British Army beat Royal Navy in thriller to retain Rundle Cup polo trophy

The British Army have retained the Rundle Cup after the closest of matches, with the Royal Navy winning by just half a goal.

The annual match played at Tedworth Park Polo Club at Tidworth attracted thousands of spectators on a roasting day. They were here to see the 50th anniversary of the match being played in the UK.

The Rundle Cup dates back to 1910, when Sir Henry Rundle the Governor of Malta presented the trophy ahead of a match between the Army and Royal Navy at Malta Polo Club.

• Dominant Army men crowned water polo winners as Navy women cling on to their title
• Addictive and thrilling: Pickleball could be the Invictus Games' next landmark sport
• RAF dominate Inter Services swimming championships as they celebrate 100th year

Throughout its history the match has been graced by royalty. When Britain withdrew from Malta the cup was returned to the UK and revived in 1976 with the support of Lord Mountbatten, who was a multiple winner of the cup for the Royal Navy. Prince Philip, His Majesty the King, during his Royal Navy service, and both Princes William and Harry, played for the Army.

The handicap system rates polo players according to their overall value to the team, not just the goals they score, but by their ball-hitting ability, game strategy and sportsmanship. Ratings go from -2 goals 0 goals for a novice or amateur rider, right up to 10, the highest possible rating for the very best professionals.

As a result, the Navy started the match with a one-and-a-half goal advantage and for the first chukka they prevented the Army from scoring. But in the second quarter the Army scored four goals, two from their captain Jamie Drummond Moray and one each from Ed Richards and Barney Jaques-Grey, to lead 4-1½ at the interval. 

The Navy came charging back, Harry Rourke scored right from the start of the third quarter and Steve Spiller then added another goal from an uncontested penalty in the final chukka to put them within half a goal of the Army.

The Army, who had missed six clear opportunities during the match, held on though to win by the narrowest of margins 4-3½ to claim the win.

Pony welfare was the highest priority. On a sweltering hot day at the Fisher ground, the time of each chukka in real-time action was reduced to six minutes and ponies were regularly changed and monitored by a support team and vets.

Earlier, the annual Heroes' cup match for disabled players between the SAFWCT (Armed Forces Equine Charity) team and Power of Polo ended in a 1-1 draw.

UKAF and the USA also played two highly competitive matches over the weekend at Tedworth Park and Guards Polo Club for the Indian Cavalry Officer's Association Cup.