The first-ever Guinness PRO14 Final takes place in Dublin on May 26 and throughout all six games of the Final Series Honda will be the driving force in fan engagement as the Championship journey promises to provide another historic game at Aviva Stadium (see www.ticketmaster.ie).

Fans of the Guinness PRO14 will be able to experience the benefits of this exciting partnership with Honda providing exclusive offers to supporters such as access to the Captain’s Run ahead of the Final, providing competitions for Mini rugby and Women’s rugby while bringing experiential events to games throughout the Final Series.

Honda Ireland has been driving safety, efficiency and performance on Irish roads for over 30 years and will also bring their own touch to the Young Player of the Year award for the 2017/18 season.

Honda Ireland have become the fourth partner to the Guinness PRO14 Final Series in what has proven to be an historic campaign for the Championship after expanding into South Africa.

Dermot Rigley, Commercial & Marketing Director, PRO14 Rugby was especially pleased to welcome Honda to the Championship: “As the Guinness PRO14 has reached out into the southern hemisphere this season, it’s quite fitting that our Car Partner for the Final Series should be such a world-renowned brand as Honda.

“Innovation is a common theme between the Guinness PRO14 and Honda. When you see our teams performing at such high levels against each other and, indeed, against their European rivals it’s because of the world-class talent they have on the pitch and the ambition and daring of their coaches.

“Honda are such a vibrant brand with a fantastic heritage and a great vision for the future, it really feels like a seamless fit for the Guinness PRO14. We’re quite proud of the attractive style of play we see from the teams in our Championship and one look at their cars tells you that Honda share that belief in providing eye-catching appeal.”

Adrian Cole, Managing Director, Universal Honda Ltd spoke about that powerful connection that sport creates with its fans and the excitement around the competitions that will be on offer. 

“Honda are thrilled to be the Official Car Partner of the Guinness PRO14 Final Series and being involved with this exciting rugby tournament. ‘The Power of Dreams’ is our corporate strapline, so through our involvement we hope to bring some additional power to promote this exciting Championship and help fulfill the dreams of the contestants and fans alike,” Cole said.

“Challenging Spirit, the relentless drive to improve, is part of Honda’s DNA and manifests itself through the advanced technology incorporated in our range.  This same drive for improvement is intrinsic in the teams, the players and the tournament organizers who make up this terrific Championship. For this reason, the Guinness PRO14 represents a perfect fit for Honda and underpins our sponsorship involvement.”

ABOUT THE GUINNESS PRO14 CHAMPIONSHIP: The Guinness PRO14 Championship is made up of 14 clubs – four Irish, four Welsh, two Scottish, two Italian and for the first time this season two South African teams. Teams play a total of 21 games in the regular season across two conferences with the six top-ranked teams qualifying for the Guinness PRO14 Final Series.

A total of 295 International players appeared in the Guinness PRO12 during the 2016/17 season with 26 players from the Championship called up to the British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand.

ABOUT THE GUINNESS PRO14 FINAL SERIES: The Championship knock-out stages consist of six games in total. A Play-Off match to earn the seventh European Champions Cup place; two Semi-Final qualifiers, two Semi-Finals and the Guinness PRO14 Final.

The 2nd Placed teams from each Conference will host Semi-Final Qualifiers against the 3rd Placed teams from their opposing Conferences. The winners of those games play away to the 1st Placed Teams from Conference A and Conference B in the Semi-Finals with the winners reaching the Guinness PRO14 Final.

The Champions Cup Play-Off game will be contested by the highest ranked teams from each Conference who have not automatically qualified for the Champions Cup. The team with the highest points total will be awarded home advantage with the winner qualifying for the European Champions Cup as the seventh-ranked team from the Guinness PRO14.

ABOUT HONDA Universal Honda Ltd. is the distributor of automobile products in the Republic of Ireland for over 30 years. Priding themselves on the international reputation for quality, safety and technology Universal Honda Ltd. distribute vehicles and parts to a network of 21 local Honda dealerships nationwide. The full range includes Honda CR-V, Honda HR-V, Honda Civic and Honda Jazz.