HISTORY OF ARMY v NAVY MATCH

Since the Royal Navy and British Army first clashed on a rugby pitch in 1878 the fixture has grown to become the largest amateur sporting event in the UK. Only the two World Wars and Covid-19 pandemic have interrupted a run of annual matches which stretches back to 1907, and from 1920 has been hosted at the home of England Rugby, Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.

Rugby and Service life share many values, which have been incorporated in the Inter Service Championship, and Army v Navy has strong support from the Rugby Football Union.

Army v Navy has provided Allianz Stadium with some of its most thrilling finishes.

In 2024 the Army battled back from a double-digit deficit with five minutes to go to snatch a win with the final play of the game.

Two years earlier the winning try came five minutes from time, again the red shirts sealing both the Babcock Trophy and the overall title.

Meanwhile in 2016 – the 99^th in the series – it was the Navy who fought back from a 19-point deficit to tie the final score at 29-all in the last minute, in front of a then-record crowd in excess of 81,000.

There were even more people in the stands the following year to witness the Army take the honours in the 100^th edition of the match in front of Prince Harry in his capacity as Patron of the Invictus Games Foundation, that year’s Charity of the Day.

But perhaps the most momentous moment in Army v Navy rugby came in 2022, when Rose Dixon and Jade Mullen led the respective women’s teams out at Allianz Stadium for the first time, bringing parity with the men.