Land Rover re-appoints mascots from cancelled Canada v. Namibia Pool B match as Official mascots for the World Cup Final
Land Rover, proud Official Vehicle and a Worldwide Partner of Rugby World Cup 2019, confirmed the official mascots to lead out the teams for the final between England and South Africa, at Yokohama Stadium.
Eita Amino (7 years old) and Fuu Ono (10 years old) were surprised during a Land Rover Introduction to Rugby grassroots training session this week in Tokyo led by former Japan rugby captain Toshiaki Hirose. Hirose was joined by fellow Land Rover international rugby ambassadors Jonny Wilkinson, Lawrence Dallaglio, Will Greenwood, Brian O’Driscoll, Justin Marshall and Bryan Habana who surprised the two youngsters with the news.
The children from Tokyo and Kamaishi were due to be Official Land Rover mascots for the Pool B match between Namibia and Canada but due to Typhoon Hagibis the fixture was cancelled.
Fuu Ono said, "When the game was cancelled, I was really sad. But today when Hirose san told me I can be a mascot kid, I was about to cry for happiness. I am very happy to be a mascot kid because I have been practicing rugby!"
Eita and Fuu were invited to Tokyo by Land Rover, to participate in a rugby introduction day with 120 Japanese children as part of Rugby World Cup’s Impact Beyond 2019 legacy programme.
Eita Amino said, "The match is going to be a really good game. I am very happy to be a mascot kid. Today, it was great to see Jonny Wilkinson. I like to support England for their best match."
The Land Rover sponsored Introduction to Rugby programme has already seen 8000 children in 300 Japanese schools learn to play rugby in 2019, providing a platform to inspire the next generation of Japanese rugby players.
Land Rover is official Vehicle and an Official Worldwide Partner of Rugby World Cup 2019. With over 20 years of heritage supporting rugby at all levels, Land Rover is celebrating what makes rugby, rugby. Search #LandRoverRugby to find out more.
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