The Army Rugby Union (ARU) is the governing body for

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and a constituent body of the

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...

(RFU). The ARU was formed on 31 December 1906 and marked the fulfilment of Lieutenant J. E. C. "Birdie" Partridge's ( Welch Regiment) idea to have a body to administer the playing of

in the

History

Since the game's earliest years, members of the army have been keen players, but it was not until the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

(1854–56) that a record was made of a game being played. Thereafter regiments of the British Army played wherever they were stationed in the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

spreading its popularity around the globe. It was a result of the game being played in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

in the 1870s that led to the 3rd (East Kent) Regiment and the 62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment having a hand in the creation of the Calcutta Cup, the oldest international trophy. Many English rugby union clubs such as

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

were also formed by soldiers. The Army were represented in the very first international by two

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

players, Lieutenant

Charles Arthur Crompton Lieutenant Charles Arthur Crompton RE, was a rugby union international who played for England in the first rugby international against Scotland in 1871. His Irish birth made him also the first Irish-born player to play in a rugby international a ...

RE and Lieutenant Charles William Sherrard RE. 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 Duke of Wellington's Regiment, the Welch Regiment, the Royal Signals and 7 Regiment Royal Horse Artillery. Rugby Conscripts

The highlight of the ARU season is the annual

Army Navy Match The Army Navy Match is the annual rugby union match played between the senior XV teams of the Royal Navy and British Army. It marks the culmination of the annual Inter-Services Competition. Although a match was played between the officers of the ...

held at

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

. The first of these matches took place in 1878 at the Kennington Oval, but it was not until 1907 that the match became an annual fixture as part of the Inter-Service Competition. In 1919, an Inter-Service Championship was arranged by the Army Rugby Union, which included Service teams from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa, as well as a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

team and a British Army team playing under the name "Mother Country". The Mother Country and

New Zealand Army , image = New Zealand Army Logo.png , image_size = 175px , caption = , start_date = , country = , branch = ...

reached the final at Twickenham, with New Zealand winning the encounter to lift the King's Cup. In 1920 the Army–Navy competition was expanded to include the Royal Air Force, the same year that CSM C. W. Jones (Welch Regiment) was to become the first "other rank" to be picked to represent the army. Between the wars (1920–39) the ARU arranged matches against the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

, the last of which was played shortly before the Nazi German invasion of France in 1940. The period also saw Army players being selected for British Lions teams. In 1931 the Army Rugby Union Referees Society (ARURS) was formed and continues to provide professional refereeing for all games. Although the activities of the ARU were curtailed during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

(1939–45), as they had been during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

(1914–18), a series of Service International matches were played around the country by teams drawn from rugby playing servicemen; these games drew large crowds and helped to maintain the nation's morale through the dark days of the war. An international team was formed shortly after the end of World War II, known as the British Empire Forces, who played a series of games against France. Although made up of internationals, with some from the professional code of

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

, no caps were awarded to the Empire players in these matches, although the French Union recognised their players with caps. After the war first class rugby union players brought in through

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

dominated army rugby. During the period 1948–62 more men played for the Army XV than in any other previous or subsequent era. It meant that thirty Army players were selected to represent their countries and from among those selected; Matthews, Hall, Cameron, Scotland,

Mike Campbell-Lamerton Colonel Michael John Campbell-Lamerton (1 August 1933 – 17 March 2005) was a Scotland international player. He was also a British Army officer. Military career He was educated at Ottershaw School near Chertsey, Surrey. National Serv ...

and Fisher were given the added privilege of captaining their respective national teams. Also on a national front the ARU can boast of the fact that it has had appointed from its ranks Presidents for the English and Scottish RFUs. They were: Major General BA Hill CB, DSO (English RFU 1937–39), Colonel BC Hartley CB, OBE (English RFU 1947–48), Major General RGS Hobbs CB, DSO, OBE (English RFU 1961–62), Brigadier FH Coutts CBE, DL (Scottish RFU 1977–78), Brigadier DW Shuttleworth OBE, ADC (English RFU 1985–86) A

British Army Germany rugby union team The British Army Germany rugby union team is the rugby union team of the British Army in Germany. It is part of the Army Rugby Union.Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

.British Army (Germany) Rugby
ARU website, accessed: 29 March 2010 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 The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

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

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

ans in the side.

