Aldershot Rugby Stadium 28th September
A full day of Inter Services Rugby League rounded off the regular season for the three armed forces with the RN travelling up from the south coast to Aldershot to take on the Army. The RN Ladies joined the competition in a winner takes all one off match whilst the RN Academy were looking to build on their performance against the RAF and retain the IS Academy title for the first time in their history. As for the Seniors, the Brothers knew that irrespective of the result the RN could not win the IS title however there was the Jack Harrison trophy to play for as well as putting in a good performance to banish the demons from the below par outing against the RAF in the opening Round.
Army Academy 14 : 26 Royal Navy
The earlier rain had left Aldershot by the time the teams took to the pitch for the first of the day games leaving a cloudy but dry afternoon with the pitch holding up well despite earlier downpours.
The opening score went to the Army after the early exchanges, the RN had conceded a couple of penalties previously and the Army had elected to run at the RN but after getting little change out of a resolute defence the Soldiers opted for a shot at goal,Scrum half Chris Harris converted well from 30 metres 2:0. With several changes from the side that beat the RAF the RN side took a while to settle into attack mode but after keeping the Army at bay for 20 minutes or so the Brothers offense began to click. A couple of penalties leapfrogged the RN into the Army half and good movement in midfield got scrum half Paul Saberton away on the RN left, a well timed pass hit winger Manoa Satala coming in on a good line and despite the efforts of four Army players the winger crashed over to give his side the lead, this lead was further extended by Dane Smallbone who converted from wide 2:6. The Army responded to this score initially quite well taking the play into the RN half but strong defence saw the Army being forced into touch giving the RN the scrum. From the scrum another raid down the RN left appeared to have been dealt with but Ian Cooper came into the attack from deep and ran a brilliant diagonal line from 20 metres out which saw him touch down at the base of the left upright giving Smallbone a straight forward conversion 2:12. The second quarter of the match was a close affair the Army pressing to cut the arrears but dropped balls and good tackling from the RN kept them to just the penalty goal. The RN did keep the pressure on the Army but no more points were scored so the half came to an end with the RN looking confident and good value for the 10 point advantage. The second half began perfectly for the RN, from the kick off the Army spilled the ball and from the resulting scrum two quick snipes down the RN left gave Jack Savage the chance to stretch the RN lead which he did with a spectacular score throwing himself over the line to touchdown, this time Smallbone was just wide with the conversion, 2:16. The mid section of the half did turn a bit scrappy the Army being pinned into their own third of the pitch but the RN were not able to capitalise but it seemed only a matter of time before the scores came. The score eventually did come in some fashion, the Army were defending for their lives and were holding off the RN onslaught pretty well so something a bit different was needed. Dane Smallbone took the ball in midfield and put out an inch perfect kick to the RN left, Manoa Satala came at pace beating the Army defence in the air and crossing in one movement to touchdown in some style, again Smallbone was wide with the kick but it was now 2:20 to the visitors. The final quarter of the match saw some of the best play of the match, the Army realising they were looking at a bit of hiding came back at the RN, a bit of unusually ordinary defence allowed the Army a glimmer of hope, Open side prop Dave Munson crossing from close range, the score converted by Scott Young. Two minutes later however the RN made the perfect response, the Army had taken play down to their left and were pushing to the line but the last pass was read perfectly by Simon Tulakepa who took the interception had time to juggle the ball before making the 80 metres to the other end of the field with the Army defence left for dead in his wake, this time Smallbone gratefully took the straight forward conversion to put the RN in an almost unassailable lead at 8:26. The Army did not give up and in the dying moments another try was scored by Prop Munson and converted by Young to make the final score 14:26. This was a great reward for a lot of hard work by coaches Jim Barnes and Dane Smallbone who took a squad of players with virtually no time to train as a team to this triumph over the other two services. Guided by the senior players in the squad The Academy side dealt with everything the Army could throw at them, in the pack the big forwards did not give an inch to their Army rivals, Ben Cartwright once again putting in a massive performance earning himself another man of the match award in this his last game for RNRL as he is hanging up his boots after a fine career with RNRL at both Academy, Senior and Vets level. New players coming into the side in the back division like Martin Tomkinson and Bobby Conroy Smith gave fine displays whilst the flair of the Fijian’s in the side was always exciting to watch.

