MAN-OF-THE-MATCH Capt Ollie Richardson was buzzing after his 11 Sigs side beat Irish Guards 14-8 to win the Knock-Out Vase, although he admitted conditions meant it was a \u2018game for the purists\u2019.<\/strong><\/p>\n On a miserable morning in Aldershot, wind and rain were the order of the day during a first half in which Richardson twice put his side ahead with penalties, only for them to be trailing 8-6 at the break thanks to a Gds Seru Poninese three-pointer and Gds Scoby Vuniyayawa try.<\/p>\n However, with their scrum dominant, No. 8 Cpl Jotame Nalewabau charged off the set-piece to put Sigs in front before Richardson\u2019s third penalty secured the silverware.<\/p>\n And the delighted scrum-half said: \u201cI\u2019m buzzing \u2013 it means a lot to us to win the Vase, it\u2019s unbelievable.<\/p>\n \u201cLast year we got knocked out in the first round and barely even had a team, this year we\u2019ve had three or four big games and whenever we\u2019ve been underestimated \u2013 especially the young lads, some who are only 18 \u2013 we\u2019ve stepped up.<\/p>\n \u201cMost of our team are straight out of training, but some will be Army-quality players and it\u2019s incredibly satisfying to do it with these guys.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been in Blandford for three years and some have only been around for a few months, but we\u2019ve been progressing and it\u2019s awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the poor weather, there was a cracking atmosphere in the Army Stadium, with Ollie continuing: \u201cIt meant a lot to both sides, and we tried to fill a bus with a fair few lads because with the Irish Guards based at Aldershot it was definitely a home game for them.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first half was horrible because of the wind, we were pinned down in our corners, but to go into half-time only two points down was an unbelievable shift.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the second half we did what we did, used the wind as we could and got the job done.<\/p>\n \u201cBoth teams\u2019 defence was strong with only one try each, so it was maybe a game for the purists.\u201d<\/p>\n And while Richardson and his teammates took the plaudits on the field, he was keen to pay tribute to both the competition organisers and the Sigs\u2019 mentors as he ended: \u201cFor our unit training comes first so getting the lads out on anything other than a Wednesday is very difficult, but thankfully the ARU let us play all our knock-out games at home to allow us to get the games on.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd a huge thanks to our coaching staff. There\u2019s loads of experience \u2013 probably about 300-years worth \u2013 among those old boys, but they know their rugby and they\u2019ve been teaching the young lads well.\u201d<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Words \u00a9 Richard Ashton<\/p>\n All images – Alligin Photography \u00a9 Lee Crabb<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n A full gallery of images from the match is available\u00a0HERE<\/a>\u00a0images are free to download for personal use.\u00a0 Create an account, use the add to cart function and follow the check out process.<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div> \n<\/div><\/div>\n\t\t Tickets for the 2024 Inter Service Championship matches are on sale now!<\/p>\n To purchase yours click the links below;<\/p>\n Saturday 4th May | Army v Navy | Twickenham |\u00a0BUY TICKETS<\/a><\/p>\nIMAGE GALLERY<\/h3>\n
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