Centenary year 2006/7

In their centenary year (2006–07), the Army XV won the Inter-Services Competition, beating the RAF (54–10) and

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

(39–25), for a record 6th successive time before they embarked on a tour of Australia and New Zealand, where they defeated teams fielded by the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

(36–0) and the

New Zealand Army , image = New Zealand Army Logo.png , image_size = 175px , caption = , start_date = , country = , branch = ...

(11–6).

Notable former players

Scotland internationalists

The following former Army Rugby Union players have represented

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

at full international level. *

( Duke of Wellington's Regiment) * Angus Cameron (

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

) *

Ken Scotland Kenneth James Forbes Scotland (29 August 1936 – 7 January 2023) was a Scotland international rugby union player and a Scotland international cricket player. He played at full-back in rugby union.Bath, p157 Rugby Union career Amateur career ...

( Royal Signals) *

Brian Shillinglaw Robert Brian Shillinglaw (1 July 1939 – 17 October 2007), also known by the nickname of "Shill", was a Scottish rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s. He played representative level rugby union ...

( King's Own Scottish Borderers) * Rob Wainwright (

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

) * Ryan Grant ( Royal Signals) * David Gilbert-Smith ( Duke of Wellington's Regiment) *

Ian Swan Ian Swan (14 July 1930 – 18 September 2004) was a Scottish international rugby union player. He played as a Wing. Rugby union career Amateur career He played rugby at Madras College, his school. Moving to University, he played rugby for S ...

(

REME The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is a corps of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the "British Army's Professional Engineers". History Prior to REME's for ...

) * Frank Coutts * Reginald Maitland (

) * Frederick Maxwell (

) * John MacDonald (

Royal Corps of Transport The Royal Corps of Transport (RCT) was a British Army Corps established to manage all matters in relation to the transport of men and material for the Army and the wider Defence community. It was formed in 1965 and disbanded in 1993; its units and ...

) * Alexander Stewart * Arthur Young * James Dunlop (

) *

Henry Halcro Johnston Colonel Henry Halcro Johnston CB CBE DL FRSE FLS (13 September 1856 – 18 October 1939) was a Scottish botanist, physician, rugby union international and Deputy Lieutenant for Orkney. As a member of Edinburgh University RFC he represent ...

* Edward Innes Pocock * Walter Irvine *

Gordon Neilson Colonel Walter Gordon Neilson, (1 October 1876–29 April 1927) was a Scotland international rugby football player. He later became an Army officer, serving in the Boer War and World War I. Early life and education Neilson was born at T ...

* George Turnbull * Edward Ross *

John Simson John Simson (1667–1740) was a Scottish "New Licht" theologian, involved in a long investigation of alleged heresy. He was suspended from teaching as Professor of Divinity at the University of Glasgow for his later life. Life He was born ...

(

) *

Lewis Robertson Captain Lewis Robertson (4 August 1883 – 3 November 1914) was a Scottish rugby union player. He played for London Scottish FC and was capped nine times for between 1908 and 1913. He also played for the Army from 1904 to 1914, and several other ...

* Andrew Ross *

Ronald Simson Ronald Francis Simson (6 September 1880 – 14 September 1914) was a Scottish rugby union player for .Bath, p. 109 Simson was the first Scottish rugby international to die in the First World War. Early life Ronald Simson was born in Edinburg ...

(

) *

Charlie Usher Charles Milne Usher (26 September 1891 – 21 January 1981, Haddington) was a Scottish rugby union player, who played at number eight, and also captained . He was capped sixteen times between 1912 and 1922 (partly due to the hiatus caused by W ...

* Roland Gordon (

) *

James Huggan James Laidlaw Huggan (11 October 1888 – 16 September 1914) was a rugby union player. He was killed in World War IBath, p. 109 at the First Battle of the Aisne. Early life James Huggan was born in Jedburgh on 11 October 1888. He was educate ...

(

) * William Inglis (

) *

Christian Melville Christian Melville (9 December 1913 – 23 April 1984) was a Scotland international rugby union player. Rugby union career Amateur career Melville played for the Black Watch and the Army. Provincial career He was supposed to play for the Scot ...

Dave Valentine David Donald Valentine (12 September 1926 – 14 August 1976) was a Scottish representative rugby union and Rugby League World Cup, World Cup winning rugby league footballer, a List of dual-code rugby internationals, dual-code rugby internatio ...

