Marines and medics go head-to-head for a good cause
Royal Marines RFC v Peninsula Medical School – Tuesday 2 November 2009 The second match of the RMRFC's season saw a capable team pitched against The Peninsula Medical School in a 'Help For Heroes' charity event organised by Surg Cdr Anthony Lambert RN. Over 3,000 spectators turned up despite the dispiriting rain showers to watch a keenly contested match, generously refereed by none other than Wayne Barnes, which finished in a well-scripted 17-17 draw! In truth, a Corps team containing some experienced but perhaps slightly complacent players underperformed whilst the medics played out of their skins, scoring the first two well-taken tries to counter an expansive running and passing game plan that was too ambitious for a tenaciously scrambling defence and the prevailing weather. Much RM possession was therefore lost through widely-flung passes that didn’t stick whilst some penetrating runs withered for want of the timing and accuracy of the final offload. Nevertheless, led from the front by Cpl Gaz Evans, the Corps fought back strongly to dominate the scrum, and apart from a couple of scares, controlled the last 50 minutes comfortably enough to equalise with three well-crafted tries. This produced a pleasing result that satisfied the largely neutral crowd, and the total raised for charity was a magnificent £20,000.