The Royal Navy brought the Rugby Union battle to Bahrain

Royal Navy personnel have been battling it out in Bahrain, with rugby clashes against some of their finest teams, in preparation for upcoming fixtures this month.

The Royal Navy took on three of Bahrain’s best teams in a tournament that saw Head Coach, POPT Alex Stocker, pull together a team as diverse as it was new, with players from various areas of the Royal Navy embarking on a quest to make their mark in the Rugby Union history books.

Bahrain’s teams were the deceptively named ‘Golden Oldies’, the bookies favourites with the added advantage of playing together on a weekly basis, ‘The Barbarians’, the underdogs looking to cause an early upset on the night and ‘The Colts’, the dark horse team of the night. 

Having proven the ability to catch, pass and run, the Navy were chomping at the bit to commence battle as they watched the tournament opener; the intriguing matchup of The Colts vs the Golden Oldies. 

Watching on from the side lines with interest, keen to learn more about their competitors, the Navy were expecting a close fought encounter with plenty of skills on offer. However, what they got was an exposé in demolition. A bloodbath ensued as the Colts butchered the tournament favourites, The Golden Oldies 49-0, in a game that blew the competition wide open.

The Royal Navy were next up in the tournament, Led by Cardigan Bay favourite and Captain for the day, Paddy Dowds. The team were quietly confident they could put in a winning performance against The Barbarians. 

The encounter was a step up in physicality and a step back in skill compared to the previous game. A fine team effort in the first half ensured a 14-5 lead. A good start but a larger cushion was desired. The second half was a thrilling backs to the wall slug fest with hard hits going in more regularly than a lumberjacks cutting tool. 

The final plays of the game were spent camping on the Navy 5m line, digging in to defend their lead from the advancing enemy. Nothing could separate the teams in the second half with 7 points scored a piece and the Navy taking the eventual win with a final score of 14-19.

With less than five minutes between fixtures, the next match for the Navy invitational side was against the Golden Oldies. The importance here was to put previous result out of mind and focus on the game at hand. 

After a closely contested first half the Navy proved to be too strong and put in an excellent second half performance resulting in 48-0 winners. Notable performance from lock forward Marine Rob Boyt who contributed to the comfortable win.
 
POPT Alex Stocker said, “During the tournament, opposition teams were succumbing to the intense nature of the play and its physicality. Consequently, several Navy personnel volunteered to assist our co-tournament competitors in an inspiring display of camaraderie and sportsmanship.”

By the end of the tournament the navy had represented all teams in the competition. 

The Navy went into their final game against the unbeaten Colts with a full complement of players. 
In the most anticipated game of the tournament, the Navy players kept their heads and eventually ran out 38-7 winners.

POPT Alex Stocker said, “What a fantastic day and superb win for a team which was pulled together last minute. All displayed a plethora of talent. Overall great experience for the Royal Navy players and great opportunity to conduct Physical Development on the front line. 

A fierce battle on the field with great friendships made on completion. The team now look to come together on a weekly basis to build on team cohesion and set plays on the field, all in preparation for up-and-coming fixtures, watch this space.”