NAVY NEWS, FEBRUARY 2008 47
Richmond’s
Itchen to use
records
your tackle?
AWAY from all the bump and
THE crew of HMS Richmond grind of usual RN sport is
smashed the ‘row the Suez’ record Portsmouth Services Fly Fishing
as they sailed through the famous Association, looking to increase
canal, knocking almost an hour interest in the gentle pastime.
off the previous time. The chalk streams and rivers of
Eighty members of the ship’s Hampshire enjoy a reputation for
company rowed 2,000 metres providing some of the best trout
apiece on machines, averaging fl y fi shing in the UK.
7m 46s for the 2km stretch. But this top-drawer fi shing
The achievement was the usually comes at a price that only
highlight of the Portsmouth the wealthy and well connected
frigate’s ‘fit to fight’ initiative can afford.
intend to keep fitness levels – and Luckily, not all the rivers are
morale – up during Richmond’s controlled by city syndicates;
six months in the Gulf. the association has had access to
The ship left Pompey minus a several prime beats on the Rivers
clubz initially, so it fell to deputy Itchen and Meon since 1949.
weapons engineer officer Lt Taff Membership is open to serving
Reynolds to spur his shipmates and retired offi cers and ratings/
on. Around one quarter of the other ranks of any Service, with
ship’s company took part in daily priority going to those who are
‘fizz’ sessions, and a good 30 currently serving.
sailors ran three miles around the Annual membership costs a
Type 23’s upper deck every day. fraction of that for comparable
By the time LPT Jamie clubs and gives access to 12 beats
Stickley joined the ship it was on the two rivers for dry fl y and
the height of summer. Was he upstream nymph fi shing.
deterred? Nope. He set up four Both rivers hold wild brown ● Pigs can fl y... AB ‘Pig’ Watson powers towards the line during HMS Hurworth’s march of conquest
daily training sessions to fight trout, with grayling in abundance
the flab. on the Itchen. They are also
The net result of this health
blitz was:
32 sailors managed to shed
170kg (374lb) between them
– apparently the weight of an
adult panda bear; Promising omens
stocked with keepable brown
trout all spring and summer.
Details are available from
Gerald Craig-McFeely on 01730
892138.
16 sailors quit smoking;
Limited numbers,
and the ship’s company ran
an estimated 13,980 miles
and the rowers covered in
Y
OU can’t beat a good David vs
Jean Bouin, home of Stade Francais, on Friday showed that he has pace and strength that is in
lots of promise
excess of 21,700 miles.
Goliath encounter.
February 22, with the Frenchmen determined many ways reminiscent of Josh Drauninui, and
HMS Collingwood played
Yes, we know it’s clichéd, but these are the
to wrest the Babcock Challenge Cup from RN he also has a good kicking game.
host to the RN 2007 judo
■ AT THE opposite end of the
sports pages after all.
hands after last year’s defeat. “So all in all, selection meetings should be
world, HMS Nottingham’s clubz
championships.
Anyway, HMS Hurworth are over the moon
The senior side will be looking to carry on interesting and it is problems like these that I
LPT Kev Green (you might
And despite limited numbers
and HMS Collingwood are the proverbial sick
where the U23s and the Sharks left off just welcome having to resolve.”
remember him as the boxer ‘The
due to operational commitments,
parrots after the minehunter’s team triumphed
before Christmas. Selection decisions have been made easier
Baby-Faced Assassin’) has been
there were some very close bouts
in the MWS rugby 7s.
The ‘feelgood factor’ within Navy Rugby by the availability of players – thanks to great
the mainstay of sport and fitness
which demonstrated that RN judo
Which is not bad going considering the
continued at the end of December when two fl exibility from ships and units, notably the RM,
aboard the destroyer.
possesses promise for the future.
Hunt-class ship boasts a ship’s company
of the women’s XV, Pam Williams and Sophie HMS Bulwark and Argyll and 814 NAS, all of
The 42’s sporting programme
Mne Chris Sherrington and Lt
of under 50 and Collingwood has several
Roseamon, were selected for the RFUW South whom have released players from deployment.
stepped up a gear when she
Mark Shaw have recently taken
thousand matelots on its books.
squad which will compete in the Women’s And before there can be any thought of
reached the Falklands – her home
medals at the British Trials and
In fact, Hurworth didn’t just beat the
regional championship. beating the Army, the Air Force come to
for much of her South Atlantic
been selected for the GB Judo
Fareham establishment in the 7s final... they
The standard at the trials was very high Burnaby Road on April 16 for what promises
deployment.
