Former Australian rugby player Matt Giteau is the latest rugby player to join the growing ambassador portfolio for World 12s – the new annual, international rugby tournament that was launched in London last week. 

Giteau earned over 100 caps for Australia, as well as playing club rugby in France, Japan and most recently the USA before retiring last month.

Speaking about the World 12s, which aims to bring together 192 of the world’s greatest players in an eight franchised team format staged in the UK next year, Giteau said, “It's exciting to be involved in the start-up of a new competition like World 12s. The speed, skill and space are appealing aspects and the player auction is a fantastic dynamic. There's a real buzz. This has never been done in rugby, so it's exciting times ahead."

Giteau joins Rugby World Cup-winning Springbok Schalk Burger and former England international Ugo Monye as ambassadors, alongside Rugby World Cup-winning coaches Steve Hansen and Jake White. Rugby World Cup-winning former Black Fern Hannah Porter is also part of the World 12s organisation acting as an advisor on the integration of the women’s tournament, which will be staged from 2023 onwards.