Wednesday 24 June 2009 –  1^st Match

	Army   versus South African Rhinos (A)	SADF Sports Ground Thaba Tswane  Pretoria	KO 1900 hours  Half:  16 – 10 Full:  40 – 22
1	Corporal Lee Innes (Vice C)	Royal Engineers
2	Staff Sergeant Stu Harries	Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
3	Sapper Ryan Taylor	Royal Engineers
4	Staff Sergeant Darrell Cooper	Royal Engineers
5	Lance Corporal Rob Kama	Adjutant General Corps
6	Lance Corporal Rhydian Slade-Jones	Royal Engineers
7	Corporal Luke Simmonds	Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
8	Lance Corporal Col MacKenzie	Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
9	Warrant Officer Class 2 Sly Silvester (C)	Royal Army Medical Corps
10	Sergeant Garry Windle	Royal Engineers
11	Corporal Darrell Winn	Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
12	Lance Corporal Dean Wildbore	Royal Engineers
13	Officer Cadet Tom Howley	Loughborough DTUS
14	Craftsman Jamie Frazer	Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
15	Sergeant Frenchie Debaughn	Royal Armoured Corps
16	Sergeant Nobby Pocock	Royal Engineers
17	Sapper Leigh Coe	Royal Engineers

 

The opening game of the Army Rugby League 15th Anniversary tour of South Africa was played at the South African Defence Force Sports Ground (Thaba Tswane) just outside Pretoria against the South African Rugby League national (A) side.The South African team lived up to their national rugby reputation – physical, strong, determined and passionate.  After only 3 days in the country, and at the high altitude of 1400 metres, the Army faced a tough and determined Rhinos (A) team.  Both sides took the pitch with South African folk songs playing over the public address system.  The crowd at the Defence Force sports ground was equally vocal and passionate.  Fortunately the Army had picked up a couple of Welsh Lions supporters who were staying at their apartments and so the Army arrived with their own travelling fans!The Army made a strong and disciplined start.  Over the first half, the Rhinos stayed in the game with some clever and accurate kicking, leading to tries from the open play that followed.  By half time, the Army had played the better rugby but the Rhinos were still in close contention at 16 -10. Following the break, the Rhinos came out strong with repeated assaults on the Army line.  The Rhinos began to pull ahead and a number of injuries disrupted the Army cohesion.  However, the Army’s fitness levels, playing discipline and spirit were beginning to tell.  The Rhinos discipline was beginning to break in the face of a steadfast Army defence and a determined attack.  Over the last quarter of the match, the Army pulled away with some outstanding driving runs and open play.  By the final whistle, the Army had carved out a well deserved win at 40 – 22.   For his outstanding running and all round contribution to the team effort, the Army winger Lance Corporal Rob Kama was awarded man of the match.

On Sunday 21 June 2009, the British Army Rugby League team arrived in South Africa.  The aim of the tour is to celebrate the 15^th Anniversary of the sport being played within the British Army.  The intention is to assist with the development of the sport within South Africa and foster long term relations between the two playing nations.  In order to strengthen the ties between the two playing nations, Army Rugby League are running a 2-day Coaching Course and Referees Clinic for aspiring South African coaches and referees.

The tour is being hosted by South African Rugby League, with all of the games played in Pretoria.  The tour came about following the South African Rugby League tour to Great Britain last year, during which some of the Army squad went to watch one of their games in Dewsbury, met the South African management and the idea for a tour was born.

