Following the annual Army v Royal Navy Rugby match and during the Senior XV post-match meal, the Royal Navy Rugby Union bade farewell to the Director of Rugby of 4 years Lt Cdr (Geraint) Ashton Jones RN (RNHQ) as he handed over the reins to Lt Cdr (Andy) Kellett RN (JFSp HQ).
On taking over from a predecessor who had steered the Navy side to victory in 2010 to end the Army's 8-year winning run, Andy said "I am absolutely delighted to be selected at the Director of Navy Rugby and looking forward to the challenge. Despite being currently deployed on operations, I will be looking to continue the incredible work of my predecessor, Lt Cdr Geraint Aston-Jones, and build still fur...
Following a good team performance against the RAF some 2 weeks before, coupled with a productive training camp and a full squad to select from, hopes and confidence was high prior to the annual fixture against the dominant force within veteran's rugby, the Army Masters.
A bright day following a welcome bout of rain the night before gave ideal conditions for both the players and some 4000 spectators, although creating a slippy pitch. Game on.
The opening 10 minutes was full of incident with the RN driving into the Army half, putting them under pressure and leading to the first of 4 sin bins throughout the game and allowing Lt (Paul) Clark (Fleet Education) to give the Mariners...
Following an overwhelming victory against the RAF Vultures, the RN Mariners set their sights firmly on the final game of the 2011 Inter Service Championship against their long time rivals the Army Masters XV who had beaten the RAF 42-0.
Due to injuries sustained against the RAF at Newbury the following players became ineligible for selection; Lt (Baz) Stockton, CPO (Danny) Haseltine, LS (D) (Ben) Cartwright and Lt Cdr (Rob) O'Kane who had been suffering from a hamstring problem that has limited his game time this season. These injuries and the availability for several key players saw the planned fixture against Taunton cancelled. However, the Mariners used this time t...
Navy Rugby are pleased to report that U23 captain, Mne (Dennis) Scotthorne (42 Cdo RM), survived a thorough examination of his shoulder yesterday in a full contact session and will be fit to take his place on the bench. The lineout specialist, who led the U23's to Inter Service success, dislocated the shoulder in the final few minutes of the win against Irish Defence Forces where his lineout work had been a constant thorn in the IDF's lineout as well as providing quality ball for the Navy backline. Since then he has followed an intensive rehabilitation programme supervised by Navy Head Physio Pippa Band (HMS Nelson) and conditioning coach POPT (Sean) Cole (HMS Raleigh).
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