ARU Affiliation

  1. To be eligible to play rugby in the Army, all Corps, Units and Clubs must be affiliated to the ARU.
  2. For the season (2026 – 27), clubs who affiliate to the ARU / RFU will automatically receive insurance cover for death and permanent total disability (playing insurance) through the RFU insurance scheme.
  3. To apply for ARU Affiliation for Season 2026-27 (from 1st September 2026 – 31st August 2027) you are to complete and return: ARU Affiliation Season 2026-27
  4. All clubs that are affiliated to the ARU now have their own page on the RFUs ‘GMS’ website; Unit Rugby Officers are to contact the RFU ‘GMS’ support desk on 020 8831 6651 or via email GMS@rfu.com to obtain their login and password.  GMS allows the RFU to interrogate all clubs affiliated to a Constituent Body (CB) to check fixture lists, insurance status and contacts etc. The RFU will provide monthly updates to the ARU on teams that have successfully logged into GMS, teams that do not obtain their log into rugby first and populate as required will lose accreditation to the ARU.  For queries regarding GMS please contact the Chair of Community Rugby – Major Andrew Bennett.

RFU Affiliation

  1. ARU affiliated clubs can additionally become RFU affiliated clubs. Affiliation to the RFU (a voting club) provides clubs with certain privileges such as the ability to apply for International match tickets; attend & vote at the RFU AGM and receive the RFU handbook and other publications free of charge.
  2. To become an RFU affiliated ‘voting’ club, you must play a minimum of twelve fixtures (a full fixture list for this and last season must be submitted to the ARU) (Fixture list 2026/27 and fixture list 2025/26) and four of the twelve fixtures must be against other RFU voting clubs as highlighted on the RFU ‘Game Management System’ (GMS) website. These two fixture lists must be included when you submit your ARU affiliation proforma.
  3. If you have any questions regarding affiliation, contact the Chair of Community Rugby – Major Andrew Bennett.