The RNRU were well represented at the RN Sports Awards with three nominees and it was Sam Matavesi who became RN Sportsman of the Year
A selection of latest stories that have been published on the Royal Navy Rugby Union website or the History of Navy Rugby by Alligin Photography website.
Historical Editorial from the Extensive Archives of Alligin Photography
Naval Service Sports Boards Awards were held at Lord's Cricket Ground
Naval Service Sports Board Awards 2019
The Royal Navy Rugby Union was well represented at the 2019 Naval Service Sports Board Awards Dinner 2019 with three players being nominated:
Scott Makepeace - Young Sportsperson of the Year
Charlie Fredrickson - Sportswomen of the Year
Sam Matavesi - Sportsman of the Year
Followers of Navy Rugby will know that all three enjoyed excellent seasons but as ever the competition to win was high with some very talented athletes nominated in other sports from across the Naval Service. However with a strong international showing, good performances at Rugby World Cup 2019 and most recently a move from Pirates to Northampton Saints it was not a suprise that Sam was awarded the Sportsman of the Year Trophy.
Congratulations to all three from the History of Navy Rugby your join a select band of Navy Rugby players and officals who have been nominated and Sam becomes only the 7th winner of a Naval Service Sports Board Award.
Geraint
Sam Matevesi - Naval Services Sports Board Sportsman of the Year 2019
Sam Matevesi - Naval Services Sports Board Sportsman of the Year 2019
Scott Makepeace - Naval Services Sports Board Young Sportsperson of the Year Runner Up 2019
Charlie Fredrickson - Naval Services Sports Board Sportswoman of the Year Runner Up 2019
But First Some History
Paul Dunn - Sportsman of the Year 1977
Paul Dunn Leads the Way
As with so much of what he did in his rugby and Service career it was Paul Dunn who led the way in 1977 when he won the Sportsman of the Year Award also securing the Combined Services Sportsman of the Year Award.
Navy Rugby then had a ten year wait before the famous team of 1987 were made Naval Service Sports Board Team of the Year.
Captain Chris Alcock and his 1987 team
As with Paul's award the team also secured the Combined Services Team of the Year Award.
Mike Connolly receiving the CS Team of the Year Award alongside Chris Alcock
The wait for the next award winner was even longer but after 17 years Geraint Ashton Jones was awarded both the Naval Service Sports Offical of the Year and the Combined Services Sports Official of the Year in 2004.
6 years later he was to become the only double recipient when he again was awarded the Naval Service Sports Offical of the Year Award in 2010. The previous year Navy Rugby had two award nominees in 2009 - Greg Barden for Sportsman of the Year and Ash Coates for Sports Offical of the Year. Both were runners up.
The RNRU had two nominees in 2009 - Grge Barden and Ash Coates with their runners up salvers.
2013 - 3 RNRU Nominations
As with this year, 2013 saw three nominations for Naval Service Sports Board awards from the Royal Navy Rugby Union. Tom Davies received his nomination in the Young Sportsperson of the Year category, Andrew Wilcox was nominated as Sports Offical of the Year and current Head Coach, then Navy Rugby captain, Dave Pascoe was nominated as Sportsman of the Year.
Again showing parallels with 2019 Tom and Andrew were runners up but Dave not only won the Naval Sportsman of the Year Award but went on to become Combined Services Sportsman of the Year.
Andrew Wilcox runner up as Sports Offical of the Year 2013
Tom Davies runner up as Young Sportsperson of the Year 2013
Three talented Sports
men in their day - Dave Pascoe was CS and Naval Service Sportsman of the Year in 2013
Sports Women to the Fore
In 2014 Navy Rugby secured its first Naval Service Sports Board Awards winner in the Sportswoman of the Year when it was won by Paula Bennett-Smith. It was not a long wait before they secured their second when it was won, last year, by Sam Alderson. By one of those sporting quirks both players had won their Navy Women's cap in the same match against the Royal Air Force in 2013.
Paula Bennett-Smith and Sam Alderson in 2013
Paula Bennett-Smith bows out in 2014 but later in the year became NSSB Sportswomen of the Year
Sam Alderson - Naval Service Sports Board Sportswoman of the Year 2018
The 2019 Nominees
Scott Makepeace - runner up NSSB Young Sportsperson of the Year 2019
Scott Makepeace
After a successful period as U23 XV player and captain which delivered Scott Inter Service titles and the Brian Week's award, 2019 saw Scott step up to become the Senior XV captain. A role which he visibly grew in to throughout the season. He led his side to a well thought-out and hard fought victory over the Royal Air Force before succumbing to the Army in the final game of the season.
His individual play saw him selected for the UK Armed Forces squad that competed in the 2019 International Defence Force World Cup where he established himself as one of the best Service lock forwards in the UK.
Scott established himself as Navy Senior XV cpatain throughout hte 2019 season
Charlie Fredrickson - runner up NSSB Sportswomen of the Year 2019
Charlie Fredrickson
Charlie finally hung up her boots as a player in 2019 and I believe was due to be part of the coaching team for UKAF Women in their Remembrance Fixture that never was. However if her playing career is anything to go by she will no doubt emulate Dave Pascoe and transition seemlessly from captaining her side (captain twice from 2011-13 & 2015-17) to being a vrey good coach.
It is hard to put her rugby career in to context but though she bowed out as the most capped Navy Women's player on 20 caps, 1st capped in 2012, I feel that this does her (and a number of other women a dis-service). If she had been capped as per the men then she would have been awarded 32 caps which would place her 3 behind Dave Pascoe and 1 ahead of Bob Armstrong and Ben Priddey! And like Bob and Ben, Charlie was invariably in the the thick of the action as a player; from her 1st to her final game. Or will she be tempted by one last Inter Service challenge now the Women are getting to play at Twickenham.
Lost in thoughts - Charlie Fredrickson in refelctive mood after her last match as a Navy Rugby Player
Sam Matavesi - quite some year!!
Sam Matavesi - playing for Fiji against Scotland
Sam Matavesi
Sam knows Dave Pascoe and I hope someone may have spoken to him about Paul Dunn. As Navy Rugby's 3rd winner of the NSSB Sportsman of the Year he is in very good company and company that he has earned the right to be with. From his debut off the bench in 2017 against the RAF at Halton, Sam has been an excellent servant and ambassador for Navy Rugby and I say that in full acknowledgement of the 2018 Army v Navy match where he was in the headlines for very different reasons.
However it is not just for the Service that he has excelled and his international performances have gone from strength to strength. He became the first Navy player to play in a Rugby World Cup and produced some fine performances playing in a very exciting Fiji team. Having had a short spell as injury cover at Toulouse last season his recent signing by table toppers, Northampton Saints, only goes to underline the remarkable year that Sam has enjoyed.
His award is rightful recognition and no doubt there are a few more chapters that Sam will write in the History of Navy Rugby over the seasons to come.
Congratulations.
Sam Matavesi - try scoring against Tonga. Click image to go to a full gallery of Sam Matavesi photograpghs from Service and International Rugby.
Images from Alligin Photography, Scott Taetsch, Craig Watson, Scrumpix, Mike Connolly, Neil Kennedy, Andrew Cornaga, Andrew Fosker, Nick Flexman, Royal Navy
History is about people not about dates and data. The History of Navy Rugby website remains dedicated to bringing you the stories behind the players, officals and administrators that made the Union what it is today. The views are those of Alligin Photography alone. We remain proudly unofficial.