 The Squad arrival picture, there are a couple missing as they had yet to arrive, so expect more pictures and match reports as the tour progresses.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chairman of the Tour, Colonel Frank Noble, Commander of 12 (Air Support) Engineer Group based at Waterbeach Barracks, said:
“This is a fantastic opportunity for British Army Rugby League and South African Rugby League to work together in developing and promoting the sport. When so many of our Army players and support staff are away on operations around the world, it is a privilege to be able to represent the British Army and tour such a respected rugby playing nation as South Africa. For our players, the opportunity is second to none as a chance to represent their country whilst developing their teamwork, leadership and playing skills”.
“We have some very experienced players alongside some new members of the Army squad. I am delighted that we carved out a hard fought and deserved win in our first game. We are now looking forward to the match against the full South African Test side on Friday, tomorrow. I am certain that we are going to have a great tour playing the top Rugby League teams in South Africa.”
Lance Corporal Don Donnelly from 39 Engineer Regiment will be deploying to Afghanistan later in the year. He is looking forward to the week ahead, “I love the game and to have the opportunity to represent the Army on a tour like this is just brilliant.”
Joining them on the tour are three physiotherapists. Captain Caroline Zelaya said, “We are carrying a number of injuries in the squad. However, all of the soldiers are naturally very fit and robust. They have trained hard, come through the first game with great spirit and I hope we can keep all of them on the pitch for the whole tour.”

The full Test match will be played against the South African Rugby League Rhinos national side on Friday 26 June 2009, 7.30 pm, at the Defence Force Sports Grounds (Thaba Tswane).

The final game of the tour will be played against the Provincial Club the Northern Bulls on Tuesday 30 June 2009, 7.30 pm, at the Silver Valke Rugby Club.

It is hoped that British Army Rugby League will be able to host a return tour by South African Rugby League to the UK in the near future.

	Aldershot	GB Students	KO 1400Hrs	Half:  6-18Full:  6-28
1.	Rhydian Slade-Jones	RE
2.	Stu Harries	REME
3.	Jordan Kerman	REME
4.	Mat Bowman*	REME
5.	Rob Martin	RA
6.	Ceri Cummings	REME	Conv (6)	1 from 1 100%
7.	Gareth Slade-Jones	APTC
8.	Gary Windle	RE
9.	Carl Saville*	RA
10.	Gareth Lodge (C)	Infantry	Try (6)
11.	Dean Wildbore	RE
12.	Ben Taylor	REME
13.	Dave Goddard	RE
14.	Jamie Fraser	REME
15.	Luke Simmonds	REME
16.	Vetaia Laca	RAMC
17.	Lee Innes	RE
18.	Gary Debaughn	RAC

(Minutes)

The third game in the Civil Servants Cup saw the Army against the GB Students at Aldershot Military Stadium on a Wednesday afternoon kick-off at 1400hrs on 13 May 09.The Army backline with the exception of the No7 had played 2 games or less, Carl Saville at 9 was on debut.  As expected the Students, preparing a touring squad, came out strong with a big mobile pack and dominated the first 25 mins.  The students scored 4 tries out wide converting one.  The Army with their 1st bit of reasonable possession completed a set to go up field for Captain and Prop Gareth Lodge to crash over to score by the sticks.  30 mins for the Army to find their feet, finishing the last 10 of the 1st half strong, but was it too late?2nd half started with the Army attacking relentlessly and with the exception of some 5 or so sets from the Students was camped in the opposition half for the rest of the game.  No tries scored by the Army, 2 more by the Students breaking out doesn’t tell the story.  The referee unbelievably disallowed a try for Rob Martin who bounced off his stomach having grounded the ball, 3 others were not given, all fair calls.  The Students were rightly proud of their defensive effort which secured this hard fought victory.On reflection positives for the Army; a lot of young lads finding their feet in the backline, good experience for them.  Carl Saville was outstanding on debut.  The experienced players Gareth Lodge, Dave Goddard, Ben Taylor and Lee Innes stood out showing they know what is required, we can all learn from them.The Army miss out on the final by point’s difference which will be played between GB Students v GB Police at a date TBC.

 

Coach’s Comment:  Rich Naivalurua said that we couldn’t afford to keep starting matches so poorly in crucial games.  Hopefully these players will learn from that and a couple of the younger guys will come through on the tour.  Our experienced players showed the way.

