After completing a "clean sweep" of major sponsorship packages with Scottish rugby, BT said that the measure of success for its investment "will be whether the union can produce success at every level from the national side to the grassroots of the game," according to McAlister & Kelso of the HERALD SCOTLAND. BT Scotland Dir Brendan Dick said, "It is a long-term relationship. What is key to me is the setup the SRU (Scottish Rugby Union) have, which I genuinely believe will be successful. It has profile; I am very, very pleased that all the building blocks are there. If in three of four years' time the Scottish national team is beating the world but the club game is still struggling, that is not a good answer for me. A legacy of this partnership has to be strengthening club rugby." The latest package "puts the BT logo on the front of Scotland international shirts at every level for the next three seasons and follows deals to earn the naming rights at Murrayfield, the national stadium, as well as shirt sponsorship with both Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh, and backing for the domestic competitions, including the Cup which comes to a climax on Saturday with a day of finals at the stadium." SRU Dir of Communications Dominic McKay insisted that the latest BT deal "was worth more than the one with the Royal Bank of Scotland, which lapses this summer after running for five years." The extra money "will be spent on projects such as the new academies" and a £1.6M ($2.3M) investment in grassroots clubs over the next four years (
HERALD SCOTLAND, 4/15).
