LCpl Mikey McDonald (RE) helped Germany close out a fantastic 21-11 victory as they secured a first Rugby Europe Championship win of the season in Belgium on Saturday.
Having lost all three pool games, the visitors caused a big shock in the ranking semi-final, defeating a team who had beaten World Cup heroes Portugal just last month.
The Germans took a 10th-minute lead with an Edoardo Stella penalty, only for Hugo Le Francq to level before the away side secured an 8-3 half-time advantage thanks to a Mike Tyumenev try.
Belgium rallied after the break, though, a Tom Wallraf five-pointer and Le Francq penalty giving them an 11-8 lead and the momentum.
Yet Germany responded, Nikolai Klewinghaus adding to a brilliant Felix Lammers try midway through the final quarter.
Mikey then came on shortly afterwards, and with Klewinghaus landing another penalty and late drop goal, his side sealed a superb win to set-up a revenge mission in the fifth-place play-off against Netherlands on Sunday, March 17.
In domestic action, Gnr Senitiki Nayalo (7 PARA RHA) played 64 minutes for Coventry as they won 27-12 at Doncaster Knights to leapfrog their opponents to second in The Championship table.
Pat Pellegrini kicked a penalty and then converted a Tom Ball try just before half-time to make it 10-0 at the break, the Tongan international then slotting another three-pointer to extend the advantage.
Gnr Nayalo was part of a dominant scrum which proved decisive in the result, and his side were awarded a penalty try before Doncaster gave themselves a glimmer of hope as Billy McBryde and Nathan Greenwood crossed the whitewash, Joe Bedlow adding to the first.
However, a deserved Coventry win was wrapped up in injury-time, debutant Tom Hitchcock dotting down before Pellegrini added an extra gloss to the scoreline.
Things went less well for Sgt Matt Dawson (Int Corps), the flanker coming off the bench shortly after the break as Cambridge were thumped 61-10 at Hartpury University.
Harry Bazalgette converted tries from Morgan Adderly-Jones and Rob Smith to put the hosts 14-0 up inside 12 minutes, Cambridge getting on the board as Kwaku Asiedu touched down.
However, Hartpury then poured on 47 unanswered points – Smith completing a hat-trick as Alex Morgan, Louis Hillman-Cooper, Mike Austin, Harry Short and JJ Williams also scored tries, Bazalgette (two) and Jake Morris (four) with conversions – before Tom Hoppe grabbed a late consolation for the Blood & Sand.
Words © Richard Ashton
Header and feature image – Germany Rugby