Squad.
annihilated their first team 24-0.
and so it is particularly pleasing that two Navy to be a rugby union gala. The veterans, women
A sports day was arranged to
In the team event, the Royal
So strong were the Hurworthers on the
representatives were successful against such and 1st XV will all be in action.
blow away any cobwebs.
Marines came out worthy winners
day that no-one managed to score a single
stiff competition. Meanwhile, the U23 squad has a new face
The football side took to the
over the RN in a very competitive
try against them, while the minehunter men
The good news was passed to the two – the fi rst female manager in RNRU.
pitch against MPA (who had
contest.
clocked up 12 tries. AB ‘Gilroy’ Hinds also
players by Navy Women’s coach Dave Garner LPT Helen McClement (aka ‘Hels Bels’)
a considerably bigger squad to
Individual performances of
collected the ‘player of the tournament’ gong.
who himself had been invited to be one of the has taken charge of the squad, ensuring players
draw upon).
note included AB Crowe (HMS
One in three of Hurworth’s ship’s company
South’s coaches for the tournament. are released for matches by their units, have the
Despite the ‘locals’ taking
Collingwood) earning a bronze
made up the squad, led by CO Lt Cdr Andy
“Dave richly deserves this opportunity as he right kit and are fully prepared for each fixture.
the lead in the first period, they
after just three weeks of regular
‘Bossman’ Woolhead and his navigator (and
continues to develop into a very good coach. And all this she has to do while also serving as
were held to a draw thanks to
judo. AET D Clark was still in
stalwart of RNRU) Lt Will Blackett, the team’s
I am sure that he would wish to acknowledge HMS Westminster’s clubz.
a 25-yard screamer from LET
basic training at HMS Raleigh
player/coach/manager.
the help he has had from former RN warrant Fortunately, she can call on her experience
‘Tommo’ Thomson’.
but was allowed to take a break in
Slightly (we use the term
On the international scene, the Wildboars
offi cer and now RFU training manager, Will as women’s team manager from 2004-05.
training to attend, gaining silver
loosely) less even was the contest
(HMS Argyll) took to the field for two narrow
Feebery,” said Lt Cdr Geraint Ashton Jones, On a more sombre note, a trust fund has
and bronze medals.
between Nottingham’s RU
defeats to Gulf sides.
RN Director of Rugby. been set up in memory of Royal Marine Craig
More details on the sport are
XV who faced an Army select
First up were Bahrain RFC (Gulf champions),
“Pam has been a stalwart of Navy Women’s Hodgkinson, who died whilst playing for the
available from www.rnjudo.com
side filled with Fijians and CS
who proved to be tough but not overwhelming
rugby for many seasons and this recognition is RN against Cornwall in November 2006.
opponents under the floodlights.
thus particularly well deserved. The 27-year-old is believed to have died
Results:
representatives.
The score promptly reflected
Bahrain notched up a 12-0 win (a margin
“Sophie is a relative newcomer to the game from an undetected heart disorder – prompting
U81 Kg kyu grade: Gold – Mne
the Army’s experience – 112-5,
which might have been greater but for some
but has proved to be a committed player who his family to form a trust which will hopefully
Crosby (RM Poole), silver – LAEA
although Nottingham had the
crunching tackles from ET(ME) Gareth Smith
is a good example of what can be achieved spare other families the same tragedy.
Chris McGurk (HMS Sultan)
final word thanks to a try from
– particularly impressive as he was playing his
through hard work and determination.” They hope to raise awareness of the number
U73 Kg kyu grade: Gold – CPO
LLogs Steve Foston.
first game of rugby. (You might remember him
Aside from the three ‘blues’ games, most of young people who die from undiagnosed
Emery (Sultan), silver – AB
The netball side took to the
as junior boxing champ ‘Stingray’ Smith.)
RNRU eyes are fixed on the annual Army- heart conditions (eight people under 35 every
Stocker (Collingwood), bronze
court for the first time in two
A much tighter affair was the clash against a
Navy fixture at Twickenham in just three week in the UK), as well as supplying rugby
– AB Crowe (Collingwood)
years, narrowly losing to the
veterans’ XV in Doha, Qatar.
months’ time. clubs across the land with defibrillators.
Dan Grade: Gold – Mne Martin
Army and RAF.