RN Academy Richard Binns, Manoa Satala, Jack Savage, Martin Tomkinson Simon Tulakepa, Bobby Conroy-Smith, Paul Saberton, Ben Cartwright, Dane Smallbone, Wata Robanakavadu, Lee Gaskell, Colin Chapman, Tim Vodonlaivalu, Ian Cooper, Mike Tulakepa Kev Hunt, Nas Rawace
Scorers: T - Satala(2) Cooper, Savage, Simon Tulakepa G – Smallbone (2)

Army Ladies 64:0 Wrenegades
Compared to last year’s performance against the Army this scoreline may look like a huge backward step for the ladies game but when you take into account that due to lack of player availability the RN Ladies only had 15 players, four of whom had never played before. With ten first team regulars unavailable and the coaches only having 8 players at training throughout the week the fact the Wrenegades competed as well as they did is a great credit to not only the players but to the coaching team of Darren West Steven Smallbone and Zoe Waring. None of the girls took a backward step throughout the match and kept their heads held high no matter what the scoreboard read. The Wrenegades were obviously desperately upset at the score at full time but it is safe to say that by putting on the shirts and taking on the Army they saved the Ladies IS competition and come back stronger next year.

Wrenegades Nat Bavister, Sophia Docherty, Marie Hallam, Vicky Stansfield, Fran Pascoe, Sam Alderson, Sarah Jenkins, Sarah Mitchell, Emma Swinton, Emily Atkins, Helen Ing, Stacey Hargreaves, Feisha Greene, Andrea Marshall, Jess Brookes

Army v Royal Navy – The Jack Harrison Trophy
The final match of the day was the big one the annual contest for the Jack Harrison VC trophy, preparations at RNRL HQ had gone well despite a couple of enforced changes within the squad though injury. Preparations however were overshadowed 24 hours before with the news that Silivenusi Buinimasi had lost his brother in a tragic diving accident back in Fiji, the big Fijian had elected to stay with the team and play in memory of his brother prior to returning to his home to be with his family. The brothers wore black armbands throughout the match as a mark of respect and solidarity with B at this sad time. By their own admission the Brothers had not performed well in the 1st Round so there was extra determination to show exactly what an RN Side can do and they certainly delivered on the night.
The match began as it was to be played throughout the 80 minutes, at a fast and furious pace with no quarter being given on either side. The first real foray into the Army half was rewarded with a penalty awarded by Ref John Cadogan for holding down. Darren Bamford opted for a long range attempt and from 40 metres was successful giving the Brothers a 0:2 lead. Three minutes later the visitors looked to have stretched their advantage, a high kick was fumbled by the Army, Darren Bamford gathered the ball and set Mike Haldenby at the Army defence, the winger beat the cover and touched down for what appeared to have been a great try. The score however was chalked off by the officials and play returned to the initial knock on, very disappointing but it showed the Army defence was vulnerable. However despite this optimistic start the RN were unable to capitalise and the Army fought their way back into the game and were rewarded after 15 minutes , right centre Taniela Backoso hitting the line at pace to beat the RN cover and cross going round behind the posts to make the conversion a formability for Ceri Cummings 6:2. This lead was very short lived as the RN hit back almost immediately, another push on the RN left by full back Bamford set up Tom Boyce who drew the Army cover before slipping the money ball to Mike Haldenby who cut inside to score, the perfect response and the sides were all square again. The game continued at a frantic pace with both sides trying to get the upper hand with the RN gradually taking the game more and more to the Soldiers after 30 minutes he Brothers were rewarded with another score from some fantastic approach play. Starting again out on the left the ball was taken up by prop Lewis Taylor who in turn fed Steve Lockton who headed for the line drawing the Army defence before slipping a beautiful ball outside to half back partner Kev Botwood who crossed behind the posts. Full back Bamford nailing the conversion to make the score 6:12 to the RN. The Army were back on their heels now and the RN came back almost immediately taking advantage of a penalty for a high tackle the Brothers took play out to their right and from 20 metres out Darren Bamford scored his second in a slick move that easily beat the Army defence, 6-16. The Navy side sensed more points were on against an Army side that were desperate for half time to come to escape the almost incessant pressure. The RN continued to press and was rewarded with another penalty after influential Hooker Kyle Larvin was brought down by a clumsy high tackle; Bamford duly did the honours so at the break it was 6-18. The first half display could not have been more different to the RAF fixture, all areas of the team were playing some absolutely brilliant Rugby league, defensively almost unbreakable e the offensive plays looked threatening every time.
