The story
Founded by William Gilbert in 1823.1
One of the oldest sports companies in the world, the company was established by William Gilbert, a cobbler, in 1823, who along with his nephew, James, developed footballs for the neighbouring Rugby School. In 2002, after experiencing financial difficulties following a management buyout, Gilbert was purchased by Grays International.
Gilbert is the long-standing official ball supplier for the England, Wales, Scotland, Australia, South Africa, France, Italy and Argentina rugby unions. They also provide balls for World Netball. Gilbert is the official ball supplier of the ANZ Championship, the biggest netball competition in the world, and also the official supplier of the Netball World Championships. Their products include the Gilbert Synergie rugby ball.
In September 2014, Gilbert Rugby launched the "Match-XV" ball, which was developed specifically for the 2015 World Cup held in England. The Match-XV match ball was used throughout the Premiership Rugby, Top 14 and by all Gilbert-sponsored national unions in the test matches in November 2015.
From Wikipedia’s article on Gilbert Rugby, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4