Gloucester Rugby appointed MatchFit as part of a competitive process to build awareness, drive ticket sales, and create a meaningful campaign around the Slater Cup – a bi-annual fixture against Leicester Tigers. The latest match up was staged at Villa Park, the first time the Cup had been played outside of a traditional rugby ground.
The fixture is named after Ed Slater, former Gloucester and Leicester player who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2022.
The objectives were clear: generate awareness, grow Gloucester Rugby's presence in the Birmingham market, fundraise for an important cause and make the fixture mean more than just a game.
To drive awareness and fundraising donations, MatchFit ideated and delivered The Race to the Slater Cup - a high-profile cycle race featuring 20 former players from both sides, cycling simultaneously from Kingsholm and Welford Road to Villa Park on the day of the fixture. Mike Tindall and Martin Johnson CBE led their respective teams, creating a compelling, shareable story built around community, legacy, and purpose.
A media day at Villa Park brought together a strong mix of broadcast, written, and social outlets. MatchFit brought in football freestyle creators Ben and Luke Nuttall to produce dynamic content that extended reach beyond traditional rugby audiences.
MatchFit delivered a quality earned media operation to ensure storytelling of the fixture travelled far and wide.
On race day, MatchFit managed live interviews across BBC Breakfast, talkSPORT, and BBC Regional TV. On arrival at Villa Park, a media alert with imagery, quotes, and live fundraising data kept momentum running through to kick-off.
The campaign complemented the broader fixture outputs, delivering strong results across every metric - from ticket sales and fundraising to national broadcast coverage and social reach.
Ticket sales exceeded the target by 21.5% with 11k more tickets sold than the highest attended Slater Cup fixture to date.
More than £60k was raised for 4Ed and Lewis Moody's MND cause,who revealed his own diagnosis ahead of the fixture.
National coverage spanned BBC Breakfast (multiple segments),The Guardian, The i Paper, and talkSPORT - with regional titles including Gloucestershire Live and BBC Midlands adding further depth.