On the eve of kick-off at Rugby World Cup 2011 in New Zealand, the teams and fans around the world are eagerly anticipating the opening match between Tonga and New Zealand at Eden Park and the Gilbert Virtuo match balls will be used in all matches and training throughout the Tournament.

Official Ball Supplier to Rugby World Cup 2011, Gilbert, will be supplying over 1,000 Virtuo match balls for Rugby’s showcase Tournament, underscoring their commitment to supporting the world’s best teams on the world’s biggest Rugby stage.

Richard Gray, Sales and Marketing Director for Gilbert, said “As ever, every ball sent over for the Tournament has been hand checked by our Ball Engineer to ensure that they are identical and that they satisfy the high standards required by a Gilbert match ball . The technical changes we have incorporated into the Virtuo match ball enable Gilbert to inflate each ball to the correct pressure prior to handing over to match officials and for the ball to retain the pressure until well after match use.”

Bernard Lapasset said: “Gilbert is a brand that is synonymous with Rugby World Cup, having supplied balls for all tournaments since 1995. We are delighted to be launching an Official Rugby World Cup 2011 Match Ball that does not just look great, but will deliver another advance in performance through Gilbert’s expertise.”

While the striking Tournament design will make its debut on September 9, the ball has been used by the world’s best teams for over a year to ensure that Gilbert, the teams and Rugby World Cup’s high standards are achieved at the Tournament.

Gilbert introduced the Virtuo match ball for the Autumn Internationals 2010 via partnerships with England, Ireland, Scotland and France to give competing Nations as much play time with the new ball as possible. All RWC 2011 Participating Unions have had access to the ball since June 2011 in the Tournament look and feel design.