Royal Navy women ready to 'bring it' against the RAF as their Inter Service campaign sets sail
Excitement and confidence are building in the Royal Navy women's camp as they await the RAF in the first Inter Service Championship rugby clash of 2025.
The sides meet at the home of Premiership champions Northampton Saints – Cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens – which makes its debut in the historic military competition, taking its place as the host of the curtain-raising double header between the teams in blue.
The RAF won 34-12 in the corresponding fixture last year, with navy blue scores from Rebecca Addis and a penalty try.
This time around, vastly experienced Navy Captain Rose Dixon is happy with the mindset on the training ground and says "excitement is building" ahead of the opening day showdown.
She said: "One of my favourite games to play is against the Royal Air Force, just because [in] recent years it's been very tight and a really well-fought game and they are an incredible outfit and some absolutely incredible players on their squad and it’s a very competitive game.
"It feels very well matched and they really bring it to us and we really bring it to them. As much as it's really physically demanding and very, very tiring, it's also really enjoyable as well."
Speaking of their defeat to their French counterparts, Marine Nationale, in Havant two weeks ago, Dixon told BFBS: "I think especially for the ladies for whom it was their first cap – it was a bit of a brutal but welcome into Inter Service rugby, and I think it’s given them a great baseline of what to expect now going forward.
"We know the Royal Air Force are physical, and we know moving past that, the Army are really physical, so it's given us that starting expectation of where we need to be."
Stalwart Navy player and Head Coach Sarah Jenkins is expecting more of the same from 2024's clash: "We were fortunate enough to play against the French who were on it completely from the start, so if the RAF come out like that, then we know how to deal with that.
"The girls have to be on it from the minute dot, because if we don't, we will start backpedalling and the spirals start to come."
Speaking of her captain's influence on not only the nascent players, but the entire squad: "We've put a lot of pressure on Rose's shoulders this year, just give her that little bit of a challenge".
"Her leadership is just huge in this team, and if it weren't for her, I think we would be struggling a lot as well. She's been involved in the coaching of the development side…so the girls have seen her coaching but also her teammates now as well."
Back three player Abigail Ashby said of Jenkins' leadership: "Jenks used to be a player herself as well and she's either been playing or coaching on the system for a long time so she's seen pretty much everything there is to see and can really relate from a player point-of-view as well when you're standing on the pitch, which is really helpful for getting the girls mentally ready to play on that kind of scene."
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