The first season of Ericsson's sponsorship of London Wasps was one of excitement, innovation, hard work, fun and great success both on and off the pitch and the seeds were sown for a true partnership between the two organisations. The highlight of the season was winning the Tetley's Bitter Cup Final against Newcastle for the first time in the club's history in an emotional day at Twickenham and a creditable fifth place finish in the Allied Dunbar Premiership also guaranteed European Cup rugby at Loftus Road this season.

The last three years has seen London Wasps win both the League and the Cup, making them one of the country's most successful clubs, a fact recognised by the selection of no less than six of their players for the Rugby World Cup.

The off-field partnership was equally successful and Ericsson recently won Running Rugby Magazine's prestigious "Sponsor Of The Year" Award, which recognised the vibrant and innovative way in which Ericsson and London Wasps worked together to use the power of the two brands to promote both the club and Ericsson's latest product range

Ericsson have now run two internet training days for London Wasps and despite their early and voluble misgivings - have you ever tried to persuade a twenty stone prop forward to do something he did not want to do? The team now realise how easy and how much fun it is to surf the net and some of them seem to have discovered some really interesting websites! Dave Peirce, the London Wasps Physio, also uses his Ericsson palmtop computer to log all players' medical records in order to aid diagnosis and analyse treatments. This has helped to shorten recovery periods and has enabled many injured players to return to full training more speedily.

Tetley's Bitter Cup Final 1999: Creating a buzz at Twickenham
May 15 1999 was an unforgettable day for the club as London Wasps made it fifth time lucky by defeating Newcastle in the Tetley's Bitter Cup Final. Ericsson helped get the supporters in the mood for the game by creating a Fans' Village in the West Car Park at Twickenham, marked with large inflatable balloon. Fans were given out free kazoos and horns to enable them to make themselves heard and the Ericsson trumpeters serenaded the crowd. Supporters congregated and met their friends and were joined by the team who arrived in a fleet of Wasps taxis. There was also the chance to win Ericsson mobile phones and London Wasps Season Tickets, while children of all ages had their face painted in the Wasps colours! A perfect day ended with Ericsson hosting a victory party for the team and the dancing and celebrating lasted long into the night although memories of the proceedings seem to have faded somewhat!

Get in the Hot Seat
Come down to Loftus Road and watch the most successful rugby team in London, and as well as enjoying the game you might even win a London Wasps shirt by sitting in the Ericsson "Hot Seat".

And now the Rugby World Cup 1999
Ericsson has cemented its partnership with the club by sponsoring the ITV Rugby World Cup website, the first time that a rugby club and their sponsor have extended their partnership into a major deal with a national broadcaster in this manner. We have created a live chat event area allowing fans to make themselves heard after matches to London Wasps captain Lawrence Dallaglio and teammates Kenny Logan, Andy Reed, Trevor Leota and Joe Worsley. In addition, we've got a dedicated chat room that allows fans to keep in touch and communicate their views throughout the tournament as the action unfolds. We hope you enjoy the site and the chance to make yourselves heard.

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And the Future
Who knows what new schemes we can dream up? Any ideas or suggestions are greatly welcomed! Contact us on the Ericsson/London Wasps Hotline on 0171 803 2157.