Rams Raid: Army Under 23s suffer a heavy defeat in the opening game of their season
The British Army Under 23s suffered a heavy 21-57 defeat in Aldershot against the development team from English National League One side Rams.
The military men, playing in their first competitive fixture of their season following a series of in-house trial games, found themselves trailing 14-0 inside the opening five minutes of the match.
Max Brown opened the scoring for Rams with a try, and that was quickly followed by Polish international winger, Tomek Pozniak, dotting down in the corner. Visiting fly-half Harris Rutherford successfully added the extras from the kicking tee.
Berkshire-based Rams are a battle-hardened bunch, and they crossed for a third try when their pack rumbled in from close quarters. Former London Irish hooker Harry Bicknell was credited with the try.
But a quick-fire double from the Army youngsters saw them narrow the points deficit. A super sniping run from scrum half Harry Johnson, who passed neatly to the supporting Semi Seruvakula, sent the centre swallow diving in under the posts.
That was followed by some fancy footwork from the side-stepping Seruvakula. The young Sapper doubled his tally as he danced past Rams defenders to dot down. Mo Waqanidrola landed both conversions as the home side trailed 14-19.
It didn't take Rams long to reassert themselves, and they crossed the whitewash a further three times before the break. Will Burrows and Theo Pett-Ridge added their names to the list of try scorers. Brown claimed his second try of the contest, too.
The points continued to flow following the break as Rams dominated the hosts. Pozniak was the beneficiary of some hard running by teammate Sam Bowen. They linked up after a burst from Bowen took him within metres of the try line. An inside pass to Pozniak allowed him to complete his brace of tries.
Rams burst through the half-century of points thanks to another maul. Bicknell marshalled his pack before peeling off the back to crash over for another seven-pointer.
A tired Army outfit leaked a ninth try. Despite some defiant defending from Army replacement Will Sevodi, who managed to haul down Pett-Ridge just shy of the try line, he could do nothing to prevent the Rams fullback getting the ball away to Bowen for an unconverted try.
The home side did have the final word thanks to a consolation score for Jude Hands-Baker. The busy back fly hacked a loose ball from inside his own half before collecting to touch down beneath the posts.
Despite the bruising defeat, Army Head Coach Private Junior Bulumakau was upbeat. The former Glasgow Warrior winger insisted this was the ideal fixture for his side as they continue to count down to the Under 23 Inter Services Championship.
He said: "I wanted a physical game and these young players here identify how physical Rams is, but the aim is to work hard, perform, test ourselves against a good team."
When asked what he was expecting to face on the pitch from their Royal Navy and RAF opponents in the coming weeks, he said: "Physicality. The rivalry is always there. We've just got to bring what we've been practising and just got to show that at the Inter Services in November."
The Army Under 23s face the Royal Navy Under 23s at Burnaby Road, Portsmouth, in November before taking on the Royal Air Force Under 23s at Cardiff Arms in December.
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