Inter Services 2nd Round

The second match of the day saw the RN Academy return to winning ways against the RAF after the shock defeat at Cranwell last year. This fixture was the most ‘spikey’ of the day with Ref Dennis Nowell having his work cut out to keep things in order. A couple of RN players did spend indeed spend ten minutes cooling off at Nowell’s invitation however overall the match was a full blooded encounter and despite the scoreline the RAF played a full part in providing a great spectacle for the spectators who were gathering for the main event. It was all square after 15 minutes or so with both sides trying to get the upper hand both territorially and physically but it was the RN who were first to score. Solid work in midfield by skipper Rob Conde brought the RN within sight of the line, the pressure was increased with a repeat set before full back Richard Binns came up to join the line and stepped the defence from to poach a try and get the first points on the board. Tom Marchant was wide with the conversion so it was just a four point lead going into the second quarter. Whilst the RAF competed well they appeared to be a bit short on ideas especially in the last metres before the line. The effort by both teams kept the score at 4:0 until a burst of scores in the last five minutes of the half. The next score came again from Binns joining the line once again to cross and double his sides lead. Almost from the restart the RN were in again, a break on the RN left by Biko Satala beat the first line of defence and just as the cover came across he released a pass over the heads of the defenders for Ellis Lacey to cross from 20 metres out. This time Marchant found the distance and the RN were ahead by 18:0 with only a couple of minutes to go before the break, all was not done though, more good approach play had the RAF on the back foot and hooker Todd Crofts got his name on the score sheet with a typical hookers try from the play the ball to touchdown under the posts. Tom Marchant made no mistake with the conversion so after a hard fought and very entertaining first half the RN had a comfortable 20:0 lead.

The second have began as the first half did, both teams looking for the opening but the first ten minutes remained scoreless however gradually the RN side began to make inroads on the RAF defence. Fijian 2nd row Josh Tora was having a great game leading the relatively inexperienced pack both in attack and defence providing a great platform for the backs to do their work. The final RN scores all came down the left wing and were started by Biko Satala whose RU7's skills were much in evidence as he tormented the RAF defence. The first score of the half came after fifteen minutes of the half, taking the ball out to the wing Satala brought his winger Lacey inside and another inch perfect pass gave the winger a straight sprint to the line. Five minutes later the RN were in again with another long range effort, the RAF were awarded a penalty but the kick only found the arms of Satala on the 30 metre line, another confident mazy run got the RN over the half way line and this time the Fijian had Paul Saberton off the bench on his inside. Another great pass left Saberton with some work to do from 30 metres out, the RAF cover did get close but the RN player wasn't going to be stopped and crossed to put his side out to a commanding 28:0 lead. The final score of the match went to the Satala Lacey partnership, yet another break from deep inside their own half had the wing pair heading into RAF territory, another perfectly timed pass got Lacey away and he never really looked like being caught as he rounded off his game with a hat trick try. A comprehensive win for the Academy saw them take revenge, just as the Ladies did, for last year’s defeat at Cranwell. With plenty of candidates for the award, the Man of the Match was given to Josh Tora for an outstanding game at the heart of the pack.