Hopeful RAF women aim to outsmart defending champions in Inter Service decider
The Royal Air Force women say they have a massive opportunity to topple the defending champions in the Inter Service Rugby Championship decider on Saturday.
The light blues are returning to the pitch after a break following a comprehensive 34-12 defeat of the Royal Navy in Plymouth.
The British Army have since disposed of the Navy with a 78-5 thrashing at Twickenham last weekend.
RAF Captain Lucy Nye told BFBS Sport’s Jon Knighton her players are wary of the Army's physical prowess, but she believes matchday smarts can enable the light blues to prevail.
She said: "We're really conscious that we don't want to think about the end result. We always say that as long as we work with our structure, that we all know and we're all on the same page about, then that win'll come.
"Obviously we know the Army are really, really physical, but I think we're smart. So I think we're a team that can outsmart and play our game, so we're looking forward to that."
Saturday's game in Gloucester will be the end of an era as RAF head coach John Wilding is signing off after 23 years in charge. Despite the impending handover, his focus is firmly on the task at hand.
He told BFBS Sport: "The Army are a very, very, very good team. They're full of people who are proud to wear the shirt. They earn the shirt, they don't give it away and they are just good rugby players who play a good brand of rugby and they're winners."
The RAF's win over the Navy is almost three weeks ago and skipper Lucy Nye said her team has used the opportunity to bond and sharpen their skills.
"IS rugby's quite emotive, so actually for us having a little bit of a break, going away and thinking about it with a clear mind on how we can improve and what we want to take forward into the Army game has obviously been really good," she said.
"We've had a 10-day camp this time, which is the first time we've ever had that, so actually we've had time as a team to really be cohesive both on and off the pitch and that’s been really good."
The light blues are without Scotland star Sarah Bonar in their Army showdown due to injury.
But they are bolstered by England hooker Amy Cokayne, who will be joining their line-up in Kingsholm fresh off the back of helping England win their third successive grand slam in the Women's Six Nations.
The RAF women last won the Inter Service title in 2019.
Head coach Wilding is excited by the challenge, saying: "It's a massive opportunity. The Army have set the standard for 23 years and they've been imperious through that and relentless in setting that standard and challenging us in the blue corner, the blue side of the services, to get better.
"We're taking it up and I just really want the players to get the reward for the work they've done. And if they work hard, if they do everything that we've talked about, then they've got themselves a very, very good opportunity and let’s see where it goes.
"It'll be very close, whatever it is, it'll be very close, and they'll have earned it because the Army do not stop and do not give up, so they won’t give anything away."
The women's and men's matches will both be available to watch live on the Forces News YouTube channel and on RugbyPass TV.
Full tournament coverage details:
- Royal Navy men v Royal Air Force men - rewatch in full here.
- Royal Navy women v Royal Air Force women - rewatch in full here.
- British Army v Royal Navy (men's and women's matches) - rewatch in full here.
- Royal Air Force women v British Army women - 10:45 UK time – May 11 - Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester - LIVE on the Forces News YouTube channel and RugbyPass TV with catch-up available on BFBS TV (for serving personnel only).
- Royal Air Force men v British Army men - 15:00 UK time – May 11 - Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester - LIVE on the Forces News YouTube channel and RugbyPass TV with catch-up available on BFBS TV (for serving personnel only).
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