Ruthless Royal Dismantle Fleet Air Arm In Yeovilton
Inverdale Challenge Round 4
Fleet Air Arm v Royal Marines
On a blustery day in Somerset, the Royal Marines produced a dominant performance to completely overwhelm the Naval Airmen in a one-sided affair, winning 61-7. Both teams arrived in Yeovilton full of confidence having comfortably won their previous fixtures, and on paper this was going to be a tight game that could've gone either way. That wasn't the case, and it will be back to the drawing board for the Fleet Air Arm team.
The first half got underway with The Royal Marines playing into a strong wind, and disaster struck for the Bootnecks as the FAA intercepted a pass to go under the sticks in the opening 90 seconds. Unfortunately, this would be the only time the WAFUs would threaten the RM try line for the rest of the game. The Royal Marines quickly regrouped and within a few minutes had levelled the score, and from this point on the bombardment didn't stop. For the remainder of the half the Marines were relentless, carrying hard, running excellent support lines coupled with a well organised, disciplined defence. As a result they ran in a further three tries making the halftime score 31-7.
The second half continued in the same vein with the Royal Marines scoring five more tries. Key to their success was a high level of discipline, and the wave after wave of brutal defence leaving an experienced FAA side looking lost at times. With ball in hand, they were equally ruthless and were enjoying dominating the physical battle, producing quick ball for the backs to run riot. Full Time 61-7
"I'm delighted with that performance and that's the best I've seen us play. All week we spoke about the physical challenge the FAA present, and we worked hard on carrying into contact and ruck speed. That really showed today, in addition our discipline was excellent. They have such a potent set piece, and we didn't want to give them the chance to use it in our red zone. They'll come again, they're still a good side and on another day they could have beaten us, but today belonged to us." Said Major Oli Mason, Head Coach Royal Marines Rugby.
With both teams now on two wins in the competition they are guaranteed to square off in the Inverdale Challenge Final in Portsmouth on the 26th of January. The postponed game between RN East and RN West has been rescheduled to the 19th of January and will see both sides play for pride as both are now unable to reach the final.
