Papa Johns Community Rugby
As partners of England Rugby, Scottish Rugby and Welsh Rugby, we’re proud to support the grassroots game and the many opportunities that all three Union’s present to grassroots clubs up and down the land.
At Papa Johns, we want to help ensure the values of grassroots rugby are strong, promoting teamwork, respect, enjoyment, discipline, sportsmanship, inclusivity and healthy competition. We want to champion active lifestyles regardless of age or ability and show that, if you want that delicious post-training session slice of pizza, it’s better to #EARNIT.
Papa Johns Community Cup
As we approach the end of our first season as England Rugby’s Official Pizza and Takeaway partner, and as title sponsors of the Papa Johns Community Cup (PJCC), excitement is building for the next round of competition. With the women’s finals set to be played in late April, and the men’s fixtures getting underway on 1st April 2023.
Think your club has what it takes? The PJCC offers an unrivalled opportunity for those that progress to the final stages to play at iconic rugby venues, including the home of England Rugby, Twickenham Stadium! Also new for this year, competing clubs can access travel bursaries to assist them in reaching their opponents.
Clubs competing in the PJCC get access to exclusive benefits, including 50% Papa Johns pizza discount codes specific to your club for members, friends, and family to enjoy. Even better, on each redemption, Papa Johns will make a donation back to your community club.
In an exciting addition for the competition, Papa Johns will launch bespoke club posters for select competing teams in their local stores, so the whole town can show their support as you and your teammates plot a route to the finals.
The PJCC men’s fixtures kick off on 01/04/2023, with fixtures continuing each weekend culminating in finals stretching across 30/04/2023 until 07/05/2023. The women’s competitions started in September, with the finalists joining the men’s finals weekend at Twickenham & Sixways on 30/04/2023. For all information on the competition’s background, playing regulations, and structure, click here.
For many clubs, the road to Twickenham starts here. You can show your support and follow the tournament on social media by using #PapaJohnsCommunityCup
Road to Principality
Our aim is to champion active lifestyles regardless of age or ability and show that, if you want that delicious post-training session slice of pizza, you must #EARNIT.
With this in mind, anticipation is building for the second edition of the ‘Road to Principality’ (RTP), kicking off on Thursday 2nd March. The goal of this year’s RTP is simple: to build on last year’s fantastic success.
The inaugural edition in 2022 saw an incredible attendance of over 30,000 fans at the Principality Stadium, plus an additional 143,093 watching on from home via a YouTube livestream. And they weren’t to be disappointed, as 1425 points were scored across 32 matches – an incredible average of over 44 per match!
To rival those numbers, this year’s edition will be livestreamed at all levels, whilst U18 events are free. The competition is open to male senior, female senior and youth clubs through national competition structures, as well as male and female U11 to U18s schools at domestic and representative levels via competition qualification into the RTP finals.
With the number of competing teams this year upping to 90, competition for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play at the Principality Stadium will be fierce – but we say bring it on the competition!
In addition, this year’s finals offer opportunities for Walking Rugby Clubs, Touch Rugby, Mixed Ability Rugby, and Gay Rugby to have fixtures or festivals as part of the week. You can read all about this year’s RTP here.
Tartan Touch
Elsewhere, our Tartan Touch initiative with Scottish Rugby returns for 2023. Tartan Touch is a simplified version of rugby designed to bring together all ages, abilities, and levels of experience to improve their fitness through simple and social activity. No matter your background, Tartan Touch has a space for you!
This year sees 70 clubs operate as Tartan Touch hubs throughout the summer with a record number of successful applicants being chosen, including 22 newly established hubs.
Since 2018, the number of hubs in clubs across Scotland has more than doubled from the original 30 selected, and previous seasons of the programme have seen hubs across the country welcome over 4,000 players aged 5 to 75, from those who have never played rugby to retired players.
The regional spread of hubs is also now greater than ever before with all five Scottish Rugby Regions represented. New hubs stretch from Mull to Madras, and Arbroath to Ayr as grassroots Rugby throughout Scotland embraces Tartan Touch.
To view a video on the initiative, see here and for more information including rules and regulations, click here.