RAFRUW Development v Army Medical Service

The RAFRUW Development team kick started their Corps Tournament journey on 6 Oct 10 at Aldershot; the weather couldn’t have been better for rugby, soft ground and glorious sunshine. On this day there were a lot of new people to the squad or new to rugby, alongside a few of our more experienced players. The afternoon was spent training, including a brief introduction to rugby for some!

The match against the Army Medical Service (AMS) from beginning to end was well fought by both teams with pressure being placed at throughout. For the first 10 mins the RAFRUW Dev team retained possession, pushing forwards with some great offloads from Cpl Griffin, resulting in a try by SAC Stewart (Captain). Both teams then settled into the game as AMS put up some defence, stealing the ball off the RAFRUW Dev preventing a further try. The next couple of trys for the RAFRUW Dev came from some fantastic running from SAC Reddaway and great footwork from LAC Oladimeji.

Throughout play it was great to see the enthusiasm from the players moving forward and gradually pushing the opposition backwards, whilst stealing the ball on a number of occasions. Baring in mind the lack of experience within the team, the rucking skills throughout were impressive. There is still some further training needed in this area but from what was seen at this stage of the season makes the future look very promising. The fourth try for the RAFRUW Dev came after some great ball carrying by Cpl Graham who had shown sheer determination throughout the match. AMS tried channelling her towards the sideline but somehow she managed to sneak by for a try!

Into the second half, Cpl Vunivalu came on for the RAFRUW Dev team and was soon putting in her trade mark hard hits. AMS failed to get the points from kicking a penalty however, their first try followed shortly. The flow of the game was great throughout with the momentum of the game being maintained by both sides. A further four trys were scored by the RAFRUW Dev team seeing Flt Lt Slungaard, LAC Oladimeji and Cpl Williams (twice) go over the try line. The whole team effort made this possible aided by some great handling skills by Fg Off Hutchings and immense tackles by LAC Oladimeji.

The final score was 46-5 to the RAFRUW Dev, boosted by Cpl Hallworth’s converting skills. This was a great game to start the new era of this newly formed team and the season where many new rugby players played their hearts out and showed the future of women’s rugby is looking great. A big thank you to all the players, some of who travelled miles (some after courses); to the coaches, Cpl Croker, SAC Craven and Mr Mulcahy; and to Emma Croker (England No 2) who came to impart her knowledge and words of wisdom.