Page 99 - The Bugle 2018

5 RIFLES Football
With the 17/18 season now firmly behind us we can reflect on what has been an exceptional year and look at how we are going to continue and build on our successes for the future. The achieve- ments of the team over this past season as even more impressive when you take into consideration the high tempo of the Battalion, which has seen them relocate from Germany to the UK, and deploy to Estonia on Operation CABRIT 1 for 8 months. Additionally, we have had a lot of players move on and a lot of new talent come into the team. So, as you can imagine, we didn’t have high expectations in late November when the rebuild started.
Unfortunately, due to operations we weren’t able register for the league, however we did manage to enter the Infantry Cup. With realistic expectations, it was viewed as an opportunity to rebuild with our first game being against 4th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland up at a very windy and wet Catterick Garrison. With a completely new team, who had only played together in training it was what you’d call a ‘scrappy’ performance, which at the time was to be expected. That said, there were some good performances from Rifleman Harrison and some excellent saves from Rifleman Sloan to keep us in the game. The game finished 1-0 with a goal from Rifleman Dipple, which turned out to be the start of the Infantry Cup run.
After a strong run of form, we came up against 2 PARA in the semi-final of the Infantry Cup. This game was always going to be exciting. 5 RIFLES FC
5 RIFLES Football Team
started the game well taking a 2-0 lead in the first half, something that wasn’t expect at the time. The team did extremely well to kill the game in the second half, finishing up 2-1. Some very good performances from relatively new players in the team, Rifleman Lang and Rifleman Ord’s performances being vital for the team on the day. 5 RIFLES FC’s success had continued and we were now in the final of the Infantry Cup.
We faced the Scots Guards in the final. It was a good start as we went 2-0 up with both goals being executed by Corporal Hill. With only 10 minutes left, the Scots Guards scored two goals to take it into extra time. With penalties within minutes, the Scots Guards scored one final goal and won the game. Clearly a disappointing finish to what had been a great, if not slightly unexpected season, but not all was lost. As a testament to the skill, ability and commitment of our team members, 5 RIFLES FC had five players selected to play for the Infantry, which again is a massive achievement, not just for the team and Battalion but also the individual.
Roll on next season.
Staff Sergeant R Lord Light Aid Detachment
5 RIFLES FC HAD FIVE PLAYERS SELECTED TO PLAY FOR THE INFANTRY
5 RIFLES Squash 2017/2018
5 RIFLES are relatively new to the squash scene and after a few players were identified, Warrant Officer Class 2 Duggan thought it would be a good idea to get a 5 RIFLES team together and start entering some events. The first event was the Infantry Championships in Oct 17 in which a team of 5 were entered; Captain Bossom (A Coy), Lieutenant Hunt (B Coy), Warrant Officer Class 2 Duggan, Staff Sergeant Gore-Rowe (REME) and Rifleman Bragg (A Coy). After many great games, a couple of the players managed to get through to the quarter finals in the individual event, but it the team event was where the greatest success was found. After three days of fantastic squash there were some aching legs, but it came down to the final of the Rawsthorne Cup between 4 RIFLES and 5 RIFLES. A great result saw 5 RIFLES win 4-1 and lifted the Rawsthorne Cup as the 2017 Infantry Champions.
The next event on the calendar was the Army Championships in Jan 18, and the team was eager to make their mark after their recent success at the Infantry Champs. For this event a new member was recruited; Lieutenant Colonel Ridland (Commanding Officer) who stepped up as Seed 2 for the event. The event again was a great success due to strength in depth. Unfortunately,
Warrant Officer Class 2 Duggan had to pull out with a calf injury, so he was replaced last minute by Staff Sergeant Hawkins so as not to cede any games. After battling through and finishing as runners up in the Group Stage we then got through to the final four where we lost to Army HQ in the Semi-finals. Out of over 20+ teams, this was a great achievement.
The team are looking forward to their next challenge and bringing home some more silverware next year.
Staff Sergeant Gore-Rowe
Light Aid Detachment
AFTER THREE DAYS OF FANTASTIC SQUASH THERE
WERE SOME ACHING LEGS
5 RIFLES (Semi-finalists) at the Army Squash Championships
THE RIFLES FIFTH BATTALION 105