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Silverbacks make the world take notice

Hong Kong, 2 April 2010 - The pioneering Rwandan rugby team made headlines around the world – with a little help from sports PR specialists Two Up Front.

The Silverbacks captured the imagination of press and public alike with their historic 11-day trip to Hong Kong, their first tour beyond East Africa. The team played in the Kowloon RugbyFest Tens tournament, trained with elite teams from other nations and attended the world famous Hong Kong Sevens in the rugby trip of a lifetime.

Their ground-breaking visit was covered by TV news crews, documentary makers, radio reporters, newspapers and websites – resulting in an avalanche of positive publicity. The PR campaign surrounding the Rwandans’ visit was organised by Two Up Front who, like many others involved in the project, gave their services free of charge.

Project organiser Dave Hughes, a Hong Kong-born rugby enthusiast and Rwanda volunteer worker, was delighted. “The trip was an overwhelming success,” he said. “The guys were superb ambassadors for their country while the media and public interest was exceptional and we enjoyed some healthy corporate support.

“Two Up Front’s contribution was vital in generating the positive publicity and giving us access to some top class coaching and facilities. As a result, we now have a platform to make the tour an annual event.”

Before and during the tour, Two Up Front sent out press releases, organised interviews and handled all media inquiries on behalf of the Silverbacks – named after Rwanda’s signature mountain gorillas.

In addition, company staff used their extensive rugby contacts to help set up training sessions with two elite overseas teams visiting Hong Kong for the territory’s “Festival of Rugby Week”, Aliens from New Zealand and Penguins from the UK.

“When Dave first explained the tour to us back in January, we jumped at the chance to be involved because we thought it was a fantastic project,” said Two Up Front editorial director Niall Donnelly. “The success of the visit and the enormous amount of goodwill generated fully vindicated our decision. It was an absolute pleasure to be part of such a worthy venture.”

Two Up Front currently handles PR for two high-profile golf tournaments, the Hong Kong Open and the Ballantine’s Championship in Korea, plus the HKFC IP Global International Soccer Sevens. In addition, the company publishes the official souvenir programme and pocket guide for the Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens.

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