Dauntless Under Dragon Fire

HMS Dauntless (DNTL) played only their second competitive match against a strong HMS Dragon (DRGN) under the lights at Fareham Heathens, who were fantastic hosts coming to the rescue at the last minute to allow this fixture to go ahead.  With only a handful of training sessions together including two contact sessions prior, DNTL held their own and showed no signs of inexperience or nervousness with the physicality of the fixture.

The DNTL pack had never endured a live scrum before, managing to remain strong against the more experienced DRGN forwards throughout! This was the starting point for proper head-to-head battles across the pitch. A fast-paced free flowing rugby spectacle kept the 40+ crowd suitably entertained.

DRGN opened the scoring with a well-executed try in the corner, showcasing their impressive handling skills after 15 minutes of relentless end-to-end action. Despite this early setback, DNTL remained composed, using powerful forward drives to position their backs for a promising offensive push.

A strong lineout set the basis for attack in DRGN’s 22 and a good move saw DNTL score a try of their own.

With the score tied at 5-5, the game continued with relentless end-to-end rugby. HMS Dauntless lost crucial ground due to back chatting the referee, just as they seemed poised to break through DRGN's line. This pattern persisted throughout the half, culminating in a yellow card for a DNTL back row forward as patience wore thin. Despite this setback, the team rallied together, mounting a robust defence against the swift and dangerous DRGN backs.

More toing and froing across the pitch saw DNTL claw back a second try following a full pitch run by the very dangerous DNTL No. 14. This was just rewards having one try chalked off earlier for a forward pass.

The score stood at 12 - 10 and the physical nature of the game saw many changes for both sides as they looked to take the game by the scruff of the neck.

The game remained frantic and very tight until the DRGN backs created a good move creating space around the doglegged defence to extend their lead 19 - 10.

The last 10 minutes saw DNTL retain possession and consistently attacked the HMS Dragon’s solid defence until the final whistle brought an end to the great display of Unit rugby.

Following the game we grabbed a quick chat with DNTL Head coach Rob Fuca, “This team has surpassed any expectation I had for this fixture. With only a couple of sessions under our belt the set piece was untested with our front row experiencing a live scrum for the first time against this strong Dragon pack. Everyone is now buzzing to push on as we build together into the new year when we are back for maintenance.”

Words by R Fuca

Images by T Everitt