Late drama as Royal Navy men lose Le Crunch in wild final few minutes in Havant

A very late try from the French Marine Nationale saw them beat the Royal Navy 22-15 in the 20th anniversary of their annual Le Crunch clash in Havant.

Bubba Watson's try looked to have set the Navy up for victory but from the restart, the French scored to win the game with the last play of the game.

It means a double defeat for the Navy against their French rivals after the women were heavily beaten earlier in the day.

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It was the visitors who took the lead after a tense opening to the game as Matthias Duchaux's good offload led to Flavio Iannuso getting on the scoresheet with an unconverted try.

Duchaux also nailed a penalty after Will Rigelsford received a yellow card but Jordan Gott's penalty made it 8-3 at half-time.

The Navy roared back in the second half through Rory Mitchell and Gott's boot nudged them ahead for the first time in the game.

However, every time the Navy took a step forward, the French dragged them backwards two more as a replacement, who was unlisted on the team sheet, scored a converted try.

The Navy were staring at defeat but had a final chance from a line out. The Navy pack pushed the ball to the line and it was Ben Watson who scored on his birthday.

With Gott on the bench, the chance to kick and win the game fell to Jake Hanley but he saw his effort agonisingly hit the posts and the score remained 15-15, but only for a moment.

From the restart, the French flooded forward and won the game with a very late converted try, giving the Navy horrifying flashbacks to their heartbreaking defeat at Twickenham against the Army last year.