A wild and windy afternoon at the Army Rugby Stadium in Aldershot ended with a Golden Point from the Royal Navy, who completed a remarkable comeback from 10-0 down to beat the British Army in the Betfred Challenge Cup. This historic first meeting between two armed forces sides in the competition was impacted by the extreme wind conditions
The first half was characterised by a thick vein of aggression running through it. Early exchanges often ended in pushing and shoving, with the referee warning several players for their conduct. These masculine displays were a testament to the fierce and proud rivalry between these two forces teams.
It appeared the Army had drawn first blood, when Jake Boardman crossed the Navy line early on. A surging run down the left from powerful centre Calvin Harling opened up Mickey Hoyle. Hoyle sent his pass forwards though, denying the Army a chance to get on the board.
Tensions continued to simmer early on, with Ryan Watkins proving lucky his high tackle came a split second after a forward pass. Almost every break in play featured moments of ill discipline, as the two sides raged against one another.
The Army recovered from the denial of their early try by getting an official four points on the scoreboard. Kajii Suguvanua went on a powerful run, striding across the pitch to turn Army defence into attack with an unbelievable try on the counter. Hoyle’s conversion was snuffed out, dragged wide by the forceful winds that blew through the Army Rugby Stadium in Aldershot.
Osea Tamani fired his Army teammates up further, when dispossessing Ben Taylor with an absolute slobberknocker of a tackle. The big Fijian got celebratory pats on the back for his titanic intervention.
The Army went in at half time with an eight point lead, after a supreme showing from Dec Baines. A superb show and go saw him leave Nathan Welsh in his wake, before playing in Kev Brown in an electrifying piece of rugby league. Once again the wind put paid to the conversion, with Baines seeing his kick land in almost the exact same spot as Hoyle’s earlier effort.
⚔️ @ArmyRugbyLeague 8 - 0 @RoyalNavyRL ⚓️
Dec Baines puts the burners on and shows of some fantastic footwork before passing off to Kev Brown who takes it in for Army's second try!
@TheChallengeCup | @Betfred | @TheRFL
The second half very much picked up where the first had left off, when Hoyle and Navy vice-captain Sean Houghton clashed. The resulting scuffle led to almost every player from both sides wading in to break up the rough-housing.
A Hoyle penalty from close-range put two more points on the board for the Army, and the Navy responded well. The Army defence was tested by a number of marauding attacks, but the Navy just could not find a way through. Nathan Lee was tackled as he probed for openings, bringing to an end a play that seemed to give the Navy a real lift.
Houghton launched into a blistering run on the counter-attack, and looked set to finally get the Navy off the mark. He was chased down ferociously by Jake Boardman, who put in a sublime tackle to end the threat.
The Navy eventually got the points their efforts warranted when Gavin Duffy broke through and crossed the line for a try. The conversion was yet another victim of the windy conditions, but at least the Navy had something to play for as the clock ticked down.
And play they did, as James Tilley found a narrow pass to Jonathan Griffiths, who crossed the line to launch an improbable comeback. The conversion, taken two minutes from the end of time, would prove crucial. Rhys Joel had a difficult task combating the conditions, but did so beautifully to draw his side level.
Normal time could not separate the two sides, so this historic clash went to Golden Point after a superb comeback from the Navy. They completed that comeback when Joseph Sugden crossed over with the Army defence lined up expecting a drop goal attempt. The fake-out worked a charm, wrong-footing the Army back line to settle the game. The Royal Navy will now march on, ensuring there is armed forces representation in the third round of the Betfred Challenge Cup.
