Press Office

Auckland, 11 August 2009 – The travelling 2009 MasterCard All Blacks Roadshow has completed its first phase thanks to the help of many local volunteers. Over 3,500 kilometres have been travelled by the huge Iveco truck, over 14,000 people have participated and nearly 2,000 MasterCard rugby balls have been given away.

The Roadshow began its journey to 13 towns and cities across New Zealand on 27 June. It started in Christchurch, and so far has stopped off at Ashburton, Dunedin, Timaru, Nelson, Blenheim, Auckland City and the North Shore. It is now taking a break while the All Blacks take on the Springboks in South Africa, but starts again on 5 September in Whangarei, followed by Tauranga, Hamilton, Rotorua and Wellington.

Over 100 local rugby club volunteers have also played their part, in return for a donation for their help in manning the events.

"In addition, rugby clubs were given the opportunity to fundraise at each event. For example, in Ashburton, the Mid Canterbury Rugby Union raised $1,100 which they will use for Rippa Rugby kits," said Stuart McKinlay, Country Manager New Zealand, MasterCard Worldwide.

"The people have really made the Roadshow, even in the cold and rain fans have come down to meet their heroes. It's been fantastic to see the support the All Blacks have."

MasterCard Rugby Ambassador Richie McCaw agrees. "It's been brilliant for the boys. I personally attended three of the events in the first phase and I'm really looking forward to the second phase in the North Island."

So far fans have turned out to see Richie McCaw, Andrew Hore, Jimmy Cowan, Kieran Read, George Whitelock, Liam Messam, Neemia Tialata, Piri Weepu, Isaac Ross, Brendon Leonard, Bryn Evans, Rudi Wulf and Richard Kahui, plus MasterCard Rugby Ambassador and All Black legend Buck Shelford who is touring with the Roadshow for its entire journey around New Zealand.

Lucky fans have had the chance to score autographs and pictures with the All Blacks players, with thousands of MasterCard rugby balls given out to supporters that showed their MasterCard card.

The Roadshow features a series of five challenges that aim to give fans and supporters a chance to 'test themselves' against the All Blacks and experience a tiny bit of what it is like to be an All Black, including:

• Testing yourself under a high ball
• Pushing over for a try
• Passing left and right
• Throwing in to a lineout
• Place kicking a goal from a variety of angles

Fans can check on how they rate against their rugby heroes by visiting www.mastercardroadshow.co.nz, which includes Roadshow news, video footage and pictures, blogs from Richie McCaw, Buck Shelford and more.

Remaining Roadshow destinations are noted below. For the most up-to-date information please visit www.mastercardroadshow.co.nz:

MasterCard Worldwide advances global commerce by providing a critical economic link among financial institutions, businesses, cardholders and merchants worldwide. As a franchisor, processor and advisor, MasterCard develops and markets payment solutions, processes approximately 21 billion transactions each year, and provides industry-leading analysis and consulting services to financial-institution customers and merchants. Powered by the MasterCard Worldwide Network and through its family of brands, including MasterCard®, Maestro® and Cirrus®, MasterCard serves consumers and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. For more information go to www.mastercard.com.

MasterCard & Rugby World Cup 2011
MasterCard Worldwide is a Worldwide Partner and the official payment system of Rugby World Cup 2011. The company leverages the platform to further deliver shareholder value by creating exclusive business-building opportunities for its customer financial institutions, while building MasterCard brand affinity by offering priceless experiences to MasterCard cardholders. As part of its agreement, MasterCard secures a comprehensive rights and benefits package that allows the company to deliver value to customer financial institutions, merchants and cardholders, including the ability to access "Priceless" experiences linked to Rugby World Cup 2011.

Rugby World Cup is the crown jewel of the sport and a prominent global property – with television coverage of Rugby World Cup 2007 spanning more than 200 territories, reaching a cumulative audience of 4.3 billion viewers. Rugby World Cup 2011 is being held in New Zealand for the first time since the inaugural event in 1987. Teams representing 20 nations will compete in 48 matches across 13 host cities between September 9th and October 23rd, 2011.

Beyond its expertise in world-class sponsorship marketing, MasterCard also has a rich heritage of supporting the sport of Rugby in the host country. Over the past six years MasterCard has been a sponsor of the New Zealand All Blacks team.

MasterCard & Sponsorships
MasterCard boasts a diverse portfolio of business-building sponsorship platforms. The brand has expanded its sponsorship strategy to include alliances in lifestyle, entertainment, in addition to a traditional footprint in sports. Today, MasterCard's sponsorship strategy includes an array of strategic relationships each designed to drive shareholder value, build business for customer financial institutions and provide unique priceless experiences for MasterCard cardholders.