As the rest of the country marked Armed Forces Day the Brothers travelled to Humberside to pay respect to Adams memory in the best possible way by taking on the Norland Sharks his hometown club. On a day of mixed emotions Adams parents John and Diane watched from the touchline whilst brothers Lee and Chris lined up for the Sharks after presenting the match shirts to the RN Squad to make the match a real family affair.

The Brothers had a full squad with 8 new caps making their debut in RNRL colours. The squad was coached by Danny Johnson and skipper for the day was Kev Botwood. With little rain ahead of the game and hot dry conditions on match day the pitch was definitely suited to some fast open Rugby and both sides made the most of the conditions in an exciting high scoring match.

RNRL were into their game the quickest, after a few early exchanges second row Dave Gee posted the first points of the game bursting over from 15 metres on the RN left. Barely four minutes later Kev Botwood put through an excellent grubber which was chased down by Sili Buinimasi who touched down close to the posts making skipper Botwood's conversion much easier than the first, 10:0 after 12 minutes. Buinimasi then returned the favour almost from the restart, quick hands in midfield broke the home sides cover and Buinimasi slipped the ball to Botwood who beat the defence in the 50 metre race to the line to cross under the posts. Converting his own try Botwood pushed the RN out to a 16:0 lead with barely as many minutes on the clock. More concentrated RN pressure saw prop Richie Metcalfe power home again on the RN left and with a terrific conversion from Botwood the Brothers were now ahead of the clock on points with things looking ominous for the home side. However with a great deal of grit and determination the Sharks re grouped and enjoyed much the better of the remaining time in the first half scoring a succession of converted try’s to close the gap to just four points at the break.

The Sharks began the second half much as they had finished the first they struck first in the half to bring the scores level for the first time since the fourth minute of the match. Both sides struggled to make the breakthrough and with the heat beginning to take its toll on the player’s energy levels inevitable handling errors crept in however this only served to build up the tension amongst the opposing supporters making for a great spectacle. The deadlock was finally broken after 55 minutes when RN loose forward stormed over from 20 metres out and after being urged on by hi steam touched down under the posts to give Kev Botwood his fourth conversion of the day. The game was still very much in the balance with both sides playing some great Rugby, it was however the visitors who rounded off the scoring with a second try for Richie Metcalfe and a sixth conversion for skipper Botwood.

There were good performances across the team for the RN, RM Billy Mason continued his impressive start in his RL career, Gareth Cadmore ran strongly throughout with the experience of Richie Metcalfe, Mark Robinson and Dave Gee in the pack looking after things in the engine room. Kev Botwood had a good day with the boot as well as leading his side to victory in his first outing as skipper, also amongst the backs Emeri Ratucoko had another good game in RN colours at full back making a string of vital tackles as the Sharks threatened to get back at the RN.

During the course of the match the Norland club kindly had a collection with al proceeds going to the Help For Heroes Charity, the sizeable crowd dug deep raising a good amount for this most worthwhile of charity’s.

After the match the two sides got together at the Sharks home pub the Norland to celebrate their efforts on the field. RNRL Team manager Jason Steele congratulated both sides on their performances confirming the feeling amongst the Brothers that the fixture should repeated on an annual basis. Finally RNRL Chairman Cdr Gareth Hughes presented Adams parents with a commemorative Salver to mark this inaugural fixture thanking all involved for making the day such a memorable one. Adams father John thanked the RN side for travelling up for the game and echoed the wish that the match would become a permanent fixture in the RN calendar.

RNRL: Emeri Ratucoko, Lloyd Williamson, Silivenusi Buinimasi, Jim Barnes, Mike Haldenby, Kev Botwood, Nick Bell, Richie Metcalfe, Mark Robinson, Billy Mason, Tomasi Matanatabu, Dave Gee, Gareth Cadmore, Adrian Barker, Will Jefferson, Steve Riley, Nick Fox

Scorers: Trys - Metcalfe (2) Gee Buinimasi Cadmore,Botwood
Goals – Botwood (5 Conv)