Published on the 31/03/2011 | Written by Newsdesk

Kirk, RWC 2011 Ambassador, was speaking at an event in Eden Park’s refurbished South Stand announcing that Microsoft will be an ‘official sponsor’ of the RWC 2011 tournament scheduled for kick off in September. The company will join Brancott Estate and Toshiba among others in the second tier of sponsors below the tournament’s ‘worldwide partners’ such as Heineken, Emirates and Mastercard.

In tracing the technology backdrop to his sporting and professional career, Kirk went on to assess the chances of the leading rugby nations. Australia: on the up – but lacking forward depth; England: a young side on the up with exciting backs capable of running rugby but may revert to a tight game that won’t work at this level; South Africa: talented powerful side will be a threat; France: will beat someone that doesn’t expect it (let’s hope it’s not NZ) but not consistent enough to win; and New Zealand: will need to adapt from last season but a dominant overall package; Overall: New Zealand will win.

At over NZ$2 million, the sponsorship includes a range of desktop and server software licenses presumably already in use by the tournament organisers. The technology will support the successful operation of RWC 2011, although beyond office infrastructure, it was not clear just how that would be the case. Media statements said the use of Microsoft’s Silverlight would ‘enable cost effective global content distribution’ to ‘enable fans who are unable to travel to NZ to view matches and match highlights online’ however Ross Young, general manager of Rugby World Cup Ltd confirmed that no media rights were included in the deal.

Paul Muckleston, managing director of Microsoft New Zealand, says RWC 2011 will have a huge impact on New Zealand and Microsoft is thrilled to be a part of it.

“RWC 2011 is set to be the biggest international sporting event in New Zealand’s history, from both an economic and tourism point of view. The number of international visitors anticipated to attend the tournament means as Kiwis this is our chance to showcase our country. As a local New Zealand business, Microsoft is very proud and excited to be involved.”

Muckleston said that Microsoft was not traditionally a sponsor of such events, and that it was testimony to the influence of the NZ office that Corporate HQ had agreed to the deal. “Our Microsoft colleagues in rugby playing nations around the world are buzzing about the sponsorship, and we look forward to providing a memorable and uniquely Kiwi experience to all those visiting our shores.”

Muckleston was more forthcoming in revealing that the deal also included a number of tickets to both pool and finals matches, and that Microsoft would be launching a competition during the months leading up to the tournament with tickets up for grabs. “We want to ensure that ordinary Kiwis not just those hosted in the corporate lounges get a chance to enjoy the event in the best way possible.”