British Army men claim final bragging rights with victory over Royal Air Force in Gloucester
The British Army have claimed a victory of redemption against the Royal Air Force with a 20-38 victory at Kingsholm Stadium in Gloucester.
After the disappointment of losing against the Royal Navy at Allianz Stadium, where the Senior Service sealed up the Inter Service Championship, the final clash of the tournament was always going to be about who was going to end with the final bragging rights.
The RAF, also coming off the back of a disappointing result against the Navy in Northampton, brought in their professional player Josh McNally for extra reinforcements but despite a hard-fought game, it wasn’t enough to beat the team in red on this occasion.
The light blues got things started by being awarded a penalty kick, as skipper Mark Williams successfully converted for an early 3-0 lead.
But it would be the Army who'd get the first five pointer on the board, with right wing Tomasi Vula dotting down for the opening try and Jack Johnson adding the extras.
The RAF regrouped and responded with loosened prop Craig Irwin pushing through the Army defence for the light blues' first try of the game.
The lethal Army team wouldn’t allow the light blues' response throw them off course however, with Sean Beevor and Koroinivuku Vereti scoring two tries within four minutes of each other, extending their lead to 8-21.
As the game was reaching its half-way stage, the momentum was with the Army. Outside centre Penaia Tagutu collected the ball from Francis Kelly before making a dash for the whitewash – extending the reds' cushion to 8-26.
But as the seconds ran down to half time, the RAF gained themselves a lifeline with Freddie Richardson going over the try line for their second try of the game, bringing the score up to 15-26 at the halfway stage.
In the second half, the RAF picked up as they left off with Zack Taylor going over for a converted try.
But the Army swiftly responded with Tangutu sliding through the light blue wall to score his second try of the match and Michael McDonald adding in the extras.
The game then plateaued for about 25 minutes with neither the Army or the RAF managing to make any further gains on the scoreboard.
Minutes before full time, the Army’s Matthew Dawson did manage to break the stalemate, forcing his way over the whitewash to what would be considered the winning try for the Army.
As the full time whistle sounded, the British Army celebrate a 20-38 victory, repeating their Kingsholm success from 2025 and redemption for their loss against the Royal Navy at Allianz Stadium.
Army inside centre Francis Kelly was named Babcock Player of the Match.
Related topics
Join Our Newsletter
