The Army Masters had a dominant evening over the Navy Mariners at the Richmond Athletic Ground.
The Masters came out of the blocks as hot as they come with a try after only three minutes. Ben Fulton and Jonathan Baker did plenty of damage through the middle, and when the ball was recycled quickly to the left second row, Stephen George, showed good composure to put wing Samisoni Rakubu over for the try.
On the back foot for the opening 10 minutes, the Navy came close to a sucker-punch score, fly half Richard Cadywould having a try ruled out for a forward pass in the build-up.
Chris Harris’s penalty extended the Army’s lead to 8-0, before the Masters made Navy profligacy pay with a breakaway try of their own.
Rolling mauls from the Senior Service had put the red shirts under pressure. But when Harris cleared long, hooker Ben Priddey was in an unfamiliar place in the backfield and quickly found himself swamped in red.
Harris hacked ahead, before the Masters maintained possession to work flanker Charles Becher over in the right corner.
Rakubu was then the beneficiary of a missed forward pass to score in the left corner, but there was little controversy around the Masters’ fourth try, scrum-half Michael Lawton finishing off another long-range effort.
In the blink of an eye the Masters were 27-0 to the good. But they were not having things their own way, with a couple of injuries compounded by a Priddey try three minutes from the break, the hooker crashing over from close range to reward an extended period of pressure.
Having worked their way back into the match on the field, if not the scoreboard, the Navy needed some heroic defence to stop the Masters passing the 30-point mark on the stroke of half-time.
A missed tackle opened space for Ben Fulton to go from his own 22 to the Mariners’ five-metre line. Adam McCrohan’s desperate tackle stopped the centre scoring, and there were enough blue shirts with him to slow the ball down. Becher did make it over the line, but there was a body in blue underneath the ball and referee Ian Townsend blew for the break.
The third quarter saw loads of endeavour and effort and a light dusting of rain. But despite the action being end-to-end it took until just past the hour mark for the scoreboard operator to be called into action with a Penalty Try awarded to the Army when Becher was denied a spectacular finish in the corner by a high tackle.
Harris added a second penalty, Jotame Nalewabau broke clear for a 40-metre try, and there was a coup de grace added by scrum-half Michael Lawton in the final seconds that took the Army up to 49 points. Harris hit the uprights but the job had long been done.
The Masters will face the RAF Vultures with the Babcock Inter Service Championship title on the line at Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester, on Friday, 16 May.
Entry is free, with more details at www.eticketing.co.uk/gloucesterrugby/EDP/Event/Index/162
Words © Inter Service Championship
All images © Army Rugby Union – Alligin Photography – Andrew Fosker
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