Army Navy is all about the 80 minutes

Sgt Connor O’Reilly (7 Para RHA) says form will go out the window when the Army face the Navy in an Inter-Services decider at Twickenham on May 13.

A sublime second-half performance helped the Red Shirts overcome the RAF 48-17 in their opener at Kingsholm, the Air Force having previously drawn 13-13 with the Royal Navy in filthy conditions at Plymouth Albion.

Whoever wins at HQ will therefore be crowned champions – the Army chasing a third consecutive title – but despite nine wins and a draw in their last 10 games with the Navy, the closeness of last year’s 35-27 success has Connor and his teammates well focussed.

He said: “Both teams rise to the occasion and it doesn’t matter who’s in form during the season, it comes down to who’s the better team on the day and which team’s head space is right.

“You could play the game 80 minutes later and have a different outcome – it’s that tight.”

Reflecting on the RAF success, the wing continued: “It was a great performance put in by the boys and everything came together. There have been a lot of moving parts, a lot of people involved from the start of January, but it all clicked as it was supposed to.

“Selection had been made so people weren’t worrying as much, and we were putting the strongest team out.

“There’s also a mentality part because it is a capped game, you know you’ve got to turn up and perform and if you don’t the shirt will go to someone else.

“The game went in phases. At times it was very forwards-dominated and then it was the backs’ turn.

“It was about finding weaknesses – we found some space out wide – and exploited them as a team.”

Connor in action v the Royal Air Force at Kingsholm earlier this month.

Image – Alligin Photography © Cat Goryn

Inside Sgt O’Reilly was one of the stars of the show, Newcastle Falcons centre Rfn Vereimi Qorowale (Rifles), who made a try-scoring debut on his first cap.

The Premiership star is the latest among dazzling three-quarters to have represented the Army recently, including the likes of England international LCpl Semesa Rokoduguni and Bristol Bears man Pte Siva Naulago.

And Sgt O’Reilly, who is part of 7 Para RHA, believes it is a pleasure to be involved with players of that quality, stating: “Imi’s a fantastic player and it’s great to have him in the set-up, he’s someone we can learn off.

“You’ve got to get on the same wavelength because he’s on a different level to us, but we have to raise our game and standards to pick up the pieces after he’s done his unreal line breaks.

“(With Rocco and Siva) You always want to play and to start, but it’s rugby and you also want the best players on the pitch when you can.

“If they’re available and it’s best for the team (for me to be left out), then so be it – they brought so much to the team and as a player I learnt a hell of a lot off both of them. They’re greatly missed and did a huge amount for Army rugby.

“From them I learnt how to exploit gaps, to read games, run certain moves in a certain way to get the best outcome.

“They taught the whole backline a great deal and how to bring the highest standard in games.”

Connor credits the likes of former Army players such as Semesa Rokoduguni for helping him develop his game.

Image – Alligin Photography © Andrew Fosker

Despite having no real interest in rugby when first joining the Army, Sgt O’Reilly – who has gone one to collect 14 caps alongside six with UKAF – later switched from the Parachute Regiment to 7 Para to further his rugby.

Explaining his journey, he continued: “Rugby wasn’t an incentive at all at first. To start off I didn’t know much about rugby in the military, and I served for about four years before I found out there was an Army Under 23s team.

“I went down for the trial and the rest is history, so now it plays a big role in motivation and provides a break away from work.”

While he had no major interest in Army rugby to start, Connor admitted youth coach Jeremy Bodkin was a major influence on his career, with a couple of other players from his boyhood club also being solid performers for the Red Shirts.

Sgt O’Reilly revealed: “Jack Johnson is from Woodbridge, Matt Bowman when I joined 10 or 11 years ago got into the set-up and only didn’t play because there were some strong flankers at the time. For a tiny town, it’s provided some good players out the woodwork.”

Having become one of the more senior players in the side, the 29-year-old admitted he has come a long way as he commented: “I remember the first training session with the senior team because my heart was going like the clappers and I was so nervous because I saw it as the pinnacle of where I could get to in rugby.

“I was dropping everything, embarrassing, but then I slowly eased into it and became more confident. The boys around also massively helped to calm my nerves.

“Now I feel settled and more comfortable putting an arm round the younger players, but you’re never guaranteed the shirt.

“We want to get the best players on the pitch and we did that against the RAF. It doesn’t matter if it’s your first or 25^th cap, you put it all in and everyone gets together.”

Connor represented the UK Armed Forces squad v a Rugby for Heroes select in 2021, he has a total of 6 UKAF caps to date.

Outside of his Army achievements, Sgt O’Reilly is proud of his UKAF appearances, adding: “It is the next level up and to get a cap was a great honour. It opens the doors to get to know the boys from the RAF and the Navy – don’t get me wrong when we’re playing each other we’re enemies on the battlefield – but outside of that we’re good friends. It’s a good experience which brings the three services together.

“I’ve played Bath a few times and Rugby for Heroes and the International Defence Force World Cup in Japan (in 2019, was amazing).

“The final against Fiji, a lot of their boys were touching on playing for the national team, so to play against them was a privilege. They were great opponents and to come second was still fine.

“You don’t know what they’re going to do other than they’ll line you up and nail you, and off-load (in attack).

“In the final minutes of the game someone took my head off and the ref just let it go, and I was thinking ‘what’s going on here.’

“Having played in one, it would be a great honour to go and see what could come of another World Cup in France later this year.”

But with less than three weeks until Sgt O’Reilly’s Twickenham return, he concluded by saying victory this year would be extra special.

He ended: “There’s always pressure to win, but there was a lot of talk this year with new players, a new head coach, that we might be off the mark, so our main goal is to beat the Navy and retain the IS title.”

CLICK HERE for information about Army Navy at Twickenham on Saturday, May 13^th.