Royal Navy win back-to-back Inter Services titles for first time in 52 years as they beat Army

The Royal Navy men's senior rugby team have won the 2026 Inter Services Championship, winning back-to-back for the first time in 52-years after beating the British Army 36-41 at the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham.

After a successful outing in Northampton two weeks ago against the Royal Air Force, the Navy simply needed to win against the Army to guarantee them the Inter Service title.

The Army entered the fray for the first time in this year's tournament, where they had the chance to stop the Navy in their tracks and prevent the Senior Service from tying up the championship at the home of English rugby.

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As the referee sounded the whistle for kick off, the Army were caught off guard as full-back Craig Duncan broke through the red defence before offloading to Will Rigelsford, who dashed to the try line and dotted down for the opening try.

As Jake Hanley kicked over the conversion, the Senior Service were already leading by 0-7, less than a minute into the game.

As both sides began to settle down, the Navy were on the charge again with Jarad Hayler running through from a loose ball before offloading to Ratu Vakalutukali, who timed his pass to Freddie Elliot perfectly to send him away and over the whitewash for a second try.

With the pendulum swinging towards the Navy, it wasn’t long before they scored their third with Ben Chambers dotting down for a try of his own, with the Army searching for answers. 

The Army's answer came quickly following the Chambers try however, with Matt Dawson going over the whitewash to get the Army’s fightback well underway. 

As the game progressed, the Navy were held up several times by the Army, but as Sam Matavesi thew the ball in from a lineout - skipper Hayler received the ball and bounded over to score another try for the Senior Service. 

As Hanley kicked over the conversion, the Navy were putting clear distance between them and the team in red.

As half time approached, the Army were looking to end their first half on the right note. Army tighthead prop Sitiveni Vasuturaga found his way past the Navy defence to bound over the whitewash to score a second try for the Army. 

At half time, the Navy led 14-26 and had built a comfortable lead. But that last Vasuturaga try gave the Army something to work with in the second half.

As the teams returned to the second half, the Army will have wanted to pick up exactly where they left off. 

Quick thinking from Drew Dawson saw him receive the ball before he offloaded to Vereimi Qorowale to send him off sprinting over the try line, bringing the team in red back into play.

After a penalty kick for the Navy taken by Jake Hanley saw the Senior Service add an extra three points, the Army quickly responded again with skipper Pete Austin diving over to close the gap to 26-29.

The Navy's lead that they had built up began to dwindle and the Senior Service needed to get their game back on track.

Hooker Sam Matavesi threw the ball in from the lineout and collected the ball from inside the maul to dot down and give the Senior Service the score they needed, distancing themselves to 10 points from the Army.

But the Army’s response was swift, with Tomasi Vula and Jack Johnson both scoring tries within minutes of each other, levelling up against the Navy at 36-36.

With minutes to spare, the Navy's Jack Wright threw the ball in from the lineout and got the ball down from inside the maul.

At full time, the Senior Service threw their hands up in celebration as they beat the Army 36-41, going back-to-back Inter Service Champions for the first time since 1974.

Navy number 8 Ratu Vakalutukali was named Player of the Match, in what had been a historic day for the Senior Service.