The second half began well for the RN continuing where they had left off from the first half, after seven minutes another high tackle by the Army resulted in them being reduced to 12 men for 10 minutes. Another great piece of play from the RN once again saw Bamford join the line attracting the Army cover before once again delivering to Mike Haldenby who crossed and was able to scoot behind the posts for an easy conversion 6:24. The Brothers were now totally dominating play as the Army tried to live with top quality attacking driven by speedy play the balls and inventive play from the half backs. Kev Botwood at stand off was having a great game exemplified by a superb 40:20 when the Army were exerting an all too rare bit of pressure in the RN half. The next score and Bamfords second was another piece of top quality back play. The Brothers drew the Army defence as another attack was mounted on the right, hooker Larvin moved back into midfield and found Bamford in the line again, this time instead of feeding the RN left as the Army expected he stepped the cover to score himself, this was high quality play and he Army had no response to the RN as they had now swept to a 28-6 lead. As the match entered the final quarter the Army tried to rally but they found a Navy defence on top of their game and showing no sign of tiring and found themselves pinned in their own half for extended periods. The final score of the match was another flowing move from a side full of confidence the initial push went out to the RN left but the ball came back though centerfield Darren Bamford again involved drawing the cover as usual, this time his pass went to scrum half Lockton who capped another fine game with a burst through the defence to touch down effectively sealing the game.
The final whistle ended what was a truly remarkable performance from a side fired up by their poor performance last time out and to show solidarity with B Buinimasi during this most difficult of times for him and his family.
The score sheet will show the points were scored by the backs but without an awesome performance from the pack it would not have been such a comprehensive victory. The starting six of Lewis Taylor, Kyle Larvin, Richie Metcalfe, Gareth Cadmore, Mark Robinson and new cap Steve Riley were backed up by Craig Sutton, Matt Corrigan and Ben Taylor from the bench and dominated the Army pack for most of the game. Team Captain Mark Robinson led his charges well at second row with the backs being marshalled by Darren Bamford from full back. The two wing partnerships worked together well Kitione Kamikamica putting in another powerful show alongside Buinimasi on the right with Marc Warren spelling from the bench. Steve Lockton and Kev Botwood showed plenty of skill and invention at half back and it was Botwood who was rewarded for his efforts with the man of the match trophy. Head Coach Danny Johnson had a vastly experienced dug out to call on with Wayne Okell, Jase Steele and Steve Penberthy ensuring all went to plan at pitchside.
After the match presentations for all three matches took place on the pitch , Ben Cartwright collected the IS Champions trophy for the Academy whilst seniors skipper Mark Robinson nominated Silivenusi Buinimasi to collect the Jack Harrison trophy from Army RL President Maj Gen Carew Wilkes CBE to round off an excellent days work in the Soldiers back yard.
Royal Navy Darren Bamford (v/c), Mike Haldenby, Tom Boyce, Kitione Kamkamica, Silivenusi Buinimasi, Kev Botwood, Steve Lockton, Richie Metcalfe, Kyle Larvin, Lewis Taylor, Gareth Cadmore, Mark Robinson(C), Steve Riley, Matt Corrigan, Ben Taylor, Craig Sutton, Marc Warren
Scorers: (T) Bamford (2), Haldenby (2), Botwood 2 Lockton (G) Bamford (3 Conv, 1 Pen)
Army Ceri Cummings, Tim Tamani, Villiame, Taniela Backoso, Colin Marangon(C), Danny Hunter, Scotty Sarson, Gareth Lodge, Andy Gray, Isikeli Sauliga, Ben Naiyaga, Andre Zwijnen, Casey Shaw, Ben Taylor, Ratu Komaisavai, Colin Mckenzie, Andy Parkin
Scorers (T)Backoso G) Cummings