Edd Pascoe – Players’ Player of the Year : Royal Navy Rugby Union

Edd Pascoe – Players’ Player of the Year

Musician Edd Pascoe receives the Cossack Sword from the First Sea Lord and RNRU President Admiral Sir Phillip Jones

Rising above the rest. Edd Pascoe has run the Royal Navy lineout throughout the season

A typical grafting performance from Edd Pascoe against the RAF in front of the USSG faithful

A man for all seasons. Edd Pascoe has shown that he can slog it out with the best of them when the conditions are less than perfect

In any sport the greatest accolade remains the acknowledgement by your teammates and for the Royal Navy Team that means being awarded the coveted Cossack Sword. The Cossack Sword was presented to the Royal Navy Rugby Union by former player and selector, Captain Leigh Merrick Royal Navy and was first awarded in 2000. The sword is for “Ground Gained and Held” and awarded at the end of each season to the player, from the Royal Navy Senior XV, whose performance over the course of the season best meets the battling qualities invoked by the heritage of the “Cossack Warrior”. It is voted on by the players themselves and this year it was Royal Navy’s lock forward, Musician Edd Pascoe, who was the deserved recipient.

Edd has had an excellent two years of rugby with the Royal Navy. Last season he won the award for the player with an ‘Exciting Future’ in the Senior XV and in 2016 he was quick to deliver on that promise. Building on a sound start at the International Defence World Cup he quickly established himself as a key component of the Royal Navy pack where he ran the lineout so effectively, particularly in the end of season showdown at Twickenham.

Edd received his award from the Royal Navy Rugby Union President, Admiral Sir Phillip Jones, at the Senior XV end of season dinner. It capped off a great day having become an Inter Service winner only hours before. Amongst those at the dinner, who gave their appreciation, were five other winners of the famous Cossack Sword. The four from the current squad included Army Navy Man of the Match Dave Fairbrother, the injured Matt Harvey, Dom Taylor and the team captain Ben Priddey. Also there was Dave Pascoe, the winner in 2007. Dave ensured that the name Pascoe was synonymous with Navy Rugby from the Inter Service winning team of 2001 through to his last Army Navy match in 2015. That was Edd’s first Army Navy game, playing as a flanker, and he looks set to ensure the Pascoe moniker remains linked with Navy Rugby for the foreseeable future.

Congratulations to Edd Pascoe. A full list of Royal Navy Rugby Union Cossack Sword Winners can be found by clicking here.

Images by Alligin Photography / © Geraint Ashton Jones & © Lee Crabb