September 2010

Premiership return for Navy Referee

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On a beautiful afternoon down by the banks of the Avon, Bath hosted Sale Sharks at the Rec for their fourth Aviva Premiership match of the season.  One of the two Assistant Referees running the touch-line was Roger Baileff, officiating in his first Premiership game after injury and corrective surgery over the summer.  Roger has been a stalwart member of the RNRU Referees Society for many years and has worked his way up the ladder to be a Premiership Assistant Referee for many seasons.  The game started well for Bath with their first try only 12 minutes into the match and they continued to dominate the match, with good tries, penalties and conversions.  However, wit...

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It's back to school for Navy Referees

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On Thursday 16 September, over 30 Royal Navy Rugby Union referees gathered at Yeovilton in preparation for the forthcoming season.  A series of informative lectures and interactive training sessions had been put together by the Society Training Officer, Gaz Fairbairn.  Following a rousing address from the Chairman of the RNRURS, Cdr Stew Kilby, Matt Kiernan gave a fascinating lecture on how the human brain makes decisions and how to cope with stress and exhaustion during a game; an insight into the workings of the human mind is always fascinating.  The South West RFU Referee Development Manager, Steve Harland, then covered some re-emphasis of laws that are being stressed t...

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Director of Communications RNRU

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  The Royal Navy Rugby Union is seeking a suitably experienced candidate to fill the post of Director of Communications on the retirement of the present incumbent. This is a voluntary post that must be filled by a currently serving member of the RN/RM.   The new Director of Communications will be a member of the RNRU Executive Committee and will work closely with the senior management team to build brand and profile, as well as manage the publicity for a number of high profile rugby events, including hosting the French Navy in Plymouth in March 2011.     To succeed, you will have: Proven ability in developing and delivering complex communicat...

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Navy player selected for Commonwealth Games

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Cpl Greg Barden (RM Poole) has been named in the England 7s squad to take part in the Commonwealth Games in New Dehli next month. The 12-man squad was announced by the RFU yesterday. Greg has shown consistent form in his appearances for England so far and and played in both Edinburgh and London this year. He was part of the team that clinched the Wellington and London Sevens titles in 2009. The RFU press release (in full): Ben Gollings will lead England's Rugby Sevens team at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi next month.   The 30-year-old from Bournemouth makes his third appearance at the Games after playing at Manchester in 2002 and wi...

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US Portsmouth off to a winning start

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United Services Portsmouth won its first league game of the season against local rivals Southampton. This was an encouraging start to the season as US Portsmouth lost both its matches against Southampton last year. Training sessions on Tue and Thu evenings are well attended and a host of new players are turning up every week. These new players are helping US Portsmouth to increase the quality and depth of its squad and it is good to see an increase in players from the RN. Prop Jonah Jones, front row Mark ‘Taff' Jones, 2nd Row ‘Sid' Little, Kiwi born Navy Diver Simon Jones (utility backrow/midfield player) and RN Rugby league regular James ‘Waggy' Wagstaffe have all j...

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