Army defeats RAF to progress to the Betfred Challenge Cup second round

The British Army are through to the second round of the Betfred Challenge Cup after defeating the Royal Air Force in an all-military tie in Aldershot.

This first-round tie was delayed by a week after a frozen pitch forced both teams to abandon the game.

It is also the first time the Army have made it out of the first round of the Challenge Cup since 2022.

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The light blues got off the blocks in quick fashion and what people thought was an early try by Luke Broadbend ended up being disallowed by the referee.

But that disappointment didn't dampen the light blue's spirits as Ewan Makinson grounded the ball for the RAF's first try of the game, and Ben Symon added the extras to extend their lead to 0-6.

Minutes later, Broadbend was on the attack again and a great run saw him dot over the try line, extending the light blue's lead to 0-10.

The Army began to respond well, and Petero Canakaovata collected an offload and dodged the RAF defence well to run over the try line for the Army's first try of the game as Mikey McDonald added the extras for a conversion.

The RAF led by 6-10 going into the second half and they responded to the Army's growing threat in the first half with a converted try by Sam Roberts, extending their lead to 6-16.

The Army began to grow into the game again, and a great run by Jeremaia Deveta saw him break through the light blue defence, before offloading to Joeli Varo who finished the job, and ground the ball over the line for a converted try.

Minutes later an extraordinary run by Petero Canakaovata opened the door for the Army to double down.

As Canakaovata was downed by the RAF, Meli Tuicina was right there to collect the ball and complete the run over the line to level the scoreboard at 16-16.

Tuicina would drive forward for the Army once again with another great run past the RAF defence, before dotting down to score a brace with McDonald adding the extras with a conversion.

As the full-time whistle sounded, the Army celebrated a 22-16 victory over the RAF after having to come back from behind in the second half.

The reds will now progress on to the second round of the Betfred Challenge Cup where they will face London-based community club Wests Warriors on the 25 January.

Cover image: Alligin Photography