Nomura announce exclusive sponsorship of 2008 Varsity Match

The 2008 men's match, to be held at 2pm on Thursday 11 December at Twickenham Stadium, will be the 127th played between the two universities. The University of Cambridge has won 60 times and the University of Oxford 52, with 14 draws occurring in the tournaments history.

The Women's Varsity Match will take place on Saturday 7 March, 2009 in Cambridge.

Paul Vaughan, business operations director for the Rugby Football Union commented, "We are extremely pleased that Nomura has agreed to be our corporate sponsor for 2008 and excited about our new partnership with the company. This is an important fixture and I know that everyone involved in the event is delighted with the news."

Sadeq Sayeed, chief executive of the acquired businesses said "We are delighted to be building on our existing relationships with two of the world's top universities and look forward to continuing this in the future."

England Attack Coach, Brian Smith, who represented Oxford in the 1988 and 1989 matches said, “Playing in the Varsity Match is a really unique experience. You could play 40 times for your country but you may only ever get to play two Varsity matches and that’s if you’re lucky. I captained Oxford in 1989 and I remember the fans were so passionate and energetic and a real mix of people from students to city bankers. For the players and fans it’s a massive fixture in the rugby calendar.”

Ian Minto, General Manager of CURUFC said, "We at Cambridge are really looking forward to the development of our association with Nomura and believe it will bring tremendous benefits to all concerned."

Lord Butler, President of OURFC said, “We welcome and are deeply grateful for Nomura's decision to take over the sponsorship of the Varsity Match. We look forward to a mutually beneficial relationship with Nomura, which is bound to reinforce our links with the Japanese universities with which we have had greatly valued contacts for many years."

Tickets for the Varsity Match on December 11, 2008 (kick off 2.00pm) are available from Ticketmaster on 0844 8472492 www.Ticketmaster.co.uk or from Cambridge University Rugby Club 01223 354131 and Oxford University Rugby Club 01865 432000. Students can also buy tickets from Varsity vendors at their respective university for £5 until November 14.

Tickets are priced from £20 for adults, £10 for students (in possession of a valid NUS card).

Nomura is a leading financial services group and the pre-eminent Asian-based investment bank with worldwide reach. Nomura provides a broad range of innovative solutions tailored to the specific requirements of individual, institutional, corporate and government clients through an international network in 30 countries.

Based in Tokyo and with regional headquarters in Hong Kong, London, and New York, Nomura employs about 18,000 staff worldwide. Nomura's unique understanding of Asia enables the company to make a difference for clients through five business divisions: domestic retail, global markets, global investment banking, global merchant banking, and asset management.