Nottingham Rugby star Jose Andrade has been called up for the Portuguese National team ahead of his countries latest round of fixtures in next months Rugby Europe Championship.
The second row forward is an NTU student partnership player and has already played 13 times for Portugal and is set to face Georgia in Tbilisi on February 6th before his nation take on Romania in Bucharest a week later and end the month in Lisbon as they host the Netherlands on Feb 26th.
In March they travel to Madrid to take on Spain before hosting Russia to close their campaign, of which they are currently half way through, having won three and lost two of their five matches in a group which Georgia lead with a 100% record.
Before then, Andrade will be part of the squad that takes on Ealing Trailfinders on this Friday night at the Bay with the team already announced below:
Starting Team: Jack Stapley, David Williams, Charlie Thacker, Morgan Bunting, Harry Graham, Sam Hollingsworth, Michael Stronge, Aniseko Sio, Archie Vanes, Ben Betts, Jose Andrade, Callum Allen, Carl Kirwan, Nathan Tweedy, Scott Hall.
Replacements: Storm Hanekom, Toby Williams, Josh McNulty, Jack Ramshaw, Jacob Wright, Lewis Barrett, Sam Edwards, Theo Manihera.
Nottingham Head Coach Ollie Hammond stating ahead of the game which is the first at home in nearly two months “It’s a big one. It feels a long time since we’ve been at home. Come down here on Friday night and cheer us on because we go well at home. The supporters always make great noise, and we’ve got a few spare jackets if you get cold. Come down and support us because it makes a massive difference.”
Kick Off on Friday 14th January 2021 is 7:45pm.
Finally, commercially, the club has just announced a sponsorship agreement with Source Bioscience, a leading international provider of integrated laboratory products and services, including COVID-19 testing.
The partnership deal – which has been agreed for the remainder of the 2021-22 season – will see the company join as one of the club’s platinum sponsors, with its logo emblazoned on the team’s playing kit. It will also feature on advertising boardings and in matchday programmes at The Bay.
Headquartered in Nottingham with facilities across Europe and the United States, Source BioScience provides bespoke services and a diverse product offering for varying precision medicine, pathology, and stability storage requirements.
Andrew Jackaman, director of Nottingham Rugby, said: “We are delighted to have Source BioScience join us as a club sponsor – an organisation that is equally proud to be based in Nottingham and thrives off talent in the city.”
Jackman continued “Nottingham Rugby and Source BioScience have undergone recent changes to executive management and reflect similar desires to expand under a clear strategic direction, all while remaining in touch with their roots in the city. We are optimistic for the future and are thrilled to have Source BioScience join us as a club sponsor.”
Jay LeCoque, chief executive at Source BioScience, said: “It is an honour and pleasure to be supporting Nottingham Rugby. It is an ambitious club with clear intentions to improve on and off the pitch this season so we look forward to supporting the club’s hard work and efforts towards future successes.
“This sponsorship deal is a fantastic opportunity to connect with a wider audience while strengthening ties with the local community, supporting our mission to provide quality and trusted laboratory services offerings with excellent client support.”
With a focus to improve patient diagnosis, management and care, Source BioScience has recently provided COVID-19 mobile and home testing services for business and directly to the wider public.
Nick Bills, director of healthcare at Source BioScience, added: “We rapidly scaled our COVID-19 testing capabilities and are also one of the few labs in the UK who are able to quickly identify mutations. As an agile organisation, we are also primed to support NHS and private providers with tackling the backlog of elective procedures that have been delayed due to the pandemic.
“Source BioScience is at the forefront of life science innovation and we have several exciting plans in the pipeline for 2022 and beyond across our pathology, genomics, and precision medicine offerings.”
For more information about Nottingham Rugby and its commercial packages, head to www.nottinghamrugby.co.uk or for further information about Source BioScience, please visit www.sourcebioscience.com.
*Main image @NottinghamRugby Jose Andrade will be swapping green and white for red and green.
