Army Rugby Union
Founded | 1906 | ||
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Location | Army Rugby Stadium Queens Avenue, Aldershot, Hampshire | ||
Ground(s) | The Army Rugby Stadium, Aldershot | ||
Captain(s) | Leighton Davies (Retired) | ||
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Official website | |||
www |
The Army Rugby Union (ARU) is the
History
Since the game's earliest years, members of the army have been keen players, but it was not until the
The Army were represented in the very first international by two
Shortly after the ARU was formed the RFU donated the Army Cup, which was to be competed for at inter-unit level. Over the years there have been some ferocious contests for cup and from those contests the reputation of the Army's great rugby units have been made. Those units include; the
The highlight of the ARU season is the annual
Between the wars (1920–39) the ARU arranged matches against the
Although the activities of the ARU were curtailed during the
After the war first class rugby union players brought in through
A British Army Germany rugby union team regularly plays games against emerging nations like Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg.[3] In the last few years the operational tempo of Army units on British Army Germany have seen these fixtures reduced.
In September 2011 the Army Senior XV travelled to Australia to participate in the first ever International Defence Rugby World Cup. Teams from the UK (Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and Army), the French Defence Force, the Australian and New Zealand Defence Forces, Tonga, Samoa, China and Papua New Guinea all took part. The Army beat Samoa and the French Defence Force to progress to the semi-finals and were flown to Auckland New Zealand to play Tonga in the semi-final at North Shore RFC. Army scored in the 79th minute to win 15–10. The final was played at Auckland Uni RFC against the Australian Defence Force. The Army ran away winners 62–17 to become the first International Defence Rugby Union World Champions.
The United Kingdom hosted the second International Defence Rugby Competition in October 2015 coinciding with England holding the Rugby World Cup.
Women's rugby
In 1996, the ARU officially recognised women's rugby union, which had been played in the army since the late 1980s. A women's inter-service competition was introduced in 2003 and since its inauguration the army teams have been its undisputed champions. In Nov 2010 LCpl Jane Leonard (Royal Engineers) won international honours with England Women playing and winning her first cap against New Zealand at Twickenham.
In 2010 the women's inter corps competition started with corps playing against each other. This has been a great incentive in the strengthening of the women's game in the Army. Over 200 women regularly play rugby in the inter corps competition.
Sevens
For many years units have played rugby sevens, but there was no representative side. In 2000 that changed after Army XV players were used to help the England national team prepare for the IRB Sevens. The occasion gave rise to the creation of an Army Sevens team, which has become a significant force in the game, winning some of the sport's major competitions – including the Middlesex Sevens in 2001 and 2004. There are several Fijians in the side.
Centenary year 2006/7
In their centenary year (2006–07), the Army XV won the Inter-Services Competition, beating the
Notable former players
Scotland internationalists
The following former Army Rugby Union players have represented Scotland at full international level.[4]
- Thomas Bowie (Royal Army Medical Corps)
- Norman Bruce (Royal Army Ordnance Corps)
- Angus Cameron (Royal Artillery)
- Mike Campbell-Lamerton (Duke of Wellington's Regiment)
- Frank Coutts
- James Dunlop (Royal Artillery)
- David Gilbert-Smith (Duke of Wellington's Regiment)
- Roland Gordon (Royal Artillery)
- Royal Signals)
- Andrew Hamilton (Royal Army Medical Corps)
- James Huggan (Royal Army Medical Corps)
- William Inglis (REME)
- Walter Irvine
- Henry Halcro Johnston
- John MacDonald (Royal Corps of Transport)
- Reginald Maitland (Royal Artillery)
- Frederick Maxwell (REME)
- Christian Melville
- Hugh McLeod
- Ernie Michie (REME)
- Robert Millar (REME)
- Hugh Monteith (Royal Army Medical Corps)
- Gordon Neilson
- Edward Innes Pocock
- Lewis Robertson
- Andrew Ross
- Edward Ross
- Ronald Scobie (REME)
- Royal Signals)
- Donald Scott
- Gregor Sharp
- Brian Shillinglaw (King's Own Scottish Borderers)
- John Simson (Royal Army Medical Corps)
- Ronald Simson (Royal Artillery)
- Doug Smith (Royal Army Medical Corps)
- Alexander Stewart
- Mattie Stewart
- Ian Swan (REME)
- Stephen Turk
- George Turnbull
- Charlie Usher
- Dave Valentine
- Rob Wainwright (Royal Army Medical Corps)
- Arthur Young
Wales internationalists
The following former Army Rugby Union players have represented Wales at full international level.
- Jack Matthews (Royal Army Medical Corps)
- Haydn Morgan (REME)
- Frank Whitcombe (Royal Engineers) Wales & Great Britain Rugby League
England internationalists
The following former Army Rugby Union players have represented England at full international level.
Ireland internationalists
The following former Army Rugby Union players have represented Ireland at full international level.
References
- ^ Army Players and International Representation (1871 onwards) Archived 2009-09-01 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "France tour – Richmond, 28 April 1945 British Empire Forces 27 – 6 France (FT)". espnscrum.com. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
- ^ British Army (Germany) Rugby Archived 2010-04-02 at the Wayback Machine ARU website, accessed: 29 March 2010
- ^ "International Caps – Army Players". armyrugbyunion.org.uk.
External links
- Official site
- Army Navy Match – Official site
- 2010 Army v Navy Rugby Match – YouTube