Two converted tries down after quarter of
Long-term, victory over our traditional foe Among the fund-raising efforts so far
(RM Poole), silver – AET Clark
an hour, the Qataris substituted many of their
is, of course, the goal, but there’s a lot of rugby have been a 7s competition in the Falklands
(Raleigh), bronze – LAEA
Worth the
veterans for their first XV counterparts. to play before then.
organised by LPT ‘Topsy’ Turner of HMS
McGurk and Mne Miller(RM
And so the scoring by Argyll stayed stuck on “There is a real buzz throughout the senior Southampton and a match between the RN Poole)
14, while the locals ran in three tries to take a squad at the moment and more importantly, and the Glasgow Hawks (Craig’s former club), Masters: Gold – CPO John
weight
one-point victory. real competition for places,” says Lt Cdr Ashton plus a large raffle. Thacker (AFCO Shrewsbury),
Elsewhere, it’s been a blue start to 2008 for Jones. “I see this as a very healthy position for Top prize was a Peugeot 107, won by HMS silver Peter Powell (Collingwood)
RN rugby union – nothing to do with results Navy Rugby to be in. Kent’s AB Lisa Burt, who collected the keys Open: Gold – Mne Chris
though. “The U23 skipper, Cowboy John, is putting from RNRU Chairman Cdre Jim Patrick. Sherrington, silver – Mne Martin,
marina Continued from page 48
The first three fixtures of the year for the pressure on Combined Services captain, As for the trust fund, it stands well in excess bronze – AET Clark and Mne
a technical event made up 1st XV are all ‘blues’: Newbury Blues (as
Dave Pascoe for the number 9 shirt and this of £30,000 at present. Miller
of two lifts, the snatch and Navy News went to press), followed by Oxford
competition will intensify when Matt Rhodes ■ Tickets for the Twickenham clash are
the clean-and-jerk, where the University (at Burnaby Road on February 5) returns from Norway. available via
www.armynavymatch.org/
weight is lifted above the head. and, crucially, away to Les Bleus, the elite of the “Similarly Scott Llewellyn’s form for the ticket.htm, by calling 0870 4446633 or
Kayak with
Powerlifting is a test of pure French Navy, writes Lt Cdr Paula Rowe, Director Sharks suggests that Greg Barden will have to writing to Royal Navy Rugby Union, c/o
unadulterated, brute strength of Communications Navy Rugby. work hard to secure the outside centre’s shirt; Codestorm House, Walton Rd, Farlington,
the Kiwis
and comprises three lifts (‘full- That latter fixture takes place in the Stade likewise HMS Lancaster’s Wayne Duggan Hants, PO6 1TR.
power’); the squat, bench press A 12-strong team will be heading
and the dead lift.
Each competitor is allowed
three attempts at each lift, Sand wedges needed
to the land of the Kiwis next
spring for Kayak NZ 2009, a
major sporting/adventurous
the best lift in each discipline training around the coast of the
being added to their total; the Question: What does a hard working staff offi cer in Baghdad get up North Island.
lifter with the highest total is to on Christmas Day? Most of the three-week
the winner. The sport is also Answer: Plays golf for the honour of the Senior Service. expedition will be spent sea
divided into weight categories, Yes, while you were opening your pressies and dreaming of kayaking, but there will also be
although by using the ‘Wilkes turkey, Cdrs Simon Cole and John Gray (pictured, left, teeing off) a chance to paddle a river, plus
formula’ competitors of and Lt Cdr Dave Bucknall grabbed their clubs for the Inter-Service surfing and canoe polo.
different bodyweights can Crossed Swords Championships. The exped is likely to run
compete against each other. The Crossed-Swords course (so called as it’s in the shadow of between February 8 and the
Inspired by the success Baghdad’s most famous landmark) is a par 3 pitch and putt created beginning of March and will be
at the Inter-Services event, on open ground in the Iraqi capital’s International Zone. run by two ex-RN sailors now
particularly with such a Equipment has been donated by a number of donors including serving with the RNZN and a
short time to prepare, the Ping and Jack Nicklaus, and the modest $1 greens fee is collected chap from Wellington Canoe
aim is to hold an RN Bench for the Educational Trust Charity for dependants of service personnel Club.
Press Championship to raise killed in Iraq. The cost of the trip is still
awareness and build a team The fi xture consisted of a round-robin contest of foursomes and being calculated, but it’s likely to
ready to challenge for the Inter- singles. be part-funded by the RN Sports
Services trophy in 2008; date Sadly, the RN were pipped into second place by the RAF on the Lottery and AT funds.
and location will be revealed in fi nal hole of the fi nal match (but at least they didn’t take home the Details are available from Lt
due course. wooden spoon, a dubious honour bestowed upon the Army). Cdr Joe Wood on 9380 25623.
047_NN_Feb.indd 1 21/1/08 15:37:17
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