Battle-ready for good cause
Navy in tribute match for Craig
A rugby match is to take place aimed at raising money for a trust set up following the tragic death of a Royal Marine from Strathblane.
Glasgow Hawks, for whom Craig Hodgkinson played, will take on the Royal Navy’s senior XV next Wednesday, March 8 at Old Anniesland.
The match, which kicks off at 7.30pm, will raise money for the Craig Hodgkinson Trust and the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity.
Craig’s parents, Diane and John Hodgkinson, of Strathblane, will present a trophy in their son’s name to the winning team on the night. The teams last met in 2007 when they contested a memorial match for Craig.
Diane and John and their family set up the Craig Hodgkinson Trust after 27-year-old Craig died in 2006 from an unknown cardiac defect while playing rugby for the Royal Navy.
Their aim is to cut the number of people who die from cardiac arrest while out in the community by providing defibrillator equipment to sports teams, clubs and communities across the UK.
Fly-half Craig played rugby at international level for the Marines and was playing in a game between Royal Navy and Cornwall County at Devonport when he collapsed 20 minutes into the fixture.
He had played throughout his school career, including games for Scotland under-18s and turned out for Glasgow Hawks .
After joining the Marines in May 2004, he won a top recruit award at training and joined 4 Assault Squadron Royal Marines on board HMS Bulwark in 2005.
This is the Navy’s fourth of seven preparation matches as they prepare for the 2017 Inter -Service competition against the Army and RAF in April.
Director of Rugby at Hawks, Kenny Hamilton, said: “Hawks are delighted to renew our friendship with Royal Navy rugby and there is a great deal of excitement about the match which follows our Scottish Cup quarter final against Gala on March 4.”
He added:“Because of the significance of the match we will be competing for a specially created Craig Hodgkinson Trophy on the night.
“That spirit of competition and friendship is the most appropriate tribute we can pay and we are looking forward to an enjoyable night.
“The Royal Navy is numerically the largest armed service in Scotland,” said Rear Admiral John Weale, Scotland’s most senior Royal Navy Officer.
There are 4,200 Royal Navy and Royal Marines personnel in Scotland and it was recently confirmed that HM Naval Base Clyde will become the UK’s single integrated submarine operating base from 2020.
From then all of the UK’s submarines will be based in Scotland, with HM Naval Base Clyde’s workforce increasing to 8,500 by 2022 as a result.
These personnel will support the introduction of the Astute-class attack boats by the mid-2020s and the new Dreadnought class of deterrent submarines from the early 2030s.
The construction phases of this work are expected to support a further 1,000 contractor jobs.
Spirit of competition is most appropriate tribute we can pay