Royal Navy women's rugby team takes on 62,000 burpee challenge to raise money for the NHS

THE women’s Royal Navy Rugby Union team was to make history with their first match at Twickenham on Saturday – but have found themselves undertaking a very different physical feat.
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The match would have been the first women’s game at the Army Navy Match, an annual fixture since 1878, but the coronavirus outbreak has caused the games to be postponed.

But the women’s teams for the navy and army have turned disappointment into community support, undertaking a burpee exercise challenge to raise money for NHS charities.

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The group originally aimed to complete more than 82,000 reps across Saturday – representing the number of fans that were expected at the Twickenham match – but more than 80 armed forces members have pledged to complete the exercise 150,000 times.

The women's Royal Navy Rugby Union team.The women's Royal Navy Rugby Union team.
The women's Royal Navy Rugby Union team.

Suz Badger, a fitness instructor based at HMS Collingwood, said: ‘I pledged to do 2,000 burpees – it’s been pretty tiring, but well worth the effort.

‘We have had a Zoom meeting going throughout the day to give each other encouragement.

‘We had aimed to raise £10,000, but we’re close to £11,000 already.

‘It’s gone up by £3,000 in a day.’

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The money will go to NHS Charities Together, which gives more than £1m a day to 230 NHS charities across the UK.

The women taking part in the fundraising included service personnel working as doctors and nurses on the front line of the coronavirus pandemic.

Suz, who has served in the navy since 2012, said: ‘There’s a lot of girls in our team – as well as our friends and family – who work as key workers supporting the NHS. We have team members who are doctors and nurses

‘It’s why we wanted to show our support – it’s a cause close to our heart.’

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And the challenge did not just take place on dried land – with sailors joining from HMS Richmond and HMS Queen Elizabeth.

The team hopes to take part in the first women’s match at Army Navy event at Twickenham next year.

Thirty-one-year old Suz added: ‘It would have been amazing.

‘We wanted to do something to keep the team’s spirits up.’

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