Tri-Service

Entente Uncordiale: British And French Sailors In Mass Brawl

A rugby match between the Royal Navy and their French counterparts has been marred by a mass brawl involving players from both sides.

The fixture, which took place in Toulon on Wednesday, is held each year for the Babcock International Trophy, and is aptly nicknamed 'Le Crunch'.

In scenes more reminiscent of the many famous historical battles to have taken place in the French city between the two nations, a number of the Royal Navy players and replacements, in grey, and those of the French Navy, in blue, are seen trading blows and grappling.

In the aftermath, the referee showed a red card to a prop from each side, with John Court the Royal Navy man sent off. Ben Fox, meanwhile, was shown a yellow card for a late tackle from the restart. The Telegraph quotes a naval source as saying:

"It kicked off a bit during the match, but they calmed down and the match was finished. They all went for a drink afterwards and there were no hard feelings."

A Royal Navy spokesman, meanwhile, said:

"We are aware of an incident at a rugby match between the Royal Navy and the Marine Nationale in Toulon, France. We understand the match continued without further incident and the two sides socialised together after the game."

The fight didn't even have the side-effect of spurring the Royal Navy, captained by Ben Priddey, on to victory.

The Senior Service trailed 13-6 prior to the brawl, and conceded a further 15 points without reply afterwards to fall to a heavy 28-6 defeat.

Red Cards x 2 and a Yellow. A short delay whilst the referee calm things down as Le Crunch lives up to its... https://t.co/uTXpaitWXq
— Royal Navy Rugby (@RNRugby) March 23, 2016

It means France retained the Babcock International Trophy they won last year at their spiritual home, with Toulon hosting the navy's main southern base.

The overall score is now 6-6 in the annual contest, which began in 2005.

Congratulations to both teams who produced an excellent game of rugby. That is all from Stade Mayol. https://t.co/jSuCNB0KFJ
— Royal Navy Rugby (@RNRugby) March 23, 2016