RAF and Army men in thrilling draw to blow Inter Services rugby league title race wide open
The RAF and Army played out a thrilling 22-22 draw in their Inter Services rugby league showdown to leave the competition wide open heading into the final weekend.
The Royal Air Force had been hoping to win it at Stanningley after their victory over the Royal Navy in Portsmouth, then looking to do the double in Yorkshire after the women beat their Army counterparts 18-14 to make history, but the red shirts managed to stymie their progress and they too can win the competition, with a win over the Royal Navy and with the help of a favourable points difference.
The Army beat the Air Force twice in 2025, and the corresponding Inter Service fixture last year resulted in a win for the Army to hand the Navy the title.
The Army went into the interval 18-10 ahead, hoping to utilise momentum to their favour, but the dancing feet of dual code star Kieron Prescott had other ideas and he cut cleverly back inside during an RAF move close to the tryline, dotting the ball against the base of the post cushion and grab his side a crucial four points, with a further two added in the conversion.
Prescott proved difficult for the Army defence to deal with, and scored another with 20 minutes to go, finding a half gap, darting in between two defenders and scoring on the left wing to move his side ahead, and the score moved to 22-18.
Niumata Corivuka, Army centre, finished off an Army move to use space out wide on the right wing, to level the scores with around 10 minutes to go, and an unsuccessful conversion meant the scores stayed locked on 22-all.
There were two drop goal attempts from the Army as they pressed forward in the dying minutes of the game and tried to convert territorial advantage, but they went wide and both sides know next weekend in Heworth will decide the title.
Related topics
Join Our Newsletter
