UKAF men concede President's Cup to English Universities in a feisty clash

The men's UK Armed Forces Rugby League team have conceded the President's Cup to the England Universities team following a physical clash at Halton Farnworth Hornets.

The UKAF side were the table setters in the opening minutes of the game, with Royal Navy left wing Myles Macon going over in the corner, with Army dual-coded player Michael McDonald adding the extra two points.

England Universities followed up with a try of their own, with Jake Dickerson dotting over the line and Fin Ballback converting to level the scoreboard to 6-6.

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Minutes later, England Universities were on the march again, this time with Leon Stuart going over for the try, and Ballback following up with another conversion.

Twenty-one minutes in, UKAF followed up with another converted try from RAF lock Nathan Barker to once again level the scoreboard at 12-12 halfway through the first half.

With momentum building for UKAF ahead of half time, UKAF scored once again as Royal Navy right wing Harry Vorwerg dotting over to put UKAF ahead at 12-16 after McDonald missed his conversion.

Just on half time, UKAF were awarded a penalty. McDonald opted for a penalty kick, which he converted to add two points to UKAF's tally, and they led 12-18 at the halfway stage.

In the opening minutes of the second half, England Universities came back swinging with Harry Lowry going over, and Ballback followed up with a conversion to take the two sides back square at 18-18.

Minutes later, England Universities' prowess began to show through with Elliott Martin going over for another converted try for the home team, placing them back into the lead at 24-18.

The momentum had suddenly swung into the student side's favour, as James Leach powered over for another try for England Universities, and Ballback converted to stretch their lead to 30-18 as UKAF struggled to find answers.

Things got worse for UKAF after Royal Navy prop Jack Ray was handed a red card and sent off following a heated exchange with another player, leaving the UKAF side down to just 12 players.

Shortly after finding themselves a player down, UKAF struggled to find answers to the student side's impressive play in the second half, as Charlie Yeamon scored another try for English Universities.

But minutes later, Royal Navy second row James Teixera found a way through and powered over for UKAF's first second-half try, and McDonald added the extra two points to bring them up to 36-24.

But the student side had already grown to a level of confidence that made them look unstoppable, with Lowery scoring his second try of the evening.

UKAF were finding their feet again in the latter stages of the game, as RAF second row TJ Richardson powered over for a converted try.

But it was too late for UKAF to stage a comeback and, come the full-time whistle, it would be the team from England Universities who would emerge victorious with a 42-30 victory over UKAF, which secures them the President's Cup for 2025.