Excitement is building towards the Corps Championships League 1 final, with two teams heading to Aldershot looking to make their mark.
For the Royal Engineers it is an opportunity to go back-to-back, having broken a seven-year drought in 2022. And for the Royal Logistics Corps the March 8th clash marks their first appearance in Army Rugby’s biggest match since 2019.
The teams’ path to Aldershot have differed, with the Sappers shrugging off a Round 1 loss to record five wins on the bounce to book their place in the showcase with a round to spare.
Meanwhile the RLC had two wins from their first two matches, but by the time Round 6 came along they were in a knockout situation against REME, with the 20-all draw keeping the RLC one league point in front of their rivals.
The clashes between the Sappers and RLC went with home advantage each time, and RE head coach, Sgt Gerhard Wessels, says that the slate is clean ahead of this final 80 minutes of the season.
“We know a final is a one-off game, so it’s a little bit different from a normal league fixture, with a bit more hype around it, and you get more out of your players,” he says. “It’s a big occasion and for some players it’ll be the biggest game of their careers. You know you’ll get that energy, commitment and that extra one percent.
“We know what their strengths are. Their set piece and big ball carriers get them onto the front foot. But we’re more focused on what we want to do.”
For his part, RLC head coach, Capt Calvin Venn, says that the team’s upward curve and development has been rewarded by a place in the final.
“The aspiration for the season was to reach the final and improve from last year,” he says. “It was always, and will continue to be, a challenge with availability. It has to be understood that each game is taken one step at a time!
“We are hoping that with good preparation and availability of players we are able to give the Royal Engineers a big challenge to beat us and prove the season should end with an RLC overall win.”
The Sappers may be returning to Aldershot as reigning champions, but Sgt Wessels says that his goal for the team has been to keep taking steps forward in a quest for continual improvement.
“Even when we knew we had qualified for the final, it was just one box that we’d ticked off,” he adds. “But the bigger goal is to go out and retain it. This group could become what the Sappers have done in the past, I believe.
“We’ve always said that if we win well that we look at areas to improve, because if you don’t it becomes stale. It’s important to keep the team energised. We won the league last year but we need to keep striving to be better.
“When we played REME it was some of the best rugby, the most complete performance I’ve seen from a Corps team in a very long time. But of course the challenge is to maintain that standard.
“Last week I spoke to the guys and brought in subtle changes, because if we don’t keep things fresh you can drop off. It’s easy for a team or coach to fall in that trap. It was important for us to make every effort to have a game when the Infantry game was called off. We played a Maidstone and Chatham combined team, and it was good to work on the things we’d trained on.”
The League 1 final between the Royal Engineers and Royal Logistics Corps kicks off in the Army Rugby Stadium at 1530hrs on Wednesday, March 8th. Entry is free and all are welcome.
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Words © New Dogs, Old Tricks
Header and Featured image © RE RFC
