DirectAxis, which specializes in lending and insurance, has signed a four-year contract with SA Rugby, joining Nashua as official partners to South Africa's premier domestic competition. The partnership marks DirectAxis's first involvement as a partner in a national South African rugby competition. The firm's previous involvement in the sport has been as a sponsor to the False Bay Rugby Club in Cape Town. SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux said, "This partnership is a landmark deal because for the first time we will have two official partners to the competition as part of our new sponsorship structure." SA Rugby's new Currie Cup sponsorship structure will allow a handful of key partners, each with equal advertising rights, to be associated with the competition in future, similar to that which is used by major sporting events such as the Olympic Games and UEFA Champions League. DirectAxis is also exploring a number of initiatives to maximize the sponsorship with fan events at games. The company will also expand its existing scholarship program by offering 250,000 rand ($18,400) in scholarships to young fans (SA Rugby).
