Bath Rugby Coach Finds his Sea Legs

Bath Rugby’s Tom Page trained the Royal Navy Northern Region rugby team to get players ship shape for the famous Armed Forces rugby tournament

Bath Rugby coach Tom Page swapped training on home soil at Farleigh House to find his sea legs with the Royal Navy ahead of the Armed Forces Tri Service rugby tournament in Scotland.

The 29-year-old Coach Educator and Pathway coach from Bath was invited to travel north for a four-day training camp at Helensburgh RFC, where the Royal Navy’s Northern Region rugby team including players from HMS Neptune turned out in force for drills with a difference.

Tom, who has played his role in coaching throughout the Junior and Senior Pathway this season, his skills to players in a different line of duty in a bid to get them ready for the famous Tri Services Scotland Tournament featuring teams from the Royal Navy, Army and RAF.

More than 30 players from all ranks, rates, and sectors across the Royal Navy’s Northern Region, took part in the intense training regime made up of three sessions per day such as weight training, field sessions, pool sessions and ice baths to get the team ship shape for the competition.

Tom Page, Club Manager and Coach at Bath Rugby, said: “It’s been great to come up to Scotland and engage with the Northern Region squad. The player’s willingness to learn, ability to push themselves and the culture that surrounds them all as a unit has been brilliant to experience first hand and I will definitely be taking some of what I have learned back to Bath.

“The week will certainly not be the last time I link up with the squad and hopefully will be the start of building closer relations between the Navy and Bath Rugby moving forward.”

The training camp organised by the Royal Navy’s Northern Region was the first of its kind with the hope to create closer partnership links with Bath Rugby in the future.

Tyler Gregson, RN Northern Rugby Union Staff, said: “A hard, challenging but brilliant week has allowed our team to get as a squad, whilst working on our fundamental rugby skills under the direction of a professional coach.

A huge thank you to Bath for providing Tom the opportunity to travel to Scotland to support us. We look forward to taking on the Army and RAF on the 30th.”

The Armed Forces Inter Service Championship is due to take place on Thursday 30th May at the Oriam Sports Performance Centre near Edinburgh.

The tournament, which is held on a 4G pitch utilised by the Scottish Rugby Union and Hearts FC, will see the Royal Navy battle it out against their service counter parts in the Army and RAF over 3 matches of 40 minutes, giving each team the equivalent of a half against each other.

Navy Scotland: A Shonk, L Franklin, C McKay; J Thorburn, T Gregson (VC); C Fraser, B Povey, L Fraser;
S Mills (C), W Findlay, R Marshall, J Teixeira, M Baldie, D Dainty, J Slark.

Replacements: B Walsh, H Wallis, F Bolger, G Starr, B Wain, M Couzens, J Collins, D Fraser.

Images by Stephen Clark

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