Army Men Seniors narrowly defeated by Cambridge University in friendly clash

The Army Rugby Union Men's team were narrowly defeated by Cambridge University 29-21, as the light blues came back late on in the second half to take the lead over the reds.

Hosted by the Cambridge light blues, the friendly fixture saw the red shirts go toe to toe with the students in the first half which saw the Army gain a half-time lead, but after scoring a try in the second half, the Cambridge side came roaring back with two tries as their own as well as a penalty kick to seal the victory over the Army. 

The Army's first try came from Lance Corporal Manasa Caku, after he broke through the Cambridge defence to score a try for the reds, successfully converted by Bombardier Owain Davies to bring the Army up 0-7.

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But that lead did not last as the Cambridge side came back with two tries of their own by Sam Odu and later by Angus Peters as they gained a 12-7 lead. 

A break from Captain Stu Cross got him through the light blue defence to pass the ball over to Private Ratulaveta as he dotted over the line for the Army's second try of the night, converted by Bdr Davies, giving the Army reds a narrow 12-24 lead before half-time. 

In the second half, the Army looked to extend their narrow lead over the Cambridge students as Captain Giles Bromley-Martin scored the Army's third try of the evening, converted by Bdr Davies, to give the Army a respectable 12-21 lead at the 60-minute mark. 

The red's lead however was short-lived, as Cambridge began to press the Army defence hard with crunching tackles, and the home side came roaring back to score two converted tries, once again by Sam Odu and Shawn Ingle, to take back the lead over the Army 26-21. 

As the game ran into its final minutes, the Cambridge students were awarded a penalty kick which was successfully converted by Jamie Benson to add three more points to their tally. 

At the final whistle, the Cambridge Rugby Union secured a 29-21 victory over the Army as the reds find lessons to take away as they look to defend their title at the Rugby Union Inter Services, which includes the coveted Army vs Navy match at Twickenham in May. 

Last week, the Navy also played in a friendly against Cambridge University where the Navy won 21-24.