RNRU Royal Navy Rugby Union

Having missed the chance, through injury, of renewing his acquaintance with the hallowed turf of Twickenham in May Mne Matt Rhodes (HMS Bulwark) was delighted when the opportunity to represent Harlequins at the Middlesex Sevens came his way. With two scrum halves on World Cup duty and a mini injury crisis at the club Harlequins Director of Rugby, Dean Richards, asked the Navy whether there were a couple of players available to help out. “Having seen the Army game in May I was impressed by the style the Navy players approached the game. This along with the time we spent earlier in the year at HMS Collingwood assured me that the Navy had players who had both the ability and also the ...

HMS PORTLAND left Devonport on 4th June to carry out the ATP (N) in the Caribbean We had been at sea for less than a week and the Rugby Club called its first meeting. This was to nominate a Chairman, Captain and our intentions for the deployment. The CO - Commander Utley jumped at the chance to be chairman and LS Keiller was nominated Captain for the third year in succession. Our first stop was Martinque, the buzz around the ship was electric, having had two training sessions at USN Station Norfolk the squad was looking good with over 25 players; the Club was up for the game. Owing to the heat, the teams decided to play 4 quarters of 20 minutes. This was ideal from a clubs point of view ...