Sat 25 Apr 09 – Cheltenham Nines, Golden Fern Cup

		Game 1 Navy	Game 2 Eng Stu	Game 3 Coventry	Game 4 Cheltenham	Final Eng Stu
1.	Emma Gilbert	S	S	S	S	S
2.	Alvi Beaney	S	S – Try 3 C 2	S – Try	S – Conv	S
3.	Rosie Haigh	S	S		S	S
4.	Lisa Joseph	S – Try 2	S – Try	S	S – Try	S – Try 2
5.	Rae Metters		S			S
6.	Sarah Wilkinson	S	S	S		S
7.	Liz Polson	S – Try C	S	S	S	S – Conv 2
8.	Sarah Roper	S	S	S – Try	S	S
9.	Jordan Barnard	S		S	S
10.	Paula Robinson	S	S	S	S – Try	S
11.	Rachel Davies			S – Try	S
		Won 14 – 0	Won 20 – 0	Won 12 – 10	D 10 – 10	Won 12 – 0

 (S = Start)

Well here we are in what is the first outing for the Army Women’s Team in the Cheltenham nines on a cloudy but sunny day.  Five teams in the tournament, everyone to play each other then straight on with the final.

Off to a slow start getting to know each other on the pitch but running out with a good win against the Navy.  Next up was England students, a tough and better opposition but outclassed by an Army team getting into its stride even though numbers were short and some experienced players were missing.  Alvi Beaney made up for that with a breathtaking hat trick and two conversions, inspired play.

Two more games came in quick succession; both tight affairs with a narrow win against the pre-tournament favourites Coventry Bears and a draw against a strong local Cheltenham side.  More than enough done to be in the final as the clear favourites, all this with only 2 replacements available, great effort and commitment shown by the best team.

The final was a tough ask for the Army as they were straight back on with no break from their previous game, the Students were well rested.  That being said, there was no chance of these women turning it in, they controlled the game, outclassed the England Students and with Lisa Joseph’s two tries were deserved winners.  Very well done to the Army Women’s Rugby League Team, Golden Fern Cup Champions 2009.

		Game 1 S’ton	Game 2 Lymm	Semi Navy
1.	Vuniani Cavuilati	S – Try	S	S
2.	Rob Martin*	S	S
3.	Ben Taylor	S	S	S
4.	Jonny Gregory	S	S	S
5.	Lee Coe*	S	S	S
6.	Stu Butters	S – Conv 3	S – Conv 2	S – Conv
7.	Kini Bulitautini	S – Try 2		S
8.	Soni Bavou	S – Try	S – Try	S
9.	Cookie Tamani*	S	S – Try	S
10.	Sov Sovanivalu*		S
11.	Coms Komaisavai
12.	Stu Harries			S
13.	Sami Leleavono*
14.	Andre Zwijnen
15.	Tabs Tabua*		Try
16.	Nico Bulatagne*
17.	D French
18.	Bill Williams*
		Won 22 – 0	Won 16 – 4	Lost 12 – 6

(S = Start)

Saturday 25 Apr 09 with the Army Rugby League Team returning to Cheltenham to defend their trophy as Champions. A few teams had pulled out so there were 3 pools of 3.

The opening game against Southampton University was a slow burner in the 1^st half with the Army finding their rhythm in the 2^nd.  Kini Bulitautini looked a class act scoring two tries but unfortunately pulled his calf, Army winning 22 – 0.

The 2^nd game against Lymm International was a bruising encounter seeing the two second rowers; Bavou and Tamani breaking clear to stretch their legs for quick scores followed by a clincher from Tabua to seal a 16 – 4 win…… on to the semi’s.

No surprise that the Army faced the Navy in the semi, at least not from the two service teams.  After an hour and a half break the Army team never seemed to come to life and off two mistakes; a penalty and a missed tackle the Navy sealed their passage to the final running out deserved 12 – 6 winners. 

