Radio for the British Army - Army News ~ Today's Music

Army Rugby Players Take On The Internationals

A Northern Hemisphere XV took on a Southern Hemisphere XV in aid of UK Help for Heroes, with a star-studded rugby game at Twickenham. And if big names were not enough, to add to the excitement, 3 Army players were chosen to participate in the international . . . for the Northern Hemisphere, Cpl Ceri Cummings REME and LBdr Ifereimi Boladau RA (replacing and injured Sgt Darrell Ball), and for the Southern Hemisphere, a last minute recruit, LSgt Matty Dwyer of the Welsh Guards.

The match started with rather a bitty opening from both sides, but soon exploded in to life with two tries in two minutes. First, hooker Scott Spurling sidestepped and weaved past Australian great Joe Roff to dive under the posts from deep inside his own half to give the Northern XV the first points of the game. In quick reply. All-Black superstar and World Cup winner Adam Thomson, Captain of the Southern XV for the day, rounded off a great team move touching down straight from the kick off. Thomson's score spurred his side to score two further tries, with only a Ceri Cummings penalty in reply, leaving them well in the lead at half time.

The Southern XV's hold on the match increased further with an excellent burst from Josh Drauninu mid-way through the second half, before England Rugby League and Union greats Shaun Long and Will Greenwood combined to give Tom Gleeson the opportunity to swallow dive over the whitewash for the Northern XV. As the game moved into a rather frantic closing period, the game finished with a flourish with a Southern XV score by Van Vuuren, which was spectacularly followed by Cummings rounding off the scoring with a try in the last minute.

This gave Cummings 12 points to his name, and secured him Man of the Match. But Boladau certainly stood out too. He caused havoc all day, and really looked quite at home with back-row International greats, Betsen, Quinlan, Venter, Waugh and World Cup Winner Thomson, whilst Dwyer, who appeared in the second half, also put in a very solid display.

CS Boxers Take On The US Armed Forces

Organised by Tickets For Troops, the Combined Services will take on the US Armed Forces for a spectacular evening of boxing, pomp, pageantry and many many celebrities, all aimed solely at Military Personnel and their families.

The event will take place at the Royal Albert Hall in London, on Friday 7 October, and is the first boxing match to be held there in over a decade. There will be 9 bouts during the evening and both the British and US teams will have celebrity Captains.

The evening was the brainchild of boxing promoter Frank Warren, who is on the Tickets For Troops Board, and his close friend and colleague, celebrity agent Carl Leighton-Pope, who promises many famous names in attendance.

No tickets will go on sale - the only way of obtaining a ticket is to go to ticketsfortroops.org.uk.

Army Rugby League Teams Dominate The RAF

It was a great start to this year's Rugby League Inter Service Competition with the Army taking on the RAF at Aldershot for the first games of The Festival of Armed Forces Rugby League.

Josette Lesser was at the event, which unfortunately saw just three of the four games played, after the RAF were unable to field a Vets Team.

The day, therefore, started with the two Developments squads taking to the field. In sunny conditions, the first half saw a great deal of up-front contact, and a lot of injuries. But a determined Army team came together in the second half. Overall, outstanding play from the Army who came away with a 30-8 win.

The RAF Ladies only fielded 12 players, but came out very strongly. However, after just ten minutes, the Army found their feet, and never looked back, winning 44-0. Team Captain Bdr Katie Garside seemed almost disappointed at the easy win, and said she looked forward to the challenge of the Navy.

The aim of the Army's 1st XIII, led by stalwart WO2 Stuart Silvester, was to start their game by playing straight down the middle, a tact that proved so successful that they continued with it wherever possible, pushing back the RAF and taking the lead, The Army did lose a few key players along the way, which showed in the second half as they began to concede points. But, the Army play to win. Which they did. 47-14.

So, a clean sweep for the Army in their first challenge. But it is not just the games and the players who should be mentioned here. A word has to be said of this season's Head Coach SSgt Sean Fanning. His exceptional hard work both in front of, and behind the scenes was recognised with a well deserved Unsung Hero Award.