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 British Army and the officers of the Royal Navy at Kennington Oval, London on 13 February 1878, it was not until 1909 that the Army Navy Match became an annual fixture, when it was jointly administered by the newly formed Royal Navy Rugby Union (RNRU - 1906) and the Army Rugby Union (ARU - 1906). Since then it has been played every year, with the exception of during the world wars (1914-1919 and 1940–45) when the matches were suspended. The 2013 Army Navy match saw another new record crowd of 72471 watch the Army Navy match which was one of the most compelling ever. The Navy took an early 19 - 0 lead before the Army pegged them back to be all square at half time. The Army then went on to a 43 - 26 victory with their captain, Darrell Ball, being named Man of the Match. This season's match reverts to the first weekend in May and will be played on Saturday 3 May 2014.

Note: The table of wins on the right does not include the matches of 1905 or 1906. 1907 was the first official Army Navy match played after the formation of the two respective Unions.

The First Army Navy game 1878
The first Army vs Navy game was held on 13 February 1878. A contemporary newspaper The Broad Arrow gave the following account of the match:

''A fine exhibition of football delighted the somewhat small number of spectators. Bush scored the first try for the Navy from a scrummage near the line. The goal was kicked by Orford. A band of naval spectators who had taken up their position beneath a white ensign mounted on the roof of a drag greeted this score with great cheering. The greasy state of the ground was not favourable for any great display of running. Encouraged by a cry from their supporters 'Come on Navy, Force the Passage of the Straights' the Navy mounted great pressure and scored a touch down. In the second half the Navy scored a second try. Wrench of the Army took advantage of some bad passing by the Navy and scored the Army try: The goal was kicked but this ended the scoring and the Navy deservedly won the first match between the Services.'' The full version of the report from the Broad Arrow seems to suggest that the correct quote of 'Force the Passage of the Straits' was used.

The Army selectors made a generous contribution towards the Navy victory by selecting a Royal Artillery officer, R Bannatyne, as Team Captain. He was serving overseas at the time and received no notification of his selection. As a result he was absent for the game. The situation was further confounded by the fact that another Army player arrived late and missed a good part of the match.

The teams were:

The First 'Official' Army Navy game 1907
Both the Royal navy Rugby Union and the Army Rugby Union were formed in 1906. February 1907 was when the first match organised by the two Unions was played. The match was held at the Queen's Club, West Kensington and was won by the Officers of the Royal Navy 15-14. The match was played at Queen's Club until 1914. After the First World War the first match was hosted by Twickenham in 1920 and the game has been played there ever since.

Team colours
Navy - Navy blue shorts, socks and shirt.

Army - White shorts, red shirt and socks.

In the first match of 1878 the Army played in white. The Navy have always played in blue jerseys though for a time their shorts were white.

Inter-Services Championship (1920 to present day)
In 1920 a Tri-Service competition was created to include the newly formed Royal Air Force (RAF). However, the great rivalry between the Army and Navy has continued and their match, now held at the home of the English Rugby Football Union (Twickenham Stadium), remains the highlight of the annual inter-services rugby competition.

Yearly Results
Army victories are shown in ██ red, Royal Navy victories in ██ navy, Royal Air Force victories in ██ light blue. Tied games and tied seasons are shown in ██ white.

2010 is the only occasion that an Inter Service match has not taken place for a reason apart from World War. The RAF v Army match was cancelled as the Army were stranded in their overseas training camp in South Africa due to flight disruptions caused by the 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull.

Ladies Inter-Services Championship (2003-)
Since 2003 the women from the three Armed Services have been fielding their own rugby teams and have been competing in an annual inter-service competition.

Ladies Yearly Results
Army victories are shown in ██ red, Royal Navy victories in ██ navy, Royal Air Force victories in ██ light blue. Tied games and tied seasons are shown in ██ white.