MUSCAT RFC 24 ILLUSTRIOUS 22 Always keen to act as global ambassadors to the RNRU and the RFU the ILLUSTRIOUS team were looking forward to the opportunity to challenge MUSCAT RFC. Although the sight of the pitch was enough to quieten even the most vocal of players, covered as it was with small rocks and looking more like Blackpool Beach than Twickenham, the team ran out keen to create an impression! As always the game was played with lots of determination, however unlike some previous fixtures, ILLUSTRIOUS was able to put hard won ball into the hands of the quicker players and soon had points on the board. However, some very good play by Muscat in a ten minute spell saw the Lusty go into...
The Navy Referees Society joined up with other service counterparts to enjoy the Combined Service Rugby Referees Bi-annual dinner at RAF Uxbridge on the eve of the Army v Navy match. Guest of honour was a great friend of Navy rugby, His Honour Judge Jeff Blackett who made an entertaining speech relaying a number of anecdotes gleaned from many years on RFU disciplinary panels. Two Combined Service awards were presented; the first to Steve Harland as Combined Services Rugby Referee Official of the Year. Steve has been a referee on the National Panel for 10 years, for nine of those years working as a civil servant he carried out the duties of appointment secretary for the Federation in Devo...
Report by Lt Cdr Paul Dunn - Secretary RNRU Senior XV * The Army beat the Navy 9-3 in a nail biting contest to win the BABCOCK Trophy for a record fifth successive time. Both had previously beaten the RAF to make the Twickenham encounter a 'winner takes all' match. * It wasn't always pretty but the 44,600 partisan spectators were part of the intense rivalry that can be traced back to Napoleonic times. The conditions at Twickenham were not helpful - with greasy ball and treacherous surface clearly inhibiting all attempts to play expansive rugby. * Both sides made use of each other's video and game analysis which meant they effectively stopped each other from playing. That said, the Dark B...
