Lt Col Tim Osman

Eight years after a Parkinson’s diagnosis that could have ended his coaching days, Lieutenant Colonel Tim Osman is still leading from the front, as the UKAF head coach rallies his side for a Remembrance clash with Germany that’s about far more than rugby.

Tim Osman knows what it means to fight on multiple fronts. As a Lieutenant Colonel in the Royal Regiment of Artillery, he’s fought in Iraq and Afghanistan; as head coach of the Army’s men’s rugby team, as well as the UK Armed Forces [UKAF] men’s side, he’s battled for victory on the pitch. However, it was only after receiving a diagnosis for Parkinson’s disease eight years ago that Tim fully understood the meaning of fighting.

“When I was first diagnosed, there was a period of what I called ‘look-after-me’ time,” recalls Tim. “I quickly realised what was going to get me through was having a routine, simply getting out and about.

“Coaching rugby energises me, which helps when I’m tired and not feeling up to it, because of the way that the Parkinson’s kicks in and disrupts the way my body works and how I feel. Being head coach of UKAF and the Army has very much been a good thing to keep me ticking over, despite me shaking randomly on the side of the pitch and getting strange looks from the players who don’t know me that well.”

With his trademark determined and jovial spirit, Tim refuses to let his diagnosis sideline him. In the last eight years he’s taken on challenge after challenge in multiple fundraising campaigns, including cycling a thousand kilometres in a month in May 2024 to raise money for Parkinson’s UK. “I take 120 tablets a week, but at this point you just get on with it really,” he says. “Whenever we all get back into camp, the lads are great, they all take the piss out of me a little bit as well, which is all part of it.

“You learn to laugh at yourself, because sometimes I won’t be moving too well, or I’ll be a bit more grumpy than I should be, but hopefully the lads know that it’s the Parkinson’s and it's not just me being me.”

As Tim brings his UKAF squad back into camp, attention turns to a special occasion at Kingsholm in Gloucester, where his side will face Germany on 5th November in what promises to be a memorable contest. The fixture forms part of the military’s Remembrance series, which also sees the Army host the US military for the Field Marshal Sir John Dill Shield at Aldershot, while the Royal Navy U23s meet the RAF U23s at Stourbridge RFC.

With his service team lining up against a full national side, Tim welcomes the challenge as his players will be tested against well-drilled opposition. “It’s brilliant to have a chance to play against an up-and-coming international team who play in a really good setup in that tier of Rugby Europe,” he says. “It’s really good to pit our wits against a team like that, who are properly organised and preparing for their campaign in the spring. It’d be great to try and turn them over.

“It is an exhibition game,” he continues, “but it’s a remembrance game, so it's really important. From the players perspective, they’re sacrificing their time and energy into this with the blessing from their civilian clubs, so they’ve got the opportunity to represent what service rugby is all about.

“Having said that, we’re not going to be as dogmatic as adopting a ‘win at all costs’ mentality,” says Tim. “We’ve got the opportunity to play and enjoy ourselves how we want to, so I’ve given that over to the skipper Jarrard Hayler and the leadership group, to determine how they want to best enjoy their time.

“I dare say this will perhaps be a little bit more relaxed than as we build into the first pool game of IDRC [International Defence Rugby Competition] 2027 in Australia, but this is a stepping stone moment. We’re trying to get the boys together and bonding, which shouldn’t be too hard as while there’s a massive rivalry, we all know each other very well across the Army, Navy and Air Force.”

This meeting marks the second chapter in what is fast becoming an enduring rivalry between UKAF and Germany. The two sides first met in last year’s inaugural Remembrance fixture, when the visitors made a strong impression on their debut; Germany had stormed into a 17-0 lead after half an hour, before UKAF mounted a spirited fightback, narrowing the deficit to 26–29 with just over ten minutes to play. The visitors’ structure and composure, however, ultimately told, as Germany crossed for two late tries to seal a 43-26 victory.

Despite that result, Tim remains confident. With a strengthened squad and the lessons of last year still fresh in the memory, he believes his side is well placed to turn the tables this time around. “One of the exciting things for me personally this season is the fact that some of the bigger names like Semesa Rokoduguni, Josh McNally, and Sam Matevesi, are wanting to get back involved again and play for what is the best side in the services,” explains Tim. “The team is selected totally on merit, we’re going across to pick the strongest team possible, a bit like any other selection, like what Steve Borthwick has just done for the England squad for the Autumn internationals.

“There is representation cleared across all three services there, but I don’t necessarily feel as though the team should be selected on a quota system, because that’s not necessarily the best team you can put out on the day.

“This squad has a massive amount of experience, the lads have a combined 349 single service caps, which is absolutely fantastic and should allow us to put our best foot forward.”

With a seasoned group at their disposal, this UKAF squad comes together with purpose, eager to right the wrongs of last year’s Remembrance fixture, a match that carried deep emotion for all involved. The significance of the occasion has only grown since, as the team continues to honour the memory of their late teammate, Steffan Rees.

Steffan tragically passed away after an accidental fall while the squad were together at the International Defence Rugby Competition in France in 2023. French authorities later confirmed his body was discovered along the coast at Dinard, not long after he was reported missing from training.

In the days that followed, tributes poured in from across the rugby community. The UKAF side remained in France, determined to see the competition through, with their journey ending in a hard-fought semi-final defeat to Fiji. For Tim and the rest of the group, that experience, and the shared loss that bound them, has since become a source of strength and one which they continue to commemorate.

“The remembrance element will be particularly strong for the UKAF game, as we lost Steffan at IDRC ‘23,” assures Tim. “Last year his dad and brother came along to the UKAF remembrance game and presented a little trophy to Ryan Crowley, the RAF wing who won man of the match, which was a really nice touch. I had seen them at the funeral after we came back from France, but we haven't seen them for a year or so after that, so that was incredibly special.

“This year, we’ve got a number 12 embroidered on everybody’s shirt as a sort of little nod of remembrance to staff and Steffan as well. So that’s quite a nice touch for this year, to keep him at the forefront of our thoughts as we go into such a fun and enjoyable period with this massively important game in there as well.”

Tickets for the UKAF v Germany remembrance fixture are £5 for adults and £1 for under-13s, get yours now at eticketing.co.uk/gloucesterrugby.

This article was brought to you in partnership with Vodafone, Principal Partner of UKAF. #TheNationsNetwork