Fullers London Pride are kicking off the Premiership Rugby Final festivities, with the ales in full flow in the Twickenham Stadium West Fan Village. Northampton Saints and Bath fans have flooded the home of English rugby, with a sea of blue, black and white mingling with waves of green, black and gold.
Fullers London Pride have pulled out all the stops for the pinnacle event in the club rugby calendar, with an assortment of special guests meeting the fans outside of the stadium known as ‘HQ’. Two Leicester Tigers legends and a Harlequins hot shot are mixing it up in the pre-match excitement, as Ben and Tom Youngs meet and greet the fans alongside Cadan Murley.
In partnership with Fullers London Pride, Ben Youngs spoke exclusively to RUCK in between taking selfies with the excited fans in attendance. Despite his West Midlands allegiances as a Leicester Tigers legend, the former scrum half could not see past the Saints securing the title, and hopes that his long time teammate Courtney Lawes gets the Northampton send-off he deserves.
“Yeah, I think first and foremost, the Premiership Final is like a celebration of the league and the season and everything comes down to this one day. So what you have got is obviously a core group of obviously Bath and Northampton fans, but we’ve also got eight other teams that have been supported that come and enjoy the day of the festival, It’s like a celebration. Fullers London pride put on a great show in terms of doing that, as well as making that this very enjoyable sporting experience.”
“It’s box office, Its what you want. The two best teams in the league have made the final and that sometimes doesn’t always happen. I’m looking forward to seeing Finn Russell on the big stage. He so often been there and done it. But Courtney, who’s a great friend of mine I’ve played with since I was 17 years of age, his last game for Saints I think it’d be wonderful if he got the opportunity to win and lift that trophy today and what a send off that would be for a brilliant servant to rugby as a whole, but to England and Northampton.”
The Premiership Rugby trophy was unveiled in front of Fullers London Prides’ famous double decker London bus, as Ben Youngs got his hands back on the trophy for the first time since Leicester’s triumphant 2021/22 Premiership Final. The photography session then followed, with Ben flanked by his brother Tom Youngs, and Cadan Murley in front of the ultimate prize of the English top flight.
Tom Youngs then gave his thoughts on the upcoming match, and how a pint of Fullers London Pride goes hand in hand with a ticket to the Premiership Rugby Final. The former Leicester hooker was unable to forget his age-old rivalry with Northampton, but admitted that the Saints have been undoubtedly impressive throughout the 2023/24 Premiership season.
“I think rugby has a tradition of a good old ale, good old point and watch a game of rugby. I don’t you think should ever lose that tradition, but yeah it’s nice to be here today and what a cracking afternoon we’re going to have in front of us. It’s going to be one hell of a game isn’t it, probably the two best sides in the Premiership this season.”
“It does pain me as to who do I support, because I don’t particularly like Bath and I definitely don’t like Northampton. So that’s how it goes! But I do think they’ll (Northampton) nudge it.”
Harlequins flyer Cadan Murley was apart of the triumphant side that overcame the odds against Exeter Chiefs, and lifted the Premiership title at the end of the 2020/21 season. Harlequins pulled off the ultimate comeback for the 40-38 triumph, and is eager to return to the promise land for next season’s finale. Speaking on his enjoyment of the Fullers London Pride event, and giving his predictions for the Saints vs Bath clash, Murley said;
“It’s great to be down here. It’s always a good vibe. Everyone here at Fullers London Pride. They’ve created a great day out for everyone. And it’s due to be an exciting final”
“I think you look across both sides, there are some absolute superstars. Courtney Lawes, Finn Russell and you’ve got Ollie Lawrence and emerging talent coming through. Fin Smith on the other side. He’s Player’s player this season in the Premiership, so massively excited for the game ahead.”
“Hopefully the rain stays away and I think it’s gonna be a free flowing affair. I can see both fly halves chucking it about, but also taken threes at some points. I’ll go for 31-25 and I’m gonna go the way of Bath I think, against all the pundits, we are going with Bath!”
Also, Twickenham residents who enjoy a pint with their rugby will spot a familiar face in the bustling crowd. Stuart Green, the owner of the world famous rugby pub the Cabbage Patch, is enjoying the event through his pub’s collaboration with Fullers London Pride.
“It’s a huge day. I mean to have London Pride on board like we have done, I think this is year two, maybe three, it’s been fantastic, a great product. And for us it’s even better because it’s brewed only four miles down the road.
“So, wonderful in that sense. Now they’re also the official beer of Harlequins. So some real synergy between the Cabbage Patch and our local team, and now the national stadium and the Premiership. Good day today fastest selling premiership final ever, if my facts are right, it’s gonna be a cracking day. I can’t wait.”
In what is an exciting day to showcase Fullers London Pride as the top ale for rugby fans, Brand Manager Ben Aisbitt and Director of Brand Marketing Andy Box shared what the Premiership Rugby Final means to them. Beginning with Ben Aisbitt, he shared what Fullers London Pride are looking to achieve today, as Bath and the Saints get set to do battle within the South West London’s rugby amphitheatre.
“Today for Fullers London Pride is the biggest day of the year, it’s our showcase activation, where we make sure that we do highlight our partnership with Premiership Rugby, to become the beer of rugby in the industry. What we’re trying to do as well is follow through with our call to action, which is supporting with pride.
“‘Support with pride’ runs across all of our partnerships with Premiership Rugby with Harlequins rugby and even our community rugby clubs. And what this really does is highlights how involved and how supportive we are of everything to do with rugby, whether it’s clubs, whether it’s players, whether it’s supporters, you’re local team, we want to be involved and we want to help out as much as we can.”
Andy Box followed this up, and expressed the excitement that is brimming in the Twickenham Stadium West Fan Village. The engagement does not end in the car park, with special guests set to join the hospitality suites on behalf of Fullers London Pride, including Sir Ian McGeechan who is set for a British & Irish Lions style pep talk ahead of the match.
“I’m being efficient period the promotion finals. Yeah, absolutely. Year three for us here now. Proudly in the West carpark serving outstanding ale. Looking forward to the game just got to be a cracker. Got a little bit of affinity to bath. So a win for the underdog is my prediction.
“Yeah, he’s (Finn Russell) the key man, he’s probably going to nail 20 points or so. That’s probably going to drive the team. So, hope for a Bath win. But, I’m here with a load of Saints fans today. So I’m outnumbered. But yeah, it’s going to be a fun one. Got some excellent guests in our clubhouse. Looking forward to a bit of fun with them. It should be a great day and great end to the season.”
“He (Sir Ian McGeechan) has written a pep talk for us in honour of his lions speech. A few nods to that along the way. But yeah, it’s really about celebrating the fans who have come along today and and follow the teams all season, as a tribute owed to them really.”