Naval Air Up For Inverdale Challenge
The days when the Bambara trophy was contested amongst five teams may well be past but the contest is as fierce as ever. This seasons match saw Heron edge past Seahawk but more pleasing for the watching Naval Air Command selectors was the depth of talent they have to pick from. Early signs are that NAC will again be challenged by the Royal Marines and their match on 14 November may well be the decider for this seasons Inter Command Tournament, played for the Inverdale Cup. Though a little late, and apologies to all WAFUs, find below a match report from the Bambara which was held on 19 September. This traditional curtain raiser for the Naval Air Command squad selection held at HMS Heron was played on a firm dry ground with a strong blustery wind which Heron had in their favour for the first half. It was Seahawk that started more lively though, from the off they had possession and seemed to have it for the first ten minutes, putting some excellent phases of play together with SAC Pallet pulling the strings but just couldn’t breach the Heron line due to some ferocious last ditch tackling, eventually a penalty for not releasing the ball on the floor came to Heron’s rescue and using the strong wind they cleared well. With some possession Heron finally began to play some rugby, the defence of Seahawk held for a time until veteran centre LT Andy ‘taff’ Evans darted through a gap in midfield to score under the post, duly converted by AET John Over. The rest of the half was a sea saw affair with plenty of breaks from both sides, NA Hansen to the fore with some great running but no score for either side. Half Time Score: Heron 7 – Seahawk 0 The second half started like the first ended with both sides trying to attack but both defences held firm until Seahawk gave a series of penalties away which resulted in a scrum on the Seahawk 22, scrum half MNE Gareth Fear picked the ball up and broke blind at pace drawing 2 men and offloading to winger AET Chris Smith who showed a clean pair of heals to out sprint the cover defence and score in the corner, the conversion fell just short. The rest of the half saw Seahawk desperately trying to score but a good Heron defence kept them out. This was a great start to the NAC season with plenty of talent on both sides that will give the selector a headache prior to the Inter – Command Tournament. Final score: HMS Heron 12 - HMS Seahawk 0