Healthy red shirt representation in UKAF squad

Fifteen Army Rugby players have been named in the UK Armed Forces squad which will travel to France for the 2023 International Defence Rugby Cup this Autumn.

There is red shirt representation across all areas of the squad, from the front row to the back three, with all ranges of experience, too.

Three players will be in line for their first UKAF cap, including Spr Cameron McDonald (RE), Cfn Solodrau Radianirova (REME) and LCpl Ifereimi Boladau (R Signals), and all of the players involved will be looking for UKAF to go one better than 2019, when they were beaten by Fiji in the final.

Eleven Corps will be represented, with the players as follows:

Backs – Spr Cameron McDonald (RE), Maj William Reeve (R Gurkha Rifles), Rfn Vereimi Qorowale (Rifles), Cfn Solodrau Radianirova (REME)

Half-Backs – Bdr Owain Davies (RA), Spr Jack Johnson (RE), Spr Michael McDonald (RE), LCpl Lloyd Wheeldon (3 Para)

Forwards – LCpl Ifereimi Boladau (R Signals), Sgt Matt Dawson (Int Corps), LCpl Manasa Cakau (RE), Pte Viliame Kotobalavu (RLC), Gnr Sai Laudola (RA), Sgt Gareth Smith (R Welsh), Sgt Nathanael Titchard-Jones (REME)

A dozen teams from across the world will be in France for the tournament, which takes place between August 6^th and September 11^th, in Brittany with UKAF facing Georgia, Spain and Tonga in the pool stages.

Director of Senior Men’s Rugby, Col Graham Taylor CBE (Comd 7^th Air Defence Group), says that it will be an experience to be relished by all the players involved.

“I’m delighted for all the Army players who have been selected,” he says. “Representing UKAF is always a massive honour and a privilege, especially at the IRDC, where we will be hoping to go one step further this year than in 2019.

“Playing South Africa, Spain and Georgia will pose different challenges to the team, but we’ve seen from this year’s Inter Service Championship that there is the quality of player across the three Services to be able to compete and challenge for the title.

“There is a lot of training and preparation to come, and everyone within the red shirt set-up will join me in wishing our players every success in France. We know they will represent Army Rugby with pride.”