Army Rugby Union head off for historic tour of Australia, New Zealand and Fiji hoping for glory

Julian Evans Kyle Dixon – 3rd July 2025 at 2:14pm

The British Army men’s rugby union team have jetted off for a history-making tour of Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.

Timed to coincide with the British and Irish Lions’ series down under, the Army are set for some important tests including a curtain raiser ahead of the big Lions v Australia match.

The Army have history with Fiji that goes back to the 2015 International Defence Rugby Competition but this will be the first time the service team have played in Fiji.

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Army set for three key showdowns

The tour is based around three key clashes for the Army as well as a number of important training exercises during the tour.

It starts with a fixture against the New Zealand Army in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with a scheduled kick-off time of 13:30 NZST (02:30am BST) on 9 July.

From there, the team will head to Fiji for a monumental fixture against the Republic of Fiji Military Forces at Buckhurst Park 1 with a 12:00 FJT (13:00 BST) kick-off time on 12 July.

That match will also serve as a curtain-raiser for Fiji’s match against Scotland later in the afternoon.

The tour will finish in Australia with a fixture against Queensland Country/Wests at Wests Rugby Club on 19 July at 15:30pm AEST (06:30 BST).https://www.instagram.com/p/DLpB-5BoHz0/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=14&wp=810&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.forcesnews.com&rp=%2Fsport%2Frugby-union%2Farmy-rugby-union-head-historic-tour-australia-new-zealand-and-fiji-hoping-glory#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A2907.7999999970198%2C%22ls%22%3A1616.5%2C%22le%22%3A1970.8999999910593%7D

Testing themselves against Forces rugby’s big hitters

The matches against New Zealand and Fiji’s Forces teams will provide the Army with a stern test, which is their usual aim with fixtures against the French Army and USA Military already an important part of their season.

Head Coach Lieutenant Colonel Tim Osman said: “The aspiration was to generate more force on force, military against military fixtures as well as our own domestic competitions.

“This is pretty unprecedented to go to all three countries. I don’t think the Army have toured Fiji before. To go and play them over there is a fantastic opportunity and no mean challenge as well.

“Three games of that magnitude in such a short space of time will be very tough on the boys and their conditions, but it’s something we’re looking to embrace and get on with.”

A strong Army squad heading out on tour

Despite the time of year and work commitments, the Army are pleased to be taking a strong team out for the tour with the majority of the Inter Services squad on the plane.

That includes former England player Semesa Rokoduguni, who will be looking forward to playing in Fiji, the country where he was born.

“We know we have some really good superstars in there and a lot of experience,” said the Army and UK Armed Forces head coach.

“We were adamant that we take as strong a squad as we possibly could. I’m sure the welcome Roko gets in Fiji will be great.”

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