Reaching out through rugby on international duty
One great benefit of team sport, especially rugby, is the way it brings people together, whether in competition with opposing teams or as part of the same squad.
The essential skills built foster positive relationships and bring a shared bond. Sport’s common language can also help to break down barriers with new communities or in new environments.
Rugby can also boost the morale and cohesion of groups like Army regiments and help them to integrate with other communities. This was certainly the case for Capt Thomas ‘Ed’ Rutherford (1 RRF) his regiment’s rugby officer when on deployment in Estonia. The benefits for the regiment also travelled home with them.
“Sport is a brilliant way of breaking down initial apprehension that people can have in a group,” he says. “Once you’ve run around, playing against each other or playing alongside each other, you’ve got that bond. Any soldier worth his salt enjoys competing against not only his own countrymen but people from different countries as well – it’s really beneficial.”
Ed has enjoyed playing rugby since he was young, continuing his passion for the sport throughout his time with the Army.
“I started playing mini rugby at Tynedale in Northumberland,” he says. “I was about seven, following in my grandfather’s footsteps, and then played all the way through school.
“I joined the Army and started playing Battalion rugby in the early 90s, continuing to play as much as I could, until I was Company Sergeant Major and work got in the way. Then I hung up my boots.
“When I came back to be rugby officer, I began playing again because you have to lead by example, but now at 45 I’m not necessarily in the starting XV anymore!”
Connecting soldiers & Estonians
While on deployment in Estonia, Ed saw rugby as an ideal way to connect with not only his fellow soldiers but also with local communities, even though the sport is in its infancy in the former Soviet state.
“I tried to interact with the Estonian people because rugby’s a fledgling game out there,” he says.
“Within the Battalion I had quite a good base of players, but across the wider battle group, when we brought in people from different regiments on that tour, we produced a really good, larger group who wanted to interact with the Estonian people.
“Especially during COVID, when things were difficult but less restrictive in Estonia, we could leave camp and actually interact with the community.”
Helping to grow rugby locally and play alongside Estonian players, passing on their knowledge of the game, was very positive for the UK players. It enabled them to experience life outside the camp, while supporting the development of the sport in the area.
Says Ed: “In Estonia, there are only four or five teams across the entire country, and they play in a league with teams from Finland. We had some good coaches and were able to help their teams. We ended up playing with one of their squads based in the capital, Tallinn.
“Their English was pretty good – much better than our Estonian! Even for the few people who couldn’t speak English as a second language, showing them how to do things helped to cross that language barrier.
“When the guys went away to play with the team at weekends, they had a really enjoyable experience and a lot of the expat community were part of the club, so we were playing with Australians and a few English people as well as Estonians.
“The crowds that turned up really engaged with us as NATO troops, as we were at the time, and it was really, really well received.”
Benefits brought back home
Since returning from Estonia, Ed has seen interest in playing rugby continue to grow as more and more of his fellow soldiers see the benefit and enjoyment the game brings.
“We had such a good time playing out there that we’ve got loads more wanting to play and train to keep that going,” he explains. “Those bonds have been retained now we’ve been back almost a year and we’ve continued playing in competitions.
“Eighteen months ago, before we went to Estonia, I was struggling to put together a 15-man team to play friendlies. Now we’re regularly getting 50-60 members in a Battalion turning up twice a week for training sessions.
“As an Infantry Battalion, we’re quite into contact sport – we have a very good boxing team. Rugby clearly is on the increase as its profile has been raised in the Battalion and we’ve recently held an inter-company tens competition, which is the first time I can remember it being run in a long time. I’m absolutely ecstatic with the turnout.”
