Tri-Service

Why The Army v Navy Rugby Is A 80,000 Sellout

The 9th May is a huge Saturday in the sporting calendar - the business end of the Premier and Scottish Football League seasons, Diamond League Athletics in Doha, the Spanish Grand Prix weekend in Barcelona, the start of cycling's Giro d’Italia.. the list goes on.

But one of the biggest sporting attendances anywhere in Europe will be at Twickenham for a match which will barely be mentioned in the national media, apart from that is on Forces TV, BFBS and Sky Sports - the annual Army v Navy Rugby match.

Such though is the interest in this game among the Forces community, both serving and retired, that the full 80,000 tickets were sold several weeks before the game.

So why has it become such a 'must-see' match? Especially as the Navy’s record at Twickenham, one win in thirteen attempts, hardly points to close sport.

Firstly, it is the occasion. Army Navy means a great day out, with women’s veterans and an academy fixture all taking place before the senior teams lock horns at 3pm. It's also where so many young people get their first introduction to rugby 'Twickenham-style'.

Second, it's a great place for a re-union. Great swathes of the car parks that cover two sides of Twickenham get turned into giant bars, becoming territory for either the various Corps of the British Army or Royal Navy commands. For those who choose not to indulge in the bars, some definitely indulge too much, there’s the picnics and barbeques that make this a great day out.

Thirdly, there is the atmosphere that you only get on Army v Navy day. It’s totally unique and once experienced people want more. That is why the attendance has steadily grown to capacity over the past decade.

One has to feel for the RAF. Up until last week, when they stunned the Army 33-29, they were without an inter-services win in more than a decade and haven’t lifted the Babcock trophy for two. Go back to the late 1980’s and Twickenham used to host their matches as well, but sadly only a few hundred turned up to watch, lost in the vastness of the stadium. And so the fixtures were lost. Now the RAF are on the way back to making the championship a three horse race again.

For the last thirteen years Sky Sports have covered the game live and its been shown live on BFBS and Sky Sports Red Button. This year the match will be live on FORCES TV for the first time, meaning even more fans will see this great military sporting occasion.

A few years ago the Army v Navy Rugby posters dotted about all over forces barracks announced “So much more than a Rugby match”. So very true! #ArmyNavyGame