Page 54 - QDG Year of 2020

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1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards
Rugby
1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards RFC started 2020 on a massive high. They had finished 2019 with 6 wins from 6 and had completed a successful tour in Wales. QDG RFC had turned Robertson Barracks into quite a fortress, they have not been beaten on their home ground since arriving from Sennelager in 2015. On Jan 8th 2020 QDG RFC weren’t going to allow the visitors 4th Regiment Royal Artillery take their undefeated crown for the season away from them. QDG thumped the away side 66-14 and notably team Captain Cpl
James Casey rampaging 3 tries in 30 minutes before taking a knock and having to be replaced. Lt Will Groome can’t go without a mention after some impres- sive kicking converting 8 out of 10 attempts at the posts.
The win against 4th
Regiment Royal Artillery
meant that QDG were a well
deserved top of the Cham-
pionship North league for
the 2019-20 season. This
now meant that the top 2
teams from Championship
North and Championship
South will meet for compe-
tition semi-finals. QDG RFC
had been drawn against
the Defence Academy at
Robertson Barracks. This
became an issue as the
Defence Academy had been given authority to play all their games at home due to the nature of their players’ roles. QDG had already played most of their games away in the 2019-2020 season, had come top of the league and were about to leave on Ex Wessex Storm but
still we jumped on the bus and headed to Shrivenham. QDG quickly put the issues of where and when the semi-final was going to take place aside. It was a cold and damp evening, with the floodlights missing a few bulbs when the match kicked off. Unfortunately, QDG RFC lost the team captain Cpl James Casey due to injury in the first few minutes of the game. QDG managed to win a very hard game even with a familiar face Maj Duncan Wiggins coming off the bench for the Defence Academy; we couldn’t be stopped. QDG won 14-5 with tries scored by Cpl Bobo and George Barham which were converted by Lt Will Groome. A well warranted Man of the Match went to SSgt Gaz Roberts who put everything
Special delivery for the EME
he had into the game.
Beating the Defence Academy meant
that we were to meet our toughest opponents of the 2019-20 season 2 Rifles in the final. 2 Rifles were very fortunate and ended with a bye into the Championship Final. With the Regiment preparing for Wessex Storm it became very difficult to arrange a window for this game to be played. The rugby team even packed their kit and took it to Salisbury Plain with them on the off chance that the fixture would happen with no joy. Unfortunately with the outbreak of Covid 19 the fixture did not happen. The 2020-21 season hasn’t had chance to start and we have had minimal training sessions. That said we still have a large squad of rugby players who are keen and ready to go. An unfortunate end to an absolutely brilliant season from 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards RFC.
JC
QDG managed to win a very hard game even with a familiar face Maj Duncan Wiggins coming off the bench for the Defence Academy; we couldn’t be stopped