Navy Sharks endure the Longest Day at Newquay Surf Sevens
Even before the tournament began the Sharks knew that Newquay was going to be a challenge. With only two teams scheduled in their pool they were not due to have a competitive match until 14:00 with two friendlies against the Golden Eagles in the morning. In the end the Eagles failed to show and the Sharks had to wait as the draw was rejigged. Eventually they were moved in to a pool with Gypsies and the Apaches Braves.
By Sam Cuff – Coach Navy Sharks
“First up were the Braves. The long wait for a first game (3 hours since arriving) hadn’t helped the Sharks and despite a strong start, scoring first, they quickly fell away. As a feeder team for the main Apache squad and in front of their selectors, the Braves were keen to impress and turned on an excellent performance to beat the Sharks 42-14. Next up for the Sharks were the Gypsys, including the RN’s very own Matt Tichias and Mo Andrews. A very tight game swung back and forth with the Gypsys eventually running out 26-21 winners.
Due to the problems with teams not arriving and the way the draw was structured, the Sharks were put through to the Cup round of 16. Here they faced the Glasgow Big Tickets. After a slow start that saw the Sharks 12-5 down, they finally woke up and played some of the best 7s of the season, running out 40-19 winners and moving into the quarter finals.
In the quarters they came up against Capio Eggs and another RN player in hooker Ben Priddey. The Sharks continued where they left of from the previous round, opening up a 12-0 lead in the first half. In the 2nd half, Capio kept the ball for long periods of time and 2 tries from their excellent scrum half, both of which were converted, left the Sharks being knocked out 14-12.
The Eggs went on to the final where they faced St Pauls Pirates and yet another guest RN player in Toots Vakalutukali.”
Editorial:
So another quarter final defeat in a tournament that the Sharks had hoped to do well in. However the season as a whole has had a number of positives. Although not wearing a Sharks shirt, Toots continues his development as an excellent sevens and XV-a-side player. From the Navy Unit Sevens Sam Cuff had seen some talent in Sultan’s Todd Croft. He was at Newquay where his side, Plymchester won the social competition. Again he caught Sam’s watchful eye and he could well see representative rugby come his way next summer. For the Sharks a number of the youngsters showed promise and will hopefully learn from their experiences whilst the more established players continued to develop in terms of game management and leadership. Hopefully both the U23s and Seniors will gain from this next season.
And Finally
On Armed Forces Day the Army continued they winning ways by beating Cornish Pirates in the final of the Mens Invitational Event. Congratulations.
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