Army leave it late to regain services crown
THE ARMY once again lifted the Babcock Trophy at Twickenham with a tight win over the Royal Navy, in the 2022 inter-services men’s match.
After a ten minute opening battle of attrition in the London sun, the Navy were the first to get points on the board.
Foul play at the breakdown lined up for fly half Jordan Gott to successfully slot his third penalty attempt at goal, for a narrow lead.
The Navy followed this up with the opening try. Full back Craig Duncan broke effectively into space, and shipped the ball wide to Henry Hughes. The winger exploded along his flank, before offloading the ball back in field to hooker Ben Priddey, who crashed over the line to score.
The Army responded in full force after a rolling maul was halted by the Navy, yet the Army kept pushing with short drives and eventually flanker Matt Dawson crashed over after the Navy’s defence was worn down.
The Army followed this up with an equalising score, as hooker Peter Austin grounded a powerful rolling maul.
Johnson’s penalty kicked the Army into the lead for the first time, shortly after the re-start. Yet this lead was short lived, as was the theme of this end-to-end contest. Duncan responded with a try for the Navy, once again neatly linking up with Hughes. Gott’s conversion added some extra
breathing space.
Senitiki Nayalo took matters into his own hands, as he took a quick tap penalty and charged through the Navy defence. This regained the lead for the Army, with Johnson adding the conversion. Johnson then followed this up with a penalty just past the hour mark, to extend the Army’s lead.
Gott’s accuracy from the tee narrowed the match once again, with an impressive penalty, struck
from just inside the Army half. The battle continued with Sam Matavesi powering over from close range, as the Navy regained the lead with only 10 minutes remaining.
Yet the Army fought valiantly to comeback, with two tries to close off the contest. Michael McDonald caught the defence off guard to run in unopposed, before Viliame Kotobalavu drove over from close range to secure the Army’s victory.