They controlled most of the possession through out the match and the Army never really got going. They went on to win the tournament easily 24 – 0 in the final having despatched the favourite ‘Army’ team in the semi.

Next tournament is at York on 4 Jul 09 with hopefully a better result.

	Shaw Cross	GB Police	KO 1500Hrs	Half:  4-2 Full:  22-20
1.	Rhydian Slade-Jones	Try (56)
2.	Suni Tunisau
3.	Max Vave	Try 2 (60 & 68)
4.	Jonny Gregory
5.	Vuniani Cavuilati	Try (58)
6.	D French
7.	Gareth Slade-Jones
8.	Gary Debaughn
9.	Kini Bulitautini
10.	Gareth Lodge (C)
11.	Bavou
12.	Dave Goddard	Try (4)
13.	Darrell Winn	Conv (60)
14.	Ian Bartlett
15.	Gee Harvey
16.	S Veresa
17.	Con Tibbets

The second game in the Civil Servants Cup saw the Army against the GB Police at Shaw Cross, Dewsbury on a pleasant Wednesday afternoon kick-off at 1500hrs on 1 Apr 09.No ‘fools’ on show here on Apr 1st; cracking start to a game with the Police attacking the Army line and the Army replying with a quick try through 2nd Row Dave Goddard after 4 mins.  There was then some furious defending from the Army with equally persistent attacking play from the Police for the remainder of the 1st half.  The Army line remained intact with the Police kicking a penalty on 40 mins to see the half time score a narrow 4-2 lead to the Army. 2nd half started similar with the Police attacking and scoring a try to go 6-4 up on 47 mins.  The Army then started to retain a lot more possession and took control of the game scoring 3 tries in 4 mins.  Game breaker was wing ‘Cav’ who skinned his own winger for one try and held off 2 tacklers on the touch line to offload for another from Max Vave.   On 68 mins Max then went on a 60 meter bust and handed off the same defender about 6 times to go in the corner for his 2nd try to make the score 22 – 6 on 68 mins. Then it was the Police rejuvenated with some fresh legs who piled on the pressure for the last 10 mins of the match.  The Police game breaker was man of the match from full back who made a number of telling line breaks and the Police ran in 3 unanswered tries themselves to peg the score back to 22-20.  Unfortunately the final conversion was missed to level the score and with the clock against them the Army hung on for a deserved 22-20 win; great game from two committed teams.

 

Coach’s Comment:  Rich Naivalurua said that after another cracking fixture where we had blooded some new players this remained one of our most prized fixtures and we look forward to meeting the Police in future competitions, probably next at the York Nines.

	Lilleshall	Prison Service v Army	KO 1400hrs	Half:  8-10 Full:  34-26
1.	Dave Goddard	RE	Try
2.	Stu Harris*	REME
3.	Vuniani Cavalati*	RE
4.	Jordan Kerman*	REME
5.	Sam Cataki	RADC	Try
6.	Gareth Lodge	PARA
7.	Luke Symonds*	REME	Con
8.	Bruce Francis	RAMC
9.	Buli Bulitatini*	Infantry
10.	Gary Debaughn	RAC
11.	Bavou	Infantry
12.	Con Tibbets*	REME
13.	Darrel Winn	REME	Pen, Con x 4
14.	Jamie Frazer*	REME	Try
15.	Gee Harvey*	REME
16.	Inoke Veikune	RE
17.	Neville Boyd	RE
18.	Ian Bartlett*	RLC
19.	Max Vave	RLC	Try x 3
20.	V Veresa	RLC

