The Royal Air Force Rugby League is a British

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 ...

team representing the

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 ...

. They were officially set up in 1994 following an unofficial team set up in 1992 to circumvent a British Armed Forces ban on rugby league. They play in the

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

and they play their home matches at

RAF Cranwell Royal Air Force Cranwell or more simply RAF Cranwell is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire, England, close to the village of Cranwell, near Sleaford. Among other functions, it is home to the Royal Air Force College (RAFC), which trai ...

Cranwell Cranwell is a village in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is part of the civil parish of Cranwell and Byard's Leap and is situated approximately north-west from Sleaford and south-east from the city and county town o ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

History

Historically, rugby league had been banned in the British Armed Forces due to

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 ...

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 ...

's law stating that anyone who played rugby league would be banned from playing rugby union. Northern based Royal Air Force personnel argued for its lifting in the 1980s but it remained in place. Despite this, some RAF personnel set up an unofficial rugby league team called the "Blue Bombers" without RAF authorisation in 1992. When the ban on the sport within the services was lifted in 1994, the RAF Rugby League Association was founded by

Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...

Damian Clayton, who would captain the team from its foundation to 2006. The RAF rugby league team was established at the same time as 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 ...

's rugby league association. They eventually gained official RAF sanction on 1st Jan 1996. The President of the RAF Rugby League, Air commodore Dean Andrew later became the President of the

Rugby Football League The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league in England, and until 1995 for the whole British Isles. The name Rugby Football League previously also referred to the main league competition run by the organisati ...

. In 2020, their kit was supplied by

O'Neills O'Neills Irish International Sports Company Ltd. is an Irish sporting goods manufacturer established in 1918. It is the largest manufacturer of sportswear in Ireland, with production plants located in Dublin and Strabane. O'Neills has a long re ...

which led to some controversy in Ireland due to the kitmaker's history of making

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

kits solely. The RAF play inter-services matches against the

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 ...

. They won their first title in 2001, ending the British Army's seven season winning streak which had run since the establishment of the Inter-Services Championship. Their 2015 Inter-Services Championship match against the British Army was held at

Salford Red Devils The Salford Red Devils are a professional rugby league club in Salford, Greater Manchester, England, who play in the Super League. Formed in 1873, they have won six Championships and one Challenge Cup. Their home ground since 2012 has been t ...

AJ Bell Stadium Salford City Stadium (referred to as the AJ Bell Stadium for sponsorship purposes) is a rugby stadium in Barton-upon-Irwell, England, built to replace Salford rugby league club's ground the Willows for the 2012 season. Sale Sharks rugby unio ...

as part of an awareness campaign. In 2012 and 2016, the RAF won the Inter-Services Rugby League Title. In 2019, an RAF player died during a match against the Army at

Aldershot Military Stadium Aldershot Military Stadium is a sports complex in Aldershot, England comprising a combined football and athletics stadium and a smaller adjoined rugby stadium. It is the home ground of the British Army's football and rugby teams, Aldershot, Farn ...

following a head injury. The RAF set up a women's rugby league team and some of the servicewomen who play for the RAF have been selected for international representative matches.

Challenge Cup

Women's

References

{{Reflist Military sports governing bodies in the United Kingdom North Kesteven District Rugby league in the United Kingdom Rugby league teams in Lincolnshire Rugby L