Judges, including ex-athlete Sally Gunnell, BBC presenter John Inverdale and UK Sport CEO Liz Nicholl, also selected the SFA’s Primary School Coaching initiative ahead of entries from the Scottish Football Association, UK Athletics, the Football Association of Wales and the Irish Football Association.
The Sweet Charity initiative aimed to promote rugby on the back of England’s 2003 World Cup victory by recruiting a new audience while thanking existing fans for their support.
The Tour involved 400 separate events at a multitude of venues where the famous Webb Ellis Trophy was displayed as part of an interactive mobile exhibition that offered a range of rugby experiences and promoted local clubs.
The Tour reached more than 1 million people and raised more than £52,000 for charity from 19,000 people registered to play.
David Griffiths, client servicing director at Marsh, said: “This was a superbly created and executed campaign which seized upon one of the greatest English sporting triumphs of all time and allowed people throughout the country feel part of the experience.”
“Rugby is a young professional sport which is gaining popularity rapidly. But this initiative showed that the RFU is not happy to rest on its laurels and is determined to build upon high profile success to encourage a new generation of players into the game,” continued Griffiths.
The Sports Practice of Marsh is a specialist part of the world’s leading risk and insurance services firm. It provides a range of risk and insurance consultancy services to sports associations, professional and amateur clubs, venues and facilities.
