Def Leppard Sponsor Under-10s Rugby Team

Rock legends Def Leppard have been unveiled as the new shirt sponsor of a kids’ rugby team!

Cardiff-based team Rhiwbina under-10s have Def Leppard’s iconic logo emblazoned across their (suitably metal) black shirts after frontman Joe Elliott “jumped at the chance” of sponsoring them.

The unlikely joining of forces came about when one of Rhiwbina’s coaches Richard Proctor – who incidentally designed the artwork for Def Leppard’s albums ‘Yeah!’ and ‘Songs from the Sparkle Lounge’ – approached the band.

Describing Richard Proctor as a “long-term friend”, Joe Elliott told the BBC: "When he told me he needed a sponsor, I jumped at the chance, only afterwards did I realise it was a rugby and not a footy team!

"Like all things with our logo on it, I think it looks spectacular. I'm not sure it's going to guarantee a winning team every week though, but at least they will look cool."

Richard Proctor, whose nine-year-old son plays for the team, added: "(The children) don't take it seriously - they don't believe it. They'll say, 'that can't be right - what, THE Def Leppard?' We do get a few sideways glances. Even if we lose we still think we look the best!”

Def Leppard, of course, aren’t the first band to sponsor a sports team. Last October The Prodigy sponsored Hampshire under-13s football team Eastleigh Youth and in 1999 Super Furry Animals lent their name to Cardiff City Football Club’s shirt.

See photos of Rhiwbina under-10s’ Def Leppard shirt here.