Royal Navy Kicks off Glasgow Hawks rugby fixture : Royal Navy Rugby Union

Royal Navy Kicks off Glasgow Hawks rugby fixture

Royal Navy, submariner Matt Harvey (left), Paddy Boyer, Glasgow Hawks (right)

The Royal Navy Senior XV will travel to Glasgow to take on the Glasgow Hawks on Wednesday 8 March 2017. The game will kick off at 7.30pm at the old Anniesland sports grounds at the High School of Glasgow, home of the Glasgow Hawks; the event is free to attend and all spectators are welcome.

The two teams last met in 2007 to play a memorial match for Craig Hodgkinson, a former Royal Marine and Hawks player who tragically died playing rugby following a cardiac arrest. There will be a collection for charity and all proceeds will be split between the Craig Hodgkinson Trust and the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity.

The Hodgkinson family set up the trust in Craig’s memory to provide defibrillator equipment to sports teams, clubs and communities across the UK. The aim of the trust is to save as many of the 1,500 lives lost to cardiac arrest outside hospitals each year by providing equipment that can be used in-situ.

Director of Rugby, Kenny Hamilton said, “Hawks are delighted to renew our friendship with the Royal Navy Rugby Union and there is a great deal of excitement about the match which follows our Scottish Cup quarter final against Gala on 4th March.”

He added, “Because of the significance of the match we will be competing for a specially created Craig Hodgkinson trophy on the night. That spirit of competition and friendship is the most appropriate tribute we can pay and we are looking forward to an enjoyable evening.”

Craig’s parents Diane and John Hodgkinson will be at the match to present a trophy in their son’s name to the winning team, along with Rear Admiral John Weale, RNRU Vice-President.

“The Royal Navy is numerically the largest armed service in Scotland,” said Rear Admiral Weale, Scotland’s most senior Royal Navy Officer. “Scotland is also home to some of the most important Royal Navy assets in the country and this match is just one small way that we can say thank you to our communities for their enduring support.”

This eagerly anticipated rugby match is the fourth preparation match of seven as the Navy Senior XV get ready to defend their Inter Service title in the 2017 competition against the Army and RAF in April. Fixtures have included trips to both university towns of Oxford and Cambridge and this week the team travel to Esher looking for a repeat of their performance last February and their first win of the season.