The Royal Engineers had a tough start to their Corps Championships League 1 defence, going down to the Royal Logistics Corps in Cirencester.
With the Corps Festival having been cancelled due to the sad passing of HM Queen Elizabeth II, this week was the first time that the teams had an opportunity to get a competitive run-out in 2022/23, and it was the RLC who got off to the better start, scoring twice through the forwards before the backs showed what they could do by putting the ball through the hands.
By the time the Sappers got over the whitewash themselves they were already chasing the game, and the RLC saw out the win, 44-20 the final score.
In the other match, REME continued the form which took them to the 2022 final to overcome the League 1 newcomers, Infantry, 39-24 in their first match at Royal Wootton Bassett.
In League 2, the Royal Artillery bounced back from the disappointment of relegation at the end of last season to get a win on the road away to the Royal Armoured Corps, 32-24 the final result.
Elsewhere, the Army Medical Services conceded their opening fixture away to the Royal Signals due to a shortage of players. However with this decision coming just an hour before the scheduled kick off at Stafford, the AMS still played the 80 minutes with some guest players making up the numbers and deserve credit for their positive attitude. Nevertheless the final score was irrelevant, the Signals being awarded a 20-0 bonus point walkover.
Unfortunately the two scheduled games in League 3 were not able to be played, the AAC and Royal Army Physical Training Corps being awarded 20-0 bonus point walkovers against the Adjutant General’s Corps and Intelligence Corps respectively.
The Women’s Corps Championships is a five-team competition this season, with the RLC and Infantry joining forces to play a combined RA/AAC/RAC XV in Abingdon. The RLC/Infantry team did enough to get a bonus point win, 29-19 the final score, but they are second on the table standings as REME/R Sigs/RE were awarded a 20-0 walkover win against AGC/Int Corps.
The next round of matches will be on Wednesday, October 19th.
Words © New Dogs, Old Tricks
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