The Six Nations is reportedly "set to unveil HSBC as the championship’s new title sponsor," according to Gerard Meagher of the London GUARDIAN. HSBC, which sponsored the '09 and '13 British & Irish Lions tours of South Africa and Australia, respectively, "is in line to replace NatWest after just one year." NatWest "was parachuted in" for the '18 Six Nations only after the organizers "were forced into an embarrassing climbdown." Following the '17 edition, Six Nations Rugby cut ties with RBS after 14 years, "rejecting the bank’s bid to extend its deal" because it felt the rights were worth £100M over six years. But with "external factors such as Brexit creating uncertainty in the sponsorship market, no one was willing to pay such a price." That forced the organizers into giving NatWest, an RBS subsidiary, a "cut-price one-year deal" for '18, worth a reported £11M ($14.3M). HSBC -- which also sponsors the World Sevens Series -- reportedly "expressed an interest in partnering the Six Nations last year" but was "keen on the combined rights for the championship and the Lions" (GUARDIAN, 10/21).
