Navy Fought the Law and the Navy Won

In a commanding display, Navy Rugby triumphed over GB Police with a resounding 77 - 10 victory at Sixways Stadium in Worcester – the last of the Police’s fixture against the single Services. Welsh International Andries Pretorius set the tone in the pre-match proceedings, emphasising that "Character is the only thing you have to take with you," a sentiment that was echoed by Director of Rugby, Tom Blackburn and what was on display on the pitch. The Navy demonstrated their class, while the Police showed their character by fighting valiantly until the final whistle.

The match began with early pressure from the Police in the Navy's 22. A loose ball allowed the Police to score first, capitalising on a lineout maul. The initial exchanges suggested a closely contested game, with the Police recycling the ball efficiently and quickly into the wide channels. However, the Navy soon turned the game on its head. Hooker Jack Wright broke through tackles to score the first of the Navy's 12 tries.

At the quarter mark, Jay Toogood intercepted a pass and raced half the pitch to score, though his match ended prematurely as he left the field supported by medical staff. Rory Dingemans added two tries from fullback in the first half. An interception by Rory Mitchell and a strong inside line from Scott Makepeace, with Dingemans in support on both occasions, resulted in his 2 scores. George Edson exploited a fumbled kick by the Police 15, cantering over under the posts. Both Edson and Gott maintained a 100% success rate with their kicking duties in the first half, leading to a halftime score of 35 - 5 in favour of the Navy.

The second half saw Makepeace restarting the scoring spree, crossing the line with three defenders on his back. A midfield break by replacement George Starr set up vice-captain Chris Mills for a try, with Jake Hanley, on for Gott, converting the first of his five successful kicks. Further tries followed at regular intervals, with Ratu Vakalutakali and AJ King adding to the scoreboard. The Police managed to break the pattern with a score from a driving maul at the 70-minute mark.

The Navy concluded the match with two quickfire tries. Craig Duncan scored in a 3 v 1 situation, and Axon’s Man of the Match Jamin Hoffman finished the game with a try from a Kane Teear-Bourge offload, sealing the final score at 77 - 10 in favour of the Royal Navy.

Dave Pascoe shared his excitement, saying “It was an exciting night for us with all the players putting their markers down for the upcoming capped games. Previous police fixtures have seen us locked into an arm wrestle and not being able to pull away. This season we were able to execute the game plan that we had trained for. Perfect preparation for the upcoming challenge of the French Navy in Havant next week.”

Senior Men: T Lindsay, J Wright, D Cleverley; D Johnson, S Makepeace; C Mills (VC), B Mallett, R Mitchell; J Toogood, J Gott, B Chambers (C), G Edson, J Hoffman, K Teear-Bourge, R Dingemans.

Replacements: R Williams, W Napier, B Watson, D MacAdams, G Starr, R Vakalutukali, L Roxby, D Rutter, D Rutter, J Hanley, AJ King, B Raivalitia, C Duncan.

Words by J Campbell_Baldwin