the full sports performance spectrum.

“To partner with INEOS and be part of such a unique and diverse global sports performance group is an exciting new venture,” said NZR CEO Mark Robinson.

“We are committed to nurturing the development of rugby over the next six years with INEOS Sport and are looking forward to working alongside some of the best sports teams in the world.

“INEOS will bring an innovative approach and dedication to the partnership with our Teams in Black, qualities we see across all aspects of their business, particularly around sustainability with their commitment to deliver a zero-carbon emission future in line with the Paris Agreement,” said Robinson.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Chairman of INEOS, added: “We’re delighted to partner with the All Blacks. They have consistently shown the grit and determination needed to perform at the highest level of sport and there will be a lot that we can learn from them.”

All Blacks Captain Samuel Whitelock has welcomed INEOS to the All Blacks family of sponsors.

“INEOS is involved in high-performance sport all over the world, which is something we have been really impressed with. The All Blacks are looking forward to being part of this performance partnership and learning from some of their incredible sporting partnerships as well,” said Whitelock.

Black Ferns Head Coach Glenn Moore said, “It’s great to have INEOS onboard as the Performance Partner for the Black Ferns and we look forward to developing with their high-performance teams next year.”

INEOS will appear on the back of the playing shorts and on the front of the Training Jersey to each of NZR’s Teams in Black from 2022. More details on the Performance Partnership will be unveiled later this year.

About INEOS Sport

INEOS Sport brings together some of the best minds and talent in global sport across Formula One, cycling, sailing, football, running [not mentioned in the text above] and now rugby. Working together, the teams are able to unlock performance gains to support their ambitions on the track, road, water and pitch helping extraordinary athletes achieve extraordinary things.

About INEOS

INEOS is a global manufacturing company making the raw materials and energy used for everyday life. Used across industries such as food, medicine, home, electronics and automotive, our products aim to enhance standards of living for everyone around the world.

Improving the sustainability of our business and operations is central to the way we work. It is of critical importance to our employees, to our partners and customers, to the communities in which we operate, and to our investors. It drives innovation across all our businesses and sites.

Our products already make an indispensable contribution to society by providing the most sustainable options for a wide range of societal needs. For example, preservation of food and clean water; construction of wind turbines, solar panels and other renewable technologies; for construction of lighter and more fuel-efficient vehicles and aircraft; for medical devices and applications; for clothing and apparel; and for insulation and other industrial and home applications. If polymers and plastics were to be replaced to the maximum extent in applications where they can be substituted, overall life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Europe would increase by more than 50%.

Following the Paris Climate Agreement of 2015, most nation states have set the goal to achieve a net zero emission economy by 2050, and are adopting regulations and legislation to support this. As part of this, there is widespread acceptance that we should strive for a circular economy, in which materials are re-used to their maximum extent. In response, INEOS businesses have put in place the plans and actions needed to ensure that they lead the transition to a net zero economy by no later than 2050, whilst remaining profitable, and staying ahead of evolving regulations and legislation.

*NZR’s Teams in Black - the All Blacks, Black Ferns, All Blacks Sevens, Black Ferns Sevens, Māori All Blacks, All Blacks XV and All Blacks Under-20, will be part of the INEOS Sport performance group and through which will see all member teams continue to evolve and innovate together.