Mattie Stewart Matthew James Stewart (born 18 May 1973) is a former rugby union player, who gained 34 caps as a prop for Scotland (1996–2002). Early life Stewart was born on 18 May 1973 in Dartford, England. Rugby career Stewart’s first international ap ...

* Doug Smith (

) * Donald Scott * David Gilbert-Smith * Hugh McLeod *

Ernie Michie Ernest James Stewart Michie (7 November 1933 – 13 November 2021) was a Scottish international rugby union player, who played for and the Lions.Godwin, p282 He played at LockMcLaren, p81 and his nickname was "Fourteen". He weighed 14 stone. R ...

(

) * Ronald Scobie (

) * Thomas Bowie (

) *

Hugh Monteith Hugh G. Monteith (14 August 1874 – 12 July 1954) was a Scottish footballer who played as a goalkeeper for various clubs in the 1890s and 1900s, including Bristol City, West Ham United and Bury, with whom he won the FA Cup in 1903. Playing ca ...

(

) * Andrew Hamilton (

)

Wales internationalists

The following former Army Rugby Union players have represented

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

at full international level. * Jack Matthews (

) *

Haydn Morgan Haydn Morgan (30 July 1936 – 20 July 2018) was a Welsh international flanker who played club rugby for Abertillery and Bicester Rugby Union Football Club. He was awarded twenty-seven caps for Wales and toured with Ronnie Dawson's 1959 and ...

(

) * Frank Whitcombe (

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

) Wales & Great Britain Rugby League

England internationalists

The following former Army Rugby Union players have represented

at full international level. *

Nim Hall Norman MacLeod "Nim" Hall (2 August 1925 – 25 June 1972) was a rugby union international who represented England from 1947 to 1955. He also captained his country. Early life Nim Hall was born on 2 August 1925 in Huddersfield and attended Wor ...

( Duke of Wellington's Regiment) *

Tim Rodber Timothy Andrew Keith Rodber (born 2 July 1969) is an English former rugby union footballer who played at Number eight, flanker or lock for Northampton Saints, England, and the British and Irish Lions. Background Rodber excelled at rugby from ...

(

Green Howards The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment), frequently known as the Yorkshire Regiment until the 1920s, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, in the King's Division. Raised in 1688, it served under vario ...

) * Semesa Rokoduguni ( Royal Scots Dragoon Guards) *

Ted Sadler Edward Sadler (8 May 1910 – 26 December 1992) was an English List of dual-code rugby internationals, dual-code international rugby union and rugby league footballer who played in the 1930s and 1940s. He played representative level rugby union ...

(

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communi ...

)

Ireland internationalists

The following former Army Rugby Union players have represented

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

at full international level. *

Horsey Browne William Fraser "Horsey" Browne (1903–1931) was a British army and Irish rugby international. He won 12 caps between 1925 and 1928. He started playing whilst serving as a lieutenant in the Duke of Wellington's Regiment The Duke of Wellington ...

* Mick Molloy *

Robin Roe Robin Roe (11 October 1928 – 15 July 2010) was an Irish clergyman known for his work as an army chaplain, and a rugby union player. Early life and education Roe was born in Skeirke, Borris-in-Ossory, County Laois. He started playing rugby a ...

Victor Pike Victor Joseph Pike, CB, CBE (1 July 1907 – 25 February 1986) was the Anglican Bishop of Sherborne in the third quarter of the 20th century. Pike was also an international rugby union player and represented Ireland in thirteen matches. Persona ...

* John Dowse *

Ernest Deane Ernest Cotton Deane (4 May 1887 – 25 September 1915) was a medical officer of the British Indian Army and an Irish international rugby player. Born in the city of Limerick, Ireland, he went to school in Kingstown (present day Dún Laoghaire) ...

Brian McCall Brian Allen McCall (born January 25, 1943) is an American former professional baseball player, an outfielder who appeared in seven Major League Baseball games for the Chicago White Sox in –. McCall batted and threw left-handed, stood tall and w ...

References

External links

Official site

Army Navy Match
– Official site
2010 Army v Navy Rugby Match
– YouTube {{Portal, United Kingdom, War Rugby union governing bodies in England Rugby union in the United Kingdom English rugby union teams Sports organizations established in 1906

Rugby Union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

1906 establishments in the United Kingdom