Army men 'buzzing' as they end year-long wait to seek revenge in Navy showdown

The Army men's rugby union captain says his players are "buzzing" and ready to throw themselves at the challenge of getting revenge for last year's defeat to the Royal Navy at Twickenham in the Inter Service Championships.

Bombardier Pete Austin is no stranger to success in the competition, having been on the winning side before, but is all too familiar with the disappointment the group felt after losing in the 2023 showdown.

The Royal Navy are coming off the back of a narrow victory over the Royal Air Force in Plymouth and would receive the IS trophy with another win.

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The dark blues put in a superb performance at Twickenham in last year's clash, thanks in part to a sensational Seti Raumakita try.

A Cameron McDonald hat-trick was not enough for the Army to retain their crown, so they will be gunning for revenge on Saturday.

Bdr Austin said his men are hungry for the chance to put things right, explaining: "Inter Service rugby is very hard rugby to play because you don't just get the opportunity to next week make it right – you're waiting a whole year.

"You dwell on it, you try and put a few things right in your head, but when we start kicking off in about January time, when we all come together, we know what we need to put right and we start working hard."

The Army skipper spoke highly of the defending champions and knows the challenge that awaits, warning: "It's going to be a tough battle on the field.

"They're an incredible team, they've been working hard, and we've been working hard and we're just excited to throw ourselves at it and see where we end up, which will be a win."

He also explained the confidence in camp: "We have a lot of new talent and we're all very excited, there's a lot of different atmosphere in the team this year and we're buzzing, we're ready to go and we can't wait."

The Army's preparations involved a 12-try rout over the Irish Defence Force, as well as extended time in training camp.

Head coach Lieutenant Colonel Tim Osman told BFBS Sport: "We didn't perform well, the Navy certainly did and deserved to win that game, and we're trying to work on now, and have been for a long time, trying to get that right again and achieve the right result this time."

It may be a crowded schedule, with the Army v RAF fixture at Kingsholm hot on the heels of Twickenham, but the man in charge is feeling good about the next two weeks: "In terms of the camp, we've got a consolidated period together and we can take, all things being well post Twickenham, roll into next week with a lighter schedule and straight into the RAF, so it gives us continuity, if perhaps a little bit of fatigue that we're not normally playing with on the end of the season, but yeah, it's fine."

Lt Col Osman also spoke of his delight at having real depth from which to select: "Last year I think we had 14 new caps, there's certainly been a fair few again this year, the breadth in red shirt rugby – and it's been difficult for the coaching team to try and get the right players or the best players in the combinations we're after.

"It's competitive which is always good, the development side went well before Christmas, and we're just trying to enhance that and as I say, get the right combinations in the right places.

"The boys are happy, we've had a few people come back in the team who were deployed or away last year or injured, so that just adds to that depth and that breadth so it's exciting."