Fujitsu named as a new sponsor of the UK Armed Forces Rugby Union Team.
As part of our longstanding commitment to Team Army, Fujitsu are proud to become an official sponsor of the new UK Armed Forces Rugby Team.
Fujitsu have supported Team Army since 2010, through our sponsorship of the Army Sailing Association’s racing yacht ‘British Soldier’, the Army U23 Football team and now the new UK Armed Forces Rugby Team – demonstrating Fujitsu’s belief that we can help others realise their full potential.
“Fujitsu are committed to the men and women of the British Armed Forces and through our partnership with Team Army we are able to demonstrate this through our support of competitive sport.”
Tim Gibson, Vice President, Fujitsu Defence and National Security
“The Army places a huge premium on sport, not just because it expects its personnel to be fit to serve, but because it feeds a winning culture and ethos that inspire hunger for success on both the sports field and the battlefield. Fujitsu’s ongoing support of our servicemen and women, through Team Army, enables many soldiers to take part in sporting activities which might otherwise be beyond their reach. Team Army hugely appreciates Fujitsu’s commitment to the British forces.”
Maj Gen Lamont Kirkland CBE, CEO Team Army & Ethos Fundraising Ltd
Read more on Fujitsu’s commitment to Team Army and being a Responsible business here.
UK Armed Forces Rugby Union – history
In 1908 the Army and Navy teams combined to play Australia at Portsmouth where Australia won 8–6. Sixteen years later a Combined Services team hosted the touring All Blacks in front of a 25,000 crowd at Twickenham. Since that first meeting the teams have met on seven occasions and though the CS team have never been victorious, they pushed the Kiwis very close in 1935 when they lost 6-5 at Aldershot’s Military Stadium.
In recent years the Barbarians have been regular opponents for the Combined Services and through this series the annual Remembrance match has grown to be a key fixture in the annual sporting calendar; a game that raises funds for the Royal British Legion’s annual poppy day appeal. The first match was in 1997 but it wasn’t until the fifth, held in Plymouth, that Combined Services recorded their first win over the World’s most famous club.
The last Combined Services game was, like the first, also held at Twickenham. On this occasion it was the Combined Services U23 XV who played their annual match against a side selected from Oxford and Cambridge University. This match was the first, and last, time a Combined Services cap was awarded as in early 2015 the Armed Forces Sports Control Board made the decision that its representative sporting teams would participate under the name ‘United Kingdom Armed Forces Rugby Union’.
For further information about UKAFRU visit ukafru.symbiostock.com