Le Crunch: Royal Navy go down in double defeat against France's Marine Nationale
The Royal Navy senior men's and women's teams have lost their annual Rugby Union Le Crunch fixtures in Vannes.
An Anglo-French rivalry that was launched in 2005 as part of the 200th anniversary of Nelson's victory at Trafalgar, Le Crunch serves as the perfect challenge for the Royal Navy in their preperations for the Inter Services.
A host venue of last year's International Defence Rugby Competition, the Navy women travelled to Vannes looking to overturn the 5-27 loss they suffered against their French counterparts in 2023.
But the Royal Navy women found themselves heavily defending their line in the first half, as the Marine Nationale steamrolled to a 24-0 lead come half-time.
The Royal Navy performed some excellent tackling in the second half to deny the Marine Nationale a few tries, and the Navy's flanker Laika Swain scored their solitary try to deny their French counterparts a clean sheet.
The Marine Nationale would win 34-5 come full time.
The Royal Navy men's senior team came to Vannes seeking to retain the trophy they won in memorable fashion in Plymouth last year, where they beat the Marine Nationale 30-13.
But they got off to a slow start in the first half, with their French opponents gaining the early advantage with a 13-0 score come half-time.
Controversial decisions in the second half made for a challenging second half for the Royal Navy.
But the Navy would have the final say with Kristan Dobson scoring the Navy's only try of the game to finish with a 19-7 loss to the French.
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