History of Army Women's (ARUW) Rugby
As gender barriers within sports were broken down towards the end
of the 20th century it became acceptable for women to play rugby,
by the mid-1990's servicewomen were regularly playing the game and
in 1996 their efforts were officially recognised by the Army Rugby
Union.
Women's rugby grew under the guidance of one of its founders Lt
Col EE Cunningham, Adjutants General’s Corps (AGC). Success
was soon in coming - in 2001 during their tour of Cyprus the Women's
Tens Team lifted the Akrotiri Tens Cup and since then their triumphs
on the pitch have continued. Lt Col EE Cunningham retired from the
position of ARU (W) Chairwoman at the end of the 2007-08 season.
In 2003 a Women's Inter-Service Competition was introduced to run
alongside the men's competition that had been in existence since
1920. The inaugural competition was won by the Army who, under the
captaincy of Major S Butler, beat both the Royal Navy (35-5) and
the Royal Air Force (RAF). Since its inception the Army has dominated
the competition beating both Royal Navy and RAF teams in 2003, 2004,
2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010.
The women made their first international tour to Canada in 2005
and followed it in 2007 with a tour to New Zealand.
The Corps Competition was extended to include women's teams in
the 2007-08 season and in its inaugural season it was won by the
Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) women's team who
beat the Army Medical Services team.
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