POLICE RUGBY BLUE LIGHT BATTLE
England Police Rugby win the annual Fire vs Police match in a game closer than the score suggests
Sixways Stadium set the scene for the blue light battle. England Fire Rugby Vs England Police Rugby. A rugby game that hasn’t been played in five years finally made its glamorous return on Wednesday 21 February. A healthy crowd was gathered, including colleagues from both emergency services, friends, families and rugby enthusiasts.
If you knew nothing of the rivalry between these two teams, the first 10 minutes showcased what it meant to the players. Crunching hits and big collisions were the staple of the opening encounters, as both sides set out to impose
themselves on the game.
The first A resurgence from the Fire Service
led to them being camped on the try line of the Police for the final few minutes of the first half but they were unable to break down the defence before the whistle. The Fire Service carried on their
onslaught beyond the half-time break and their pressure paid dividends, as the first score of the second half went to them. The score was unconverted and left Police still eight points better off at 19-11. Both teams started ringing the changes in hopes of adding something different to their gameplay, and Police reaped the rewards soon after.
six points of the game went the way of the Fire Service, courtesy of two penalties from their Fly-Half, Mitch Pinkus. Police were giving away too many penalties, but their defence remained solid, not allowing Fire to run away with the game. The first five-pointer came after some incisive phase play led to Scrum-Half Greg Smith spotting a gap and going over, with Fly-Half Sam Druce adding the extra two. Soon after, Police found another gap
to extend the lead. Sharp offloads in the midfield created the space for Left Wing Jack Arnott to accelerate down the touch line and go over in the corner, Druce missing a tough conversation to leave the score at 12-6 to the Police. The final score of the first half went
the way of the Police, who were starting to exploit the gaps in the midfield defence of Fire. Arnott slipped through one before finding Second Row Phil Middlemiss in support, the big man going over under the posts, allowing Druce to add the extras and leave the score at 19-6 to the Police.
50 | POLICE | APRIL | 2024
“Both teams started ringing the changes in hopes of adding something different to their gameplay, and Police reaped the rewards soon after.”
A good break and nimble footwork from replacement Right
Wing John O’Donnell sparked a
series of offloads that saw Inside Centre Cormac Healy go over under the posts, Druce adding the extras to leave the score at 26-11 to the Police. Police continued to soak up pressure from Fire but a costly handling error saw Police Full Back Tom Jennings pounce on a loose ball and run in a 70-metre score, Druce continuing a good night with the boot and converting again to leave Police leading comfortably 33-11. Credit to the Fire Service, they never
back down and got a converted score of their own before the final whistle. The game ended 33-18 to the Police in a close and physical game. Man of the match for the Police
went to Phil Middlemiss. His physicality, work rate and support play set the tone for what was a strong performance by the whole squad.
DATES FOR THE DIARY There’s not long now until the internationals in Dublin on 24 April. All four home nations are coming together for the first of its kind. England will play Wales and Ireland will play Scotland at the same venue to decide the “Four Nations Police Championship” for 2023/24. Wales are currently top with England in second place, Ireland in third and Scotland fourth. Three weeks later on 8 May 2024, England will then travel to Cape Town on tour to play a two test match series against the South African Police. Plans are underway to play in the 55,000-seater Cape Town DHL Stadium, meet members of the embassy and also visit children in the townships and encourage rugby participation.
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