About the Army Rugby Union
The Army Rugby Union (ARU) was formed in 1906 and has continued for over a hundred years to provide an infrastructure for the playing of rugby union within the British Army. Its aim is to promote and foster the game of Rugby Union within the Army and its local communities in accordance with the Laws of the Game promulgated by the Rugby Football Union (RFU).
The ARU is a Registered Charity (Number 245517) and its day-to-day administration is conducted by a small secretariat based at Aldershot. There are several committees responsible for the various aspects of the management of Army Rugby. The ARU is part of the Army Sport Control Board (ASCB).
We encourage membership of the ARU under the Individual Membership Scheme (IMS).
Chairman’s Foreword
Major General SA Burley MBE
Rugby at grass roots level is flourishing and we intend to do more. The ARU Management Board are determined to continue to develop rugby in the Army and we are planning to build a Rugby Development Centre in Aldershot, next to the Army Stadium, in which we can run coaching and referee courses to increase, improve and develop rugby at unit level. Our Premiership has gone from strength to strength with twelve of the Army’s top unit teams fighting it out in a thrilling set of matches. Two sensational semi-finals produced a final that saw a none Infantry Battalion compete for the first time in many years with 17 Port & Maritime Regiment RLC take on three time finalists 2 Royal Welsh where after 80 minutes of pulsating rugby the Dolphins ran out winners 17-12. The inaugural season of the ARU Championship sees 18 of the Army’s developing teams battle it out in the second tier of a well structured competition. At Corps level a closely contested and very open season saw it go down to the final round of matches to decide the finalists with the Infantry very narrowly missing out, the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers faced the Royal Logistic Corps in the final seeing the Loggies run out winners 15-12 in a close match. In the Community cup, the 84 entries led to a final between 28 Engineer Regiment and ITC Catterick. In what was arguably the most entertaining match of the day the Sappers were victorious 33-25.
Together the Army Rugby Union is heading in the right direction with pride and passion. We have a good base at grass roots, strongly contested competitions, a well structured coaching organisation and a dedicated group of referees. We look forward to playing a style of rugby that represents the true ethos of soldiering, combining team work, selfless commitment, courage and respect for our opposition. Follow the progress of our teams on their relevant pages.