Not only making their names in the world of rugby, some of the iconic figures of the game have also gone on to join the military at the peak of their careers, while others joined the army forces before their rugby careers got going.
Here are six of the most famous rugby figures who served in the military.
#6. Bill McLaren
- Served with the Royal Artillery in Italy during the Second World War
- Position – Legendary commentator
He was called up in 1942, aged 18, and used as a forward observance officer (spotter); on one occasion Bill was confronted by a mound of 1,500 corpses in an Italian churchyard. Local men, women and children had been caught up in the battle and had paid a terrible price. The Germans, too, had been wiped out and their corpses lay strewn in heaps in this cemetery along with those of the townsfolk.
It was an unpleasant experience he later recalled in his autobiography: “The boy I’d been was gone. I suspect he disappeared for ever on that awful morning. When you grow old, you look back on your life and reflect upon key stages, specific moments. That day in 1944 in Italy was certainly one of those key moments for me.”
Bill became 2nd Lieutenant 281771, Royal Artillery, and was involved in the fighting on the Italian peninsula for two whole years. In 1943 he was attached to 20/21 battery, 5 Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery, which he joined shortly after the Salerno landings.
It wasn’t until in February 1947 – having negotiated German snipers and artillery gunners, the worst excesses of the Italian climate and the physical fatigue and mental traumas associated with war – that Temporary Captain William Pollock McLaren was demobbed. Bill’s homecoming was tinged with sadness knowing that many of his comrades had not returned with him.
DID YOU KNOW? He played in a Scotland trial in 1947 and was on the verge of a full international cap before contracting tuberculosis
#5. Semesa Rokoduguni
- Serving soldier in the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
- Position – Centre and wing
- Clubs and Teams: British Army from 2011, Bath from 2012 with 194 caps
- England – 2014 with 4 caps
Rokoduguni currently serves in the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. Fijian-born, he is the most successful military player in men’s rugby today. Despite operational commitments and a demanding job, he plays for Bath and has attained International status, having made his England debut in 2014.
#4. Rob Wainwright
- Major in the Royal Army Medical Corps – 1987 to1999
- Position – Flanker, Number 8
- Clubs / Teams: London Scottish F.C, Glasgow Warriors, West Hartlepool R.F.C, Army Rugby Union
- Scotland – 1992-1998 with 37 caps
- British Lions – 1997 with 1 cap
Wainwright managed to maintain a professional rugby career alongside his military life. Having been commissioned into the Royal Army Medical Corps as a doctor, he went on to achieve 37 caps for Scotland and also played for the British and Irish Lions.
#3. Tim Rodber
- Former Captain in the Green Howards Infantry Regiment until 2001
- Position – Flanker, Number 8
- Clubs / Teams: Northampton with 235 caps
- England – 1992-1999 with 44 caps
- British and Irish Lions – 1997 with 2 caps
Rodber, a rugby union player (retired) played for the British and Irish Lions as well as for England, earning 44 caps. Throughout his professional rugby career, he served in the army as a Captain in the Green Howards Regiment.
#2. Josh Lewsey
- Troop Commander in the Royal Artillery in 2001
- Position – Fullback, wing and centre
- Clubs / teams: Bristol 1997-1998, London Wasps – 1998-2009, St Agnes – 2011
- England – 1998-2008 with 55 Caps
- British and Irish Lions – 2005 with 3 Caps
Former World Cup winner, Lewsey passed out of Sandhurst in 2001 and joined the Royal Artillery. For two years he juggled his professional rugby life with his military career before resigning his commission. In 2009 Lewsey retired from international rugby.
#1. Will Carling
- Former Officer in the Royal Regiment of Wales
- Position – Centre
- Clubs / Teams: Harlequins
- England – 1988-1997 with 72 caps
- British and Irish Lions
After attending a posh school on an army scholarship, Carling was commissioned into the Royal Regiment of Wales before resigning to concentrate on his professional rugby career. He was the youngest ever England Captain at the age of 22. He achieved 72 caps for England and represented the British and Irish Lions.
DID YOU KNOW? He was romantically linked by some members of the press with Diana, Princess of Wales, the then-wife of Prince Charles
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- Jordie Barrett over Damian de Allende is far from being correct. The hype around Dupont is also overreaching, he's probably 4th in the world and has been since the 2023 WC. He also avoids certain matchups which is strange. The rest of the list is pretty good apart from minor subjective biases.JasonMarlow16-09-2026
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