Army Take On Northampton Saints To Honour WWI Rugby Player

The Army has lost the 2018 Mobbs Memorial rugby match 54-21 away to Northampton Saints, although the occasion was far more significant than the result.

First played in 1921, the tie celebrates the life of former rugby player Lieutenant Colonel Edgar Mobbs, who was killed in World War I.

The legacy of Lt Col Mobbs runs right through Northampton Saints and the British Army.

He's a local hero, and a hero of Army rugby too.

It was Northampton's next generation that came to the fore, with 20 of the 24 players involved progressing through the Saints Academy.

And they were a class act, running in eight tries against an Army side with players still hoping to make the Army-Navy match at Twickenham.

The first try came from Jamie Elliott, with a second following soon after from Will Allman in front of a crowd of over 2,000 people.

They scored two more before half-time, making the score 26-0 at the break.

And when Allman got his second just after the restart, a rout looked on the cards.

But the Army regrouped and got its first try, with Senitiki Nayalo the man under the bodies under the posts, before James Dixon notched the conversion.

Saints scored again before Pete Austin put his name on the scoresheet from a brilliant forward drive for 40-17.

Northampton ran in their seventh and eighth tries before the Army had the final say, pushing the final score to 54-21.

Army captain Lance Corporal James Dixon said the game was an important one for the team:

"We come here every two years and the fixture is always massive. The physicality and speed of the game, it's always getting quicker and quicker."

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