* Debut

The fifth game for the Army Rugby League team now moving to the Civil Servants Cup against the Prison Service on Wed 25 Mar 09 at 1400hrs.In a game that was to be played at Lilleshall, both teams managed to field 20 players and decided to give all those that had travelled a well deserved run out for their effort.  The Army remained true to form, not only having a massive turn around of players but fielding 9 of their 20 on debut, with a prop at full back and another at stand off, are we mad? It was great to see the Prison Service on the field again especially with the likes of ex Leeds Super League prop Antony Farrell, he still plays and looks the part!  The Prison Service, playing down hill, raced into a 10 – 0 lead pegged back to 10 – 8 by half time.  The conditions were tricky with a steep slope and a very strong wind but there were still some glimpses of decent rugby on show. The 2nd half had the Army with a golden spell for 20 minutes or so when Max Vave came off the bench with big ‘V’ Veresa and Noxy Veikune to bust through the Prison defence and put on some great scores with Max gaining a quick fire hat trick.  With the lead out to 28 – 16 the Army should have gone on to post a serious score but the Prison Service responded well and started to peg them back at one stage as close as 28 – 26, squeaky bum time! Late on a well worked try down hill on the left hand side saw Jamie Frazer collapse over the line for a debut score to seal the win Army 34 – 26 prison Service.

 

Coach’s Comment:  We have cut the time away from unit to the bare minimum for these games.  We had 9 players on debut who had about 90 minutes in the morning to grasp the game plan before running out for the Army, great effort really to come away with a win.

	Featherstone	Featherstone Rovers	KO 1500hrs	Half:  52-2 Full:  94-2
1.	Tim Tamani	REME
2.	Sam Cataki	RADC
3.	Siona Tunisa	Infantry
4.	Mosese Matau	RE
5.	Andre Zwijnen	Infantry
6.	Paul Riley	RA
7.	Rob Smart (C)	RAMC	Pen	1 from 1 (100%)
8.	Inoke Veikune	RE
9.	Tim Brewer	RE
10.	Bruce Francis	RAMC
11.	Dave Nunnerley	PARA
12.	Ben Taylor
13.	Darrel Winn	REME
14.	Andy Parkinson	REME
15.	Ryan Taylor	RE
16.	Gary Debaughn	RAC
17.	Antony Cowburn	RE

The fourth game for the Army Rugby League team in the Carnegie Challenge Cup was played at Post Office Road against Featherstone Rovers on Sun 8 Mar 09 at 1500hrs.The Army arrived once again in Featherstone to be faced with extreme conditions for the 2nd time on the bounce.  Rain, Snow, Hail and sunshine, and that was just the first five minutes.  The next storm was the Featherstone 1st Team, running in tries for fun with Ieystin Harris sitting in the pocket commanding his troops.  The 1st choice rovers didn’t need any help from the ref, but they got it all the same having an armchair ride in the 1st half calling for only one replacement to be made.  It was either a score per set or a penalty from the ref for a repeated set leading to a score, 52 – 2 at the half.On the plus side the Army took the lead in the first few minutes with a well deserved penalty.  Through out the whole match the squaddies heads never dropped.  They got up, got stuck in and the scoreboard aside did themselves proud defensively.  A simple case of a miss-match and yet another game with 5 changes from the previous game. Five minutes into the 2nd half the Rovers put the whole bench on to see out the game.  The Army had spells where they looked dangerous and able to compete, but that was obviously when they had the ball which was fleeting.  Anyway, final score 94 -2, the harsh reality of the 3rd Round in the Carnegie Challenge Cup.

 
Coach’s Comment:  Nuff said!

 

 

Sat 14 Feb 09 – Carnegie Challenge Cup 2^nd Round

	Featherstone	Featherstone Lions	KO 1340hrs	Half:  16-2 Full:  30-12
1.	Lee Innes	RE	Conv 4, Pen	5 from 6 (84%)
2.	Tim Tamani	REME
3.	Mosese Matau	RE	Try
4.	Ryan Taylor	RE
5.	Sam Cataki	RADC
6.	Paul Riley	RA	Try 2
7.	Rob Smart (C)	RAMC	Try
8.	Marc Donnely	RE
9.	Andy Parkinson	REME
10.	Rushi Naisau	REME
11.	Koms Komaisavai	REME
12.	Inoke Veikune	RE
13.	Darrel Winn	REME
14.	Andre Zwijnen	Infantry	Try
15.	Dave Nunnerley	PARA	Try
16.	Gareth Lodge	PARA
17.	Gary Debaughn	RAC

