6th October 2011

English Rugby Fans Lead The Charge
Heineken Helps Rugby Fans Find Each Other This Rugby World Cup 2011

Heineken, a worldwide partner and the official beer of the Rugby World Cup 2011, has found that besides the Kiwi‟s, the English fans are the most social fans so far in the tournament.

Over the past four weeks of Rugby World Cup 2011 supporters from around the globe have been downloading the free app „Your Heineken Passport‟ which allows fans to „Check In‟ to Official RWC 2011 bars in New Zealand and search for other fans. Recently acquired stats have shown that of overseas fans (non-NZ) the English are the most social and are most likely to „Check In‟ to show other fans where they are celebrating.

England‟s neighbours to the north, the Scots, were the second most socially active nation to watch and enjoy rugby moments out and about. Third are the passionate Argentinean Puma fans with fourth on the list being the northern American Canadian Canuck fans.

Mike Stribrny, Heineken Brand Manager, said: “Your Heineken Passport Smartphone App has unearthed a couple of interesting insights around which Rugby fans are engaging socially with each other during the Rugby World Cup 2011 action. Given the reputation of the „Barmy Army‟ it‟s no surprise that the English are leading the charge, but I was surprised that only 5% of „Check-Ins‟ are being made by Australian supporters. Maybe they‟re waiting until till this weekend‟s quarter final showdown to get amongst the festivities? This is now the business end of the tournament with plenty more exciting action to come, so we‟re expecting many more passionate fans will use the app to find bars and seek out other fans to enjoy the game together.”

Overseas nation’s Heineken Passport statistics:
England – 22%
Scotland – 13%
Argentina – 11%
Canada – 9%
Wales – 7%
Ireland – 6%
Australia – 5%
South Africa – 5%
France – 4%
USA – 4%
Japan – 4%
Italy – 3%
Russia – 2%
Namibia – 2%
Fiji–1%
Tonga – 1%

„Your Heineken Passport‟ is free to download for Apple, Android and Windows Smartphone‟s. Text „PASSPORT‟ to 9090 or visit www.heineken.com/nz for more information.

ENDS