Tri-Service

Fiji Blow Army Away In IDRC Final

By John-Paul Tooth

Fiji have been crowned champions of the International Defence Rugby Competition at the Twickenham Stoop, in the tournament's showpiece final.

The stronger team throughout the game, they were deserved 30-10 winners.

France and New Zealand had set the tone earlier in the day with a nail-biting clash - the bronze medal eventually taken by Les Bleus 24-19.

And once the main event had got underway, it was all pressure from the Fijians from the off.

They showed their strength straight away with an early try from Aminiasi Nava, with a conversion and penalty making it 10-0 after just 14 minutes.

The Army were struggling at the breakdown, but got themselves back in it with their own penalty - Owain Davies putting them back within a score with a long kick through the posts.

And there was more good news for them mid-way through the half, when Fiji went down to 14 after Cavuilati was sin binned for a high tackle.

But that was ultimately the closest they got. Fiji penned them into their own half for the rest of the first period, before really turning it on after the interval.

The Army pick up their medals after a frustrating night

They showed strong defence, just holding up a Fijian attempt to get the ball over the line and clearing their lines on a number of occasions.

But eventually the pressure told. Fiji's forwards bundled over two tries as the half wore on, making an already difficult task nigh on impossible.

Knoxy Laqekoro grabbed a consolation try for the British Army at the end, but ultimately it was the Fijians night - one that undoubtedly ran long with deserved celebrations.

It was a tough night for the Army, but they've got plenty to be proud of over the course of the tournament, and were ultimately facing an extremely strong team full of internationals. They'll be determined to take the positives from the experience - and come back stronger.