RNRU Royal Navy Rugby Union

Fleet Air Arm sides flying high in the Navy Cup

The Navy Cup is the premier inter unit rugby competition within the Royal Navy and after the Covid enforced break it is back. With 6 entrants this year it has been a short route to the final which will be an all Fleet Air Arm affair!

The semi finals were played on Wednesday the 10th of November with HMS Seahawk taking on HMNB Devonport at the Rectory Ground in Plymouth whilst HMS Heron travelled to HMS Sultan.

HMS Seahawk versus HMNB Devonport had an air of familiarity about it, with the Fleet Air Arm having taken on RN West at the same venue earlier this season and the outcome being equally assured. RN Navyfit had a photographer at the match to capture some of the moments in the 34-3 victory for the Cornish unit.

In Gosport, LPT Sophie Goodwright provided the match report below.

The two RN Air Stations will now battle for the Navy Cup on the 1st of December at the Rectory, home of Devonport Services RFC, in Plymouth.

HMS Sultan versus HMS Heron Match Report

It was a perfect night for Navy Cup Semi Final rugby down at HMS Sultan’s Sport and Recreation Centre on Wednesday. Dry skies but a wet pitch would provide some challenges in the game. A hopeful HMS Heron stepped off the coach, both sides with eyes on the final.

The first half would see HMS Sultan with the majority of possession, helped by Heron’s growing penalty count. Well placed touch finders from Sultans 12, Allardice, put the men of air on the backfoot. Despite attempts of a catch and drive 5 metres out and relentless charges with the ball in hand, Sultan struggled to find the try line. Allardice settling for two penalty kicks at goal it.  

Ritchie Ives would be pivotal in the performance of the home teams scrum, an established player within the RNRU. He led from the front in the scrum and carried hard, however the captain of HMS Heron,  Chris Mills, did sterling work to limit Ives’s impact. Heron still struggling to find their footing and were their own worst enemy. Forced passes leading to dropped balls and lack of continuity at the breakdown meant few scoring opportunities. A loose pass in Sultans midfield presented itself a prime opportunity and Herons 13, Gethin Francis, hacked the ball towards the try line. Chased by both sides it was number 11 for Heron, Jack Petheridge, that would give the ball the nudge it needed over the line followed by a superb finish in the left-hand corner. Conversion missed, Half Time HMS Sultan 6-5 HMS Heron.

The second 40 minutes saw a changed Heron side. A strong half time team talk from coach Naivalulevu brought a new energy into the men in greens performance. Good structure and building momentum over the phases gave Ollie James the opportunity to cross the whitewash after a series of direct and strong carries with the ball. 10-6 to Heron.

The away side were now firing on all cylinders, however set piece was still proving a struggle. Sultan, and their bigger forwards pack, had an efficient lineout run by Ash Wakefield. He was performing impressively, stealing balls in the air for Sultan and defending fiercely, managing to stop Heron’s Number 8 and captain, Mills, just short of the line after a pickup off the back of a 5 metre scrum. Heron would settle for a further three points from Fullback AJ King after a breakdown penalty 40 meters out.

Heron’s scrum half, Josh Oakley was sent off for a high tackle and this gave the home team an advantage that they could not capitalise on. A member of their pack sent to the bin shortly after for not retreating 10 metres and tackling the ball carrier from a quick tap and go, a short 10 minutes of uncontested scrums followed to Herons relief.

With the game coming to a close, Heron struck one last time with right winger Liam Rowsell scoring after replacement scrum half, Ryan Cox managed to strip the ball from his opposite number at scrum time and darted towards the line, carried further from an offload to Mills and Rowsell finishing the job the phase after.

Full time HMS Heron 20- 6 HMS Sultan