Gloucester-Hartpury Women announce Storage King as new Principle Partner – © Martin Bennett/ Gloucester Rugby

Gloucester-Hartpury Women are delighted to confirm this week that Storage King have signed on as the first Principle Partner in the club’s history.

It is a significant step for the club and a clear indication of the recent growth in the women’s game and, in particular, in how Gloucester-Hartpury Women have progressed in recent times.

The team, in only its fourth season, was launched in the summer of 2015. At that point, Head Coach, Susie Appleby, had only a handful of players to work with.

Since then, the team has gone from strength to strength and, crucially, was named as one of the ten teams to compete in the inaugural Tyrrells Premier 15s campaign in 2017-18. Remarkably, given the short amount of preparation time, the team finished fourth in the final league table and qualified for the end of season play-offs.

The squad consists of many locally-produced players who are enjoying the benefits of the dual education and rugby pathway that the Gloucester-Hartpury partnership offers. Just this week six players were named in an England training squad and other international players of various nationalities are represented.

Storage King’s commitment is a powerful endorsement of how the women’s game is moving forward both on and off the field, as Susie Appleby confirmed.

“We’re absolutely delighted that a company like Storage King, who are already involved with Gloucester Rugby, have decided to increase their support of rugby union by agreeing to become our Principle Partner.

“It’s such a boost to myself and the squad to know that companies are acknowledging the progress we’ve made and want to be a part of it. We’ll be very proud to wear the new Storage King branded playing shirt going forward.”

Robin Greenwood, CEO of Storage King, commented:

“Storage King fully supports Women’s rugby, and we have been impressed by the performance that the Gloucester-Hartpury team has shown over recent years.

“We believe that as the sponsorship will offer much admin and financial support, Gloucester-Hartpury can focus on growing not only their own club, but Women’s rugby in general.

“Fans and their families will also benefit from the sponsorship, through fun and engaging activations that we will be hosting on match days. We look forward to growing this relationship, and are very excited about the way forward.”