Army Senior Men’s Head Coach, Lt Col Tim Osman, says that Thursday night’s Mobbs Memorial Match was a good final challenge for the red shirts before they head to Kingsholm to face the Royal Air Force on Saturday, April 15th.
With the RAF having already played their opening Inter-Services Championship match against the Royal Navy, and with the boost that will come from a double-digit fightback which secured a draw, it was essential for the Army to give a good account of themselves at Goldington Road.
For long periods of the first half they were very much in touch against a team which included plenty of Northampton Saints Academy players as well as some more experienced heads such as Jamie Elliott, Louis Grimoldby and Pat Tapley.
Gnr Senitiki Nayalo (7 Para RHA) opened the scoring, and with Sgt Connor O’Reilly (7 Para RHA) showing his eye for a try with dancing feet, the Army were well in touch at 12-10. But Rfn Vereimi Qorowale’s (Rifles) sin-binning opened things up for the home backline, and after scoring two tries either side of the interval while the Army were down to 14 men the home team did not look back, going on to record a 38-10 win.
Gnr Senitiki Nayalo and Sgt Connor O’Reilly, both 7 PARA RHA scored the Army’s two tries on Thursday evening.
“It was a pretty good performance, and we’re pretty pleased with what the boys delivered,” he said. “They stepped up and improved in a couple of areas that we’d asked of them, and had worked on over the last two weeks.
“I said to the boys beforehand that it was all about us. It’s hard to win against a Championship club, especially when they don’t have a game this weekend, and while it wasn’t their first team at all it’s a different environment and a step up for us. It’s good to pitch ourselves against that.
“I don’t think that the bounce of the ball went our way with a couple of calls and the scoreline didn’t reflect our side of the game.
“But we have to embrace that tempo and take it into next week.”
Bedford set out their stall from the opening minute, looking to run the ball from deep and utilise the speedsters who have come from the Northampton Saints Academy production line to get game time at Goldington Road.
However, it was not just Blues’ gung-ho attitude with ball in hand that the red shirts had to face, but also an aggressiveness in defence which is a hallmark of the professional game.
And in both instances Lt Col Osman says that the experience will benefit the Army players.
“We maybe lacked a bit of depth in attack,” he said. “They were quick off the line in a step up that we don’t normally see, and that closed down our space and time for decision-making, which will test your skills, especially when you get fatigued. We had two or three chances in the second half where the ball didn’t quite go to hand, and would have reflected better on the scoreline.
“In defence we changed a few things and were a little slow to adjust at first. We got that right, and while there was a persistent threat from them in that regard they didn’t get away with it too much. The system is good, I think.”
Rfn Vereimi Qorowale, 2 Rifles made his Senior XV debut.
Thursday’s game saw Rfn Qorowale’s senior red shirt debut. A familiar face in the Army Rugby set-up from his exploits with the Sevens team, Rfn Qorowale has spent the last few months learning his trade in the 15-a-side game at Premiership outfit, Newcastle Falcons.
Lt Col Osman says that this has given him another option to consider at both outside centre and on the wing, and despite his yellow card the Head Coach was impressed by what he saw.
“I thought Imi was pretty good on debut,” he added. “We had him for the whole of the camp last week as well, he’s fitted in well, and you can tell that he’s been thriving in a professional environment. He played 80 minutes to get some more time in his legs, and is quick, strong and aggressive, which is good for us.”
Bdr Pete Austin, 12 Regt RA captained the side for the match.
Bdr Pete Austin (RA) led from the front as captain, including one rampaging run which helped to set up the Army’s second try, and echoed Lt Col Osman’s sentiments about the nature of the contest.
“It was quick on the old feet!” he said. “We’re still at a point in the season where we want to try everything in the playbook, and that’s what these fixtures are for.
“We want to play a fast, free-flowing game, and when we come against these teams from the Championship that’s exactly what they’re going to give us.
“We want to stick to their tempo and we’ll take that into Inter-Services.”
Tickets for the 2023 Inter-Services Championship are now on sale.
CLICK HERE for information about the Army v RAF at Kingsholm, Gloucester, on Saturday, April 15th.
CLICK HERE for information about Army Navy at Twickenham on Saturday, May 13th.
Words © New Dogs, Old Tricks
All images – Alligin Photography © Cat Goryn