 

The third game for the Army Rugby League team in the Carnegie Challenge Cup was played at the Mill Pond against Featherstone Lions on Sat 14 Feb 09 at 1340hrs. In a game that was to be played in such a hotbed of Rugby League, the Army arrived to be faced with what can only be described as extreme conditions.  The club officials had done a tremendous job getting the pitch anywhere near playable; nevertheless a heavy pitch (putting it mildly) but it was the same for both teams.  The game was played predominately in the middle two thirds of the park as it was difficult to move out of the oil slick created by the mud.  Occasionally the ball got wide with, for the conditions, some surprisingly slick (no pun) moves to run in some well deserved tries.  The Army pack finished the first half in the ascendancy moving out to a 16-2 lead however, it must be noted their defence was awesome shutting out 8 successive sets of 6 from the Lions in their 20 meter zone. Second half the Lions put up a concerted effort up front and tried to move the ball wide but were cut off by a dominant defence from the Army.  The merry whistle blower seemed to be kicking down hill with the Lions at one stage and added to their endeavour the score was closed back to 16-12.  The Army getting parity of the ball then showed their dominance again and stretched away to a comfortable 30-12 by full time.  An experience for all as the pictures entitled ‘before’ and ‘after’ provide testimony.  Man of the Match, Lee Innes. Another great day in the Challenge Cup, hosted royally at full time.

 

Coach’s Comment:  Considering the conditions a very creditable performance.

 

Sat 24 Jan 09 – Carnegie Challenge Cup 1^st Round

	Aldershot	Northumbria University	KO 1330hrs	Half:  22-0 Full:  72-0
1.	Stu Butters (C)	RE	Conv 9, Pen	10 from 14 (71%)
2.	Lee Innes	RE	Try
3.	Ryan Taylor	RE	Try
4.	Tim Tamani	REME	Try
5.	Sam Cataki	RADC	Try
6.	Paul Riley	RA	Try 2
7.	Gareth Slade-Jones	APTC	Try 2
8.	Marc Donnely	RE
9.	Tim Brewer	RE
10.	Rushi Naisau	REME
11.	Ben Taylor	REME	Try
12.	Dean Wildbore	RE
13.	Darrel Winn	REME	Try
14.	Rob Smart	RAMC
15.	Dave Goddard	RE	Try
16.	Gary Debaughn	RAC	Try
17.	Liam Garside	AAC	Try

 

The second game for the Army Rugby League team in the Carnegie Challenge Cup was played at the Aldershot Rugby Stadium against Northumbria University on Sat 24 Jan 09 at 1330hrs. In a game that could be a potential ‘banana skin’ with the oppositions pedigree unknown, the Army had a dream day at the office working through their game plan with some delightful play.  The first half saw the reds gain dominance and confidence running in a number of scores to go in at the half time break 22 – 0 to the good. The second half started with a determination to protect their line and a commitment to improve the completion rate hoping that in turn the scores would come.  The healthy partisan crowd were not to be disappointed with tries being run in at a monstrous rate of 50 unanswered points.  With the exception of Team Captain, Stu Butters, all the backs ran tries in with Stu converting the majority.  The forwards not to be outdone ran in 5 tries with some great impact from all the players on the bench. At the final whistle the Army had beaten a plucky student team 72 – 0 and were most satisfied that they had kept their line intact.  Defensive Coach Cowburn will be a happy man.

 

Coach’s Comment:  I am obviously pleased by our performance, particularly in the areas we had targeted but we still need to tighten up in certain aspects of our execution. The game must have been great to watch as a spectator – I was pretty pleased as a coach.