On a night when previous form counted for nothing, the Royal Marines became the Inverdale Champions for the third time in a row. Prior to Christmas the Bootnecks put sixty points on their old rivals. However, the Fleet Air Arm traveled with a much stronger squad and with the Royal Marines missing numerous players due to COVID19 support, this was always going to be a tight affair.
From the off the game was a bruising encounter, with players carrying hard and being met with thunderous tackles that left the spectators wincing. The first 20 minutes saw both teams score excellent tries, but the FAA set piece was doing considerable damage. However, for the remainder of the half Royal ...
An extremely cold evening at HMS Collingwood did not dampen the spirits of the Royal Navy Rugby Union Women who got the season off to a great start, with a 32-5 win over Ellingham & Ringwood RFC.
Right from the kick off the Royal Navy Women were robust in both attack and defence with Tegan Morley scoring two tries in the first 20 minutes. Although handling errors made it clear that the squad hadn’t played together for a while but this didn’t deter the team and they maintained momentum resulting in a third try by Rose Dixon converted by Suz Badger to take a 17-10 half time lead.
The Navy line outs and scrums were well coordinated and this provided a gre...
With their first appearance at Twickenham Stadium only 3 months away the Royal Navy Rugby Union Senior Women kick off their season tonight against Ellingham & Ringwood RFC.
Throughout the pandemic the Royal Navy Women’s Side has continued to recruit. This has included a mixture of both players who have never touched a rugby ball before and those with playing experience who have only recently joined the Royal Navy. Most of these new players gained a taste of Royal Navy rugby in games for the Royal Navy Women’s Development Side. With many of the experienced Senior Squad deployed right up until Christmas this evening’s match provides the first opportu...
The highlight of the Community Rugby season takes place tonight as the Royal Marines and the Fleet Air Arm battle it out in the final of the Royal Navy Rugby Union Inverdale Challenge Trophy.
A lot has changed in the 2 years since the trophy was last contested and on that January evening in 2020 it was the same sides battling out for Inter Command bragging rights. The road to the final has been relatively straight forward with both teams dispatching RN East and RN West whilst RN North were unable to compete this year due to additional Covid-19 restrictions.
The sides met in Round 4 of the pool stage and the Royal Marines hammered the Fleet Air Arm 61-7. The Royal Marines ...
For the first time in a long time the Royal Navy Rugby Union’s two accredited clubs sit atop their respective leagues. United Services Portsmouth RFC are on top of Hampshire 1 and Devonport Services RFC are leading South West 1 (West) . With both clubs doing so well it seemed like a good time to do a quick mid season review of both sides.
United Services Portsmouth RFC
Since returning to league rugby after a difficult period United Services Portsmouth RFC have gone from strength to strength both on and off the field. The club enters its 140th year with a new coaching team in place headed up by Petty Officer Nathan ‘Pony’ Moore they have started the season off...
