The reigning Inter Service champions travel to Oxford for their first match of the season on Wednesday to take on the University side. Last year the Royal Navy team made the most of their home advantage, winning 34 - 5, but this time the encounter will take place at the Oxford ground on Iffley Road. The Oxford Blues have 14 matches under their belts already this season, but it is the first time the Navy Senior XV have played this season, with the Navy training camp only forming last week. The students recently travelled to Aldershot to take on the Army but after a strong start they faded in the second half to lose 32 - 5. Their match against the RAF was cance...
Two members of the United Services Portsmouth Rugby Football Club were recognised for their valuable contribution to rugby by the Royal Navy Rugby Union last Wednesday. USPRFC is one of the two ‘voting member’ clubs affiliated to the RNRU, (the other is Devonport Services RFC) and as such the RNRU are keen that the excellent services of the volunteers at the club are highlighted and acknowledged. The final of the Royal Navy Regional Rugby competition, the Inverdale Challenge, was the ideal opportunity to invite friends and family to Burnaby Road (the home of the RNRU and also of USPRFC), and to present the awards to the deserving recipients. Th...
This was the second time HMS Ocean’s rugby team have taken to the field in Bahrain during their 'Tour of the Gulf' however this was not the fixture that was initially planned. Ocean was scheduled to play Doha but due to unforeseen circumstances the fixture had to be cancelled but fortunately a last minute game was arranged against Bahrain.
Ocean arrived just before sunset, on a much cooler Bahraini night than it had been the first time they had met, to witness the Bahraini fly-half kicking field goals for fun from the half way line! It was clear that Ocean’s defence would have to be on their best behaviour if they didn’t want to fall victim to a big defeat by giving ...
Wednesday 18 January saw the first game back after the Christmas break for HMS Sultan RFC in the Eastern Region Rugby Union League. The fixture was HMS Sultan v HMNB Portsmouth, with HMS Sultan hosting the Naval Base team. After a brief from our esteemed referee Mr Bruce Carle both teams got warmed up ready for the 1800 kick-off. Due to an unavoidable last minute cancellation the decision was made to go with uncontested scrums. With a spot of luck Sultan won the coin toss and fired a great kick into Portsmouth's half to start the game. It was clear to all spectators that this was going be a good game from the enthusiasm and aggression shown by both teams a...
