Royal Navy clinches win against RAF at Cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens

The Royal Navy senior men’s team have beaten the Royal Air Force in a critical Inter Service opener at the Cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens.

After losing the Inter Service title to the British Army in 2024, the senior service were keen to come away with the win against the RAF, a team that had run them close in the past couple of years.

The Navy got on the scoresheet first after a Jordan Gott kick led to Ben Chambers chasing the ball half a field’s length to the try line.

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Fly-half Jake Hanley added the extras to give the Navy maximum points at 0-7.

The Navy opted for penalty kicks in their awarded penalties, with Hanley getting the job done twice in succession to bump their score up to 0-13.

But the RAF needed to find a breakthrough, and they got that with a great run by Sam Boxhall to dive over the line to get the RAF onto the scoresheet as the two teams enter half time with the Navy leading 5-13.

In the opening minutes of the second half, the Navy caught the RAF off balance with Ben Chambers’ offload to Will Riglesford, and he bypassed the RAF defence to score the Navy’s second try.

But it wasn’t long before the RAF mounted their response with their hooker James Roberts crashing over for the Air Force’s second try, and skipper Mark Williams converting for seven points.

The RAF began to apply maximum pressure on the Navy and another Air Force try by Keiron Prescott edged them closer to the Navy at 17-21.

Another penalty kick for the Navy, successfully taken by Hanley, stretched them back out to a seven point lead at 17-24, but it was still not a big enough cushion for the senior service the game edged closer to full time.

At full time, the Navy emerge with a critical 17-27 win that could prove decisive in their quest to win back the Inter Service trophy.

The senior service head to the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham against the British Army with a chance to regain the Inter Service title they won in 2023.

Cover image: Tom Sandberg/PPAUK