The
Army Rugby Union (
ARU) was formed on 31 December 1906 and marked the fulfilment of Lieutenant J.E.C. ‘Birdie’ Partridge’s (
Welch Regiment-History:It was formed as part of the wholesale Childers Reforms of the Army in 1881 from the 41st Regiment of Foot, recruited generally from south west Wales, and remained so until it was amalgamated with the South Wales Borderers into the Royal Regiment of Wales in 1969.It should not be...
) idea to have a body to administer the playing of
rugby unionRugby union is a full contact team sport, a form of football which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. It is played with an oval-shaped ball, outdoors on a level field, usually with a grass surface, 100 m...
in the
British ArmyThe British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland and...
.
History
Since the game’s invention in 1823, which in itself has a
British ArmyThe British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland and...
connection because
William Webb EllisWilliam Webb Ellis , famous as the inventor of Rugby, was an English Anglican clergyman. Though credited with the invention of Rugby football while he was a pupil at Rugby School, the story of how he founded the game may be false; nevertheless, his name is firmly established in the folklore of...
was a son of an army officer, members of the army have been keen players, but it was not until the
Crimean WarThe Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire on one side and an alliance of the British Empire, France, the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia on the other. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
(1854-56) that a record was made of a game being played. Thereafter regiments of the
British ArmyThe British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland and...
played wherever they were stationed in the
British EmpireThe British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height it was...
spreading its popularity around the globe. It was a result of the game being played in British 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 CupThe Calcutta Cup is a rugby union trophy awarded to the winner of the annual Six Nations Championship match between England and Scotland. It is currently held by England, who claimed the trophy by defeating the holders Scotland 26–12 at Twickenham in the 2009 Six Nations Championship on 21 March...
, the oldest international trophy in the
Rugby Football UnionThe Rugby Football Union is the rugby union governing body for men's rugby in England - women's rugby is currently administered by the Rugby Football Union for Women . Among the Union's chief activities are conferences, organising international matches, and educating and training players and...
(RFU). Many English rugby union clubs such as
LeicesterLeicester Football Club is an English rugby union club that plays in the Guinness Premiership. The club has been the most successful English club of the professional era, winning the Heineken Cup twice and the league five times under the captaincy of Martin Johnson, all in the space of 7...
were also formed by soldiers.
The Army were represented in the very first international by two
EnglandThe England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 25 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam. England also compete for the Calcutta Cup...
players, Lieutenant
Charles Arthur CromptonLieutenant Charles Arthur Crompton RE, was a rugby union international who played for England in the first rugby international against Scotland in 1871...
RE and Lieutenant CW 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 RegimentThe Duke of Wellington's Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division.In 1702 Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he did in and around the city of Gloucester. As was the custom in those days...
, the Welch Regiment, the Royal Signals and 7 Regiment
Royal Horse ArtilleryThe regiments of the Royal Horse Artillery , dating from 1793, are part of the Royal Regiment of Artillery of the British Army...
.
The highlight of the ARU season is the annual
Army Navy MatchThe 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....
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 ForceThe Royal Air Force is the United Kingdom's air force, the oldest independent air force in the world. Formed on 1 April 1918, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history ever since, playing a large part in World War II and in more recent conflicts.The RAF operates almost 1,109...
in 1920 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 ArmyThe French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based component of the French Armed Forces and its largest. As of 2008, the army employs 133,947 regular soldiers and 24 000+ civilians...
, 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 LionsBritish Lions may refer to:*Lions are not found wild in Britain, but the lion is a traditional symbol of Britain ....
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 ServiceNational service is a common name for mandatory or voluntary government service programs . National service was common in the 20th century, and many young people spent one or more years in such programs...
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-LamertonColonel Michael John Campbell-Lamerton was a British army officer and rugby union figure.Campbell-Lamerton is a good example of players in the amateur era...
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)
Womens 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.
Sevens
For many years units have played
rugby sevensRugby sevens, also known as seven-a-side and VIIs, is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players, instead of the usual 15, with shorter matches. The game originated in Melrose, Scotland, and the Melrose Sevens is still played annually. The game is popular at all levels,...
, 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
FijiFiji , officially the Republic of the Fiji Islands , is an island nation in the South Pacific Ocean east of Vanuatu, west of Tonga and south of Tuvalu. The country comprises an archipelago of about 322 islands, of which 106 are permanently inhabited, and 522 islets...
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 NavyThe Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of HM Armed Forces . From the beginning of the 18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early...
(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 ArmyThe Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
(36-0) and the
New Zealand ArmyThe New Zealand Army , is the land component of the New Zealand Defence Force and comprises around 4,500 Regular Force personnel, 2,000 Territorial Force personnel and 500 civilians. Formerly the New Zealand Military Forces, the current name was adopted around 1946...
(11-6).
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