Munster fan Moriarty gets immediate result

It comes as no surprise that a marketing executive should have a positive outlook about the future but a year into its sponsorship of Celtic League rugby, RaboDirect’s Maeve Moriarty has proof her company’s association is already reaping dividends.

The sponsorship and programmes manager for RaboDirect, Moriarty came to the savings bank in the summer of 2011 to handle its then new deal with Celtic Rugby. With the ink still drying on the four-year contract to succeed Magners as title sponsor of the 12-team league and the new season less than two months ahead, she recalls a hectic first season, not least because the name RaboDirect Pro12 proved such a mouthful for the people expected to push the league’s new moniker.

It took quite a while to sit comfortably on the tongues of players and coaches required to talk about the competition at press conferences and media calls and also involved some concessions on the part of the sponsors to ensure their move into rugby would not fail to get off the ground.