UKAF beaten by Germany in rugby match honouring the true spirit of Remembrance
The UK Armed Forces men's rugby team looked to be fully in control of this match when Vereimi Qorowale touched down after only three minutes.
The Fijian Army winger was on the receiving end of some great handling by the home team as he danced over in the left corner for the first five points.
Jack Johnson slotted home the conversion for an early 7-0 lead.
Rugby Deutschland, who had former Army player Cameron McDonald representing at full back, got on the scoreboard through Shawn Ingle.
The flanker benefited from a short lineout throw to scrum-half Oliver Paine, who subsequently enabled Ingle to slip through on the inside and score.
Leo Wolf was unable to convert, leaving Germany trailing 7-5.
After a couple of near-misses, and with UKAF seemingly still the stronger side, Qurowale took the ball on the 10-metre line and palmed off two defenders to score his second try, this one even better than his first.
Another successful conversion from Johnson put UKAF in a commanding position at the break, 14-5 ahead.
The second half was littered with mistakes from both sides, but a particularly high penalty count from the military cost them the lead and ultimately, the game.
Germany certainly changed gears, and their forwards were crucial.
Ingle sprung from the ruck just right of the posts to add his second five points – Wolf with a much easier conversion to bring the score to 14-12.
And the Germany fly-half remained in the thick of the action as another solid push from the pack allowed Paine to pass out to Wolf who, despite being tackled by two UKAF players, stretched across the line to put the visitors ahead for the first time 14-17.
Oliver Stein extended that lead only minutes later; quick thinking from the Rugby Deutschland player saw him slice through UKAF's defence, and with another two from the boot of Wolf, the men in black were 10 points ahead, 14-24.
UKAF clawed back a score through a penalty try to bring them within three points, 21-24, but Germany sealed the deal by taking advantage of a poor military defensive line, with Germany's captain Justin Renc spotting a massive gap and sprinting through it for their fifth try of the night.
Johnson slotted over a penalty to bring themselves within firing distance, but the clock ran out for the UKAF team, and Germany earned themselves the win, 24-29.
UKAF Captain, Royal Marine Captain Jarrad Hayler, said after the game that "they were tough, they were physical and they played in the right areas of the pitch, they really capitalised on our mistakes, we gave away too many penalties today".
It was a fitting contest played in the true spirit of remembrance, and UKAF, in particular, were also playing in memory of their teammate Steffan Rees, who died from an accidental fall while in France with the UKAF team for the International Defence Rugby Competition in 2023.
Germany and former Army and UKAF player Cameron McDonald recalled playing alongside Steffan, saying: "He was such a fantastic boy, he was such a nice lad, one of the boys that you could really talk to, and he was a big reason why the Navy boys and the Army boys got along so well."
The UKAF shirts all had the number 12 – Steffan's number – embroidered on them, and his family were there to award the player of the match trophy.
Despite the defeat for UKAF, it was awarded to Vereimi Qorowale.
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