Ian Mallon: How Guinness grew Six Nations deal from acorn to oak

Today the Guinness brand will be seen by more than 100 million fans over the Six Nations Championship in a sponsorship that is amongst the most potent commercial deals

LAUNCH: Scotland captain Jamie Ritchie, Wales captain Ken Owens, England captain Owen Farrell, France captain Antoine Dupont, Ireland captain Johnny Sexton and Italy captain Michele Lamaro (left-right) stand with the trophy at the launch at the Guinness Six Nations launch. Pic: John Walton/PA Wire

The ancient and prestigious Towns Cup, Ireland’s provincial junior club competition, was once the sole investment by Guinness in rugby sponsorship.

Today the company brand will be seen by more than 100 million fans over the Six Nations Championship in a sponsorship that is amongst the most potent commercial deals across all of sport.