Army Men suffer a season opening defeat to Nottingham

The Army Men fell to a heavy 57-10 defeat under the Friday Night Lights at Nottingham.

In front of an impressive crowd of more than 2,000, it took just a minute for the hosts to signal their intent, some nice handling ending with an inside ball freeing captain Jack Stapley for an easy run-in, Morgan Bunting making no mistake with the conversion.

The Red Shirts responded well, a couple of penalties enabling them to kick to the corner before a powerful maul was held up over the line, but it was Nottingham who moved further in front at the start if the second quarter when a turnover allowed Javiah Pohe to send Harry Graham down the left and round to the posts.

Bunting added the extras, and wing Graham doubled his tally almost immediately as he raced away from inside his own half for another converted try.

The Army got on the board shortly after, scrum-half LCpl Mikey McDonald (26 Engr Regt) taking a quick tap penalty 10 metres from the hosts’ line before he set-up prop Cpl Rhys Roberts (RAMS att 1 Rifles) to wriggle his way across the whitewash.

However, the Archers moved further in front following a sustained spell of possession, battering away at the Army line through phase after phase before Emeka Ilione was finally able to find a gap and walk under the posts – Bunting’s fourth successful kick making it 28-5 after 33 minutes.

The visitors hit back with a second score when Spr Taitusi Qainuci (36 Engr Regt) dived over a ruck from less than a metre out, full-back LCpl Solo Radianirova (9BN REME) having been stopped just short of the line.

It was Nottingham who had the final word of an entertaining first half, though, Ilione riding over at the back of an unstoppable five-metre maul for a 33-10 advantage.

Things continued for the worse for the Red Shirts early in the second period, Cpl Roberts sin-binned for a dangerous tackle, and after Nottingham kicked into their opponents’ 22, they went through a double-digit series of phases before Sam Green went over for another score added to by Bunting’s trusty boot.

The young, dynamic and powerful home side showed no mercy as they then extended their lead with a penalty try, Army pinged three times in a row on defensive five-metre scrums to fall 47-10 adrift with a little less than 30 minutes to play.

The Red Shirts continued to show considerable heart, and with Nottingham making plenty of changes and then having Ronnie du Randt yellow carded, began to gain more possession and territory.

Yet they never truly looked likely to add to their tally, and it was the home side who added a further gloss to the scoreline late on, TJ Harris going over at the back of a brace of mauls for tries which could not be added to by the retiring home hero George Cox.

The Army are next due to visit Cambridge University on Wednesday, February 7 as they continue to build towards May’s Inter-Services Championship.

Words © Richard Ashton

All images – Alligin Photography © Cat Goryn

MATCH GALLERY

A full gallery of images from the match is available HERE images are free to download for personal use. Create an account, use the add to cart function and follow the check out process.