Four Navy Tries not Enough to Deny Hartpury 

The Senior Men took on Hartpury BUCS in a spirited contest that swung back and forth in the early stages. Possession changed hands regularly, and it was the Navy who struck first. Craig Duncan broke down the left after some slick handling from the backline, and with a deft kick inside, he found Jay Toogood at full pace. Toogood gathered cleanly and finished under the posts to give the Navy the opening score.

Hartpury responded with a ruthless spell of dominance, running in four tries before the break. Their first came from a quick tap-and-go penalty on the Navy five-metre line, followed by a driving maul from a lineout in the same area. A clever chip over the backline then allowed their winger to score, and sustained pressure on the Navy line eventually told with another short-range effort. 

The Navy, however, was not done. Their second try came in spectacular fashion when Hartpury attempted a box kick after securing loose ball. Jack Davis charged it down, and in a moment reminiscent of Wayne Rooney or Joe Marler(!), he nodded the ball forward before outpacing the defence to score. Hartpury added another close-range try through pick-and-go pressure, but the Navy rallied again. 

George Edson broke the line down the short side, and Harry Mayes was on his shoulder to finish in the corner for the Navy’s third. Then, in the final play of the game, the Navy struck once more. Strong passing down the right created space, Mayes carried to within a metre of the line, and Will Riglesford sniped from close range to dot down, sealing the Navy’s fourth try. 

Although Hartpury’s clinical finishing ultimately proved decisive, the Navy’s performance was marked by tenacity and imagination, a side unwilling to yield yet eager to thrill, producing four excellent tries along the way. 

That match-up between the Royal Navy Senior XV and Hartpury BUCS had an intriguing dynamic: students versus serving personnel. On one hand, Hartpury’s young, full-time rugby scholars—athletes immersed in training and study, playing with speed and structure. On the other hand, the Navy squad brought experience, discipline, and physicality, balancing rugby with the demands of military service. With that match behind the Senior Men and Women jet off to play Rugby Clube Marine Nationale in Toulon on the 28th Mar at the cauldron of noise that is the Stade Mayol. 

Senior Men: K Allton, J Wright, H Wright, M Scott, R Hawkshaw; B Mallett (C), A O’Brien, W Scott; D Rutter, J Hanley, T Briggs, J Bartlett, G Wacokecoke, J Toogood, C Duncan (VC). 

Replacements: B Smith, K Beasley, T Ashton, B Watson, A Einchcomb, W Riglesford, G Edson, B Raivalitia, F Elliott, H Mayes, J Davis.