Chelsea Pensioners present Army men's rugby union side matchday shirts ahead of Twickenham clash

Ahead of their Twickenham clash with the Royal Navy, the Army men's rugby union players have paid a visit to former soldiers, the Chelsea Pensioners.

The retired soldiers of the British Army helped to deliver the Army's matchday shirts for the finale of the 2023 Inter Services rugby union championships.

As well as finding out who will be playing in the historic fixture, it gave the players a chance to brush up on their military history, with a tour of Royal Hospital Chelsea from some of its veteran residents.

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Team captain, Captain Stu Cross, called the presentation a "special moment" and highlighted the "banter" between servicemen.

He said: "It's a really special moment to have the shirt presentation here.

"From the tour guides we have today I think it was over collectively 100 years of service from the people presenting it.

"What was really strong was the sort of banter that's there from former servicemen.

"The message from the Army rugby union is just thanks for their support throughout the season, they've been at our games all the way through, and hopefully we will see them there again on Saturday."

Rugby has been taking off at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, with days out to games and even the formation of a walking rugby team.

Some of the Chelsea Pensioners will be watching the Army take on the Navy at the hospital's own cinema, while with 15 tickets reserved for them at the game, others will travel to Twickenham.

The 2023 Inter Services rugby union championships have seen both men's and women's teams from all three services battle for victory.

The four matches from this year's tournaments so far have been shown exclusively live on the Forces News YouTube channel, while serving personnel can also catch up via BFBS TV.

Closing out the tournament will be the Army v Navy Twickenham clash on 13 May, with former Royal Marines Commando JJ Chalmers set to anchor the coverage.

Joining him will be an array of military and sporting pundits, including England and Army star Jane Leonard and the Army and Royal Navy head coaches.

The matches will also be live on BFBS Radio, where ex-England rugby hooker, Mark Regan, and England's international rugby star, Rocky Clark, will commentate.