Army Rugby Union

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The Army Rugby Union (ARU) was formed on 31st December 1906 and marked the fulfilment of Lieutenant JEC ‘Birdie’ Partridge’s (Welch Regiment) idea to have a body to administer the playing of rugby union in the British Army.

Since the game’s invention in 1823, which in itself has a British Army connection because William Webb Ellis was a son of an army officer, members of the army have been keen players, but it was not until the Crimean War (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 spreading its popularity around the globe. It was a result of the game being played in India 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 in the Rugby Football Union (RFU). Many clubs such as Leicester were formed by soldiers.

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.

The highlight of the ARU season is the annual Army Navy Match held at Twickenham. 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. That competition was expanded to included the Royal Air Force in 1920 the same year that CSM CW 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 last of which was played shortly before the Nazi 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 (1939- 45), as they had been during the First World War (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 help to maintain the nation’s morale through the dark days of the war.

After the war first class rugby union players brought in through National Service 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 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)

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.

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. There are several Fijians in the side.

In their Centenary year (2006-07) the Army XV won the Inter-Services Competition, beating the RAF (54-10) and Royal Navy (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 (36-0) and the New Zealand Army (11-6).

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