Army - The Soldiers' Newspaper

No guts, no glory. An Army player looks the Navy opposition in the eye as he attempts to break through their line.
Photo by Bill Cunneen, Service newspapers

Every ball was keenly contested by Army and Navy.

A tough contest saw plenty of emotion after Army scored a try.

Army is No 1. Photos by Bill Cunneen and Michael Weaver

Go forward
Army puts on the power to sink Navy’s hopes

By Michael Weaver
IT took the Army men’s rugby union side just over 20 minutes to win the 2003 Wing Commander John Caldwell Shield against Navy for the national interservice championship at North Sydney Oval on June 14.

A 97-0 win against Air Force three days earlier didn’t look to be doing Army any favours, as the team trailed 15-3 an hour into the match and looked set to hand the title back to Navy.

But out of nowhere, the turning point arrived and so to did the Army side, which finally found itself in Navy’s half for what seemed like the first time in the match.

A lineout inside the Navy 22m saw Army draw no quarter, with the ball spread wide and Cpl Adam Monson scoring his side’s first five-pointer of the match.

Conversion unsuccessful and Navy still held a seven-point lead, but the field position they had enjoyed was being eroded as the faint smell of a comeback wafted in.

Respective coaches paced the sideline but never crossed paths; chins were pulled at and the air seemed too thick to even light a cigarette. But somehow, respective team managers managed at least a couple.

Ten minutes later, Army’s scored its second try when Lt Pete Burnheim found himself over in the same corner, bringing LCpl Paul Yates up to the mark to try and level the scores.

Many onlookers had wandered into the picturesque setting on a perfect Saturday afternoon, hoping for a glimpse of some casual Sydney grade rugby. They soon found themselves applauding as heartily as the Defence audience in appreciation of an end-to-end phase that saw Army win a lineout on its own line, make a 50m break downfield before Navy stoutly resisted the Army raiders.

Army’s renewed momentum was soon reflected on the scoreboard when Pte Scott McCormick scored after a 10m solo effort.

The conversion again missed, but Army led 18-15 with less than 10 minutes remaining.

The poetry of it all soon became motion when LCpl Paul Yates intercepted a pressured Navy pass to dash 70m and score under the posts, saluting the 25-15 Army victory as he ran.

After the match, Army coach Capt Angus Baker, who returned to the side this year on short notice, praised his young team, featuring only six players from last year.

“We always knew the Navy was going to be strong and at half-time I told our players to just get back to the basic game plan, which to Navy’s credit, they had disrupted and put us under a bit of pressure,” he said.

“I knew the last 20 minutes were going to open up a bit and our fitness and go-forward beat them in the end.”

He said the build-up had been fairly low-key, with the 97-0 victory against Air Force not doing his side any favours.

“For a lot of players, this was their first experience at this level and for them to perform like that, they did a remarkable job.

“It was a tough game with tough defence, it always is. It’s like a Test match or a game of chess where you’ve got to move around the park and exploit the weaknesses. There’s a lot at stake and there’s always been a lot of passion about interservice rugby.”

Army team captain Capt Spencer Norris echoed his coach’s sentiments during his victory speech.

“It’s a sign of a good team when you can play bad rugby for 60 minutes and to put in, never give in and keep coming back is a credit to you all and I thank you for that,” he said.

Tpr Jacob Byrt was named player of the series at presentations following the match.