Page 55 - Wish Stream Year of 2016

The Haka
The following day, nursing a host of aches, nig- gles and knocks, the squad ‘enjoyed’ a light training session followed by a dif cult yoga ses- sion led by the exceptionally patient physiothera- pist, Capt Williams. Subsequently we visited the NZ Army Museum, a fascinating experience that brought home the reality of our employment, when we aren’t enjoying the perks of military life. The powerful exhibitions, especially on joint operations such as those at Gallipoli and Crete highlighted the close bond of our two nations.
was capitalised upon by both backs and for- wards, with almost every support runner making good gains. OCdt Mackenzie-Lawrie nished a gorgeous backs move by dotting down after a miracle pass from OCdt Fairhurst went to hand. OCdt Andreoli again bisected the posts with the conversion. At this point, the team slightly started to let the scoreline go to their heads, with play- ers who had no right being close to the centres loitering beyond wingers, and miracle passes being attempted more often than is decent. Mis- takes and frustration mounted, and our penalty
Such was our preparation for the showpiece game, which was against the Of cer Cadet School. While there were some attempts to keep us in the bar for a great length of time the night before, it had little effect on our perfor- mance as we showcased our tal- ent, albeit against a much smaller pool of players.
However, it swiftly became clear that we had lost the faith of the referee...
count crept up. Fortunately, half time saved us from total implosion, and allowed us time to regroup.
However, it swiftly became clear that we had lost the faith of the referee, who was very quick to his whistle against us, slowing our momentum right down. In spite of this hindrance,
After another inspiring haka, the teams went to it. As with the previous match, RMAS came out of the blocks quickly, one of the bene ts of such a tight schedule. With scrums uncontested, the tight ve were able to roam about the eld with impunity, with OCdt Butler once again put- ting in some good yardage and setting up OCdt Raleigh for a try which he nished in no uncertain terms by running through the opposing fullback. In an exact role-reversal, OCdt Raleigh turned supplier, with OCdt Butler touching down hav- ing done little except being on scene providing support. Many of the team were now wondering where OCdt Butler was actually playing, hooker or wing. The dominance shown in the rst half
RMAS stuck to the task, with OCdt Macleod scoring a magni cent solo effort, chipping through, gathering and nishing strongly to cap a robust performance. Despite encouragement to stick to our positions, the fearsome combination of OCdts Scott-Bowden and Butler found them- selves poised at 10 and 12, taking advantage of a large weight difference to force OCdt But- ler through for his second. In the meantime, the shock replacement y half Maj Davies had man- aged to nd himself in the sin bin after very few minutes on the pitch, alongside OCdt Harcourt, both for heinous misdemeanours such as not rolling away. Taking one for the team is how he describes it! OCdt Hill nished the game with a poachers try, mopping up from close range after good work by OCdt Balfour and heavy carries
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