Page 48 - Cormorant 2019

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Defence Academy wins The Lerwill Cup 2019
Maj Alexander Willemen, Royal Netherlands Army
THE 20TH ITERATION OF the Lerwill Cup between ACSC and the École de Guerre was held on Wednesday 15 May 2019. Since 1998, the teams
have competed against each other, alternating hosting location between Shrivenham and Paris. This year the donor of the cup, Lt
Col Tim Lerwill, was in attendance to see ACSC’s valiant efforts to try and fiercely defend their trophy.
The ACSC team formed in September 2018 as foreign students tried to get the ball handling under control in weekly training sessions. Many of them had never played rugby before. Two preparatory games were held to set the right mind-set for the
match of the year. First, ACSC played a true game of attrition against The Griffins from Army HQ, resulting in a number of walking wounded, and later the final rehearsal game was against an experienced team from Swindon Supermarine RFC.
The day of the Lerwill Cup itself witnessed beautiful weather, cake-sales, side-line entertainment and
an exciting game of rugby that attracted hundreds
of spectators, VIPs and sponsors. From the first minute the French side put ACSC under considerable pressure. However, the preparations paid off as the ACSC side owned the line, played the pods and made the rush to the try-line. The French were able to keep within close range, especially by excellent kicking, but a strong ACSC defence prevented the French from finishing their attacks. It was a hotly contested game between two sides showing mutual respect for each other.
“
Many of them
had never played rugby
before. ◆◆◆
Hard defending by the Academy in the last 10 minutes of the match secured the win for the ACSC 22 rugby squad, who were victorious 17-11. After 80 exciting minutes, the Lerwill Cup was presented to the ACSC-team by DDASC Captain Karen McTear,