Ironically, their losing captain that day, Howard Graham, having meanwhile left the force and now involved in coaching at Coventry RFC, picked up the losers' cheque this time, too. He was skipper of runners-up, Adidas Marauders, who took away £500 after a 35-19 defeat in which they trailed decisively 21-0 by half-time.

The Army, who won by five tries to three, although it was more emphatic than that, had things going their way, not only after Scorpions were prevented from appearing this year. Of the 16 teams expected, midweek withdrawals reduced that to 12 and then the RFU charity team, Wooden Spoon, pulled out at the start of the weekend.

They were in the Army's Pool and when Bandits 7s had to withdraw later in the competition owing to an accumulation of injuries, that meant Marauders went up in the final against a team who, if not intimidating enough already, had played two games fewer on a day when temperatures reached 25 or 26 degrees.

Added to that, Marauders had lost scrum-half Rhys Evans with a dislocated shoulder in their penultimate pool match. They borrowed Matt Rhodes from The Royal Navy Sharks, whom the Army had trounced 58-0. But the sheer size and athleticism of an Army team well set-up in backroom provisions, and rested, almost visibly produced in the Cup Final a hesitant reaction from almost every Marauder faced with the obligation of trying to make a break. So daunting was the Army's strength in the tackle and pace on the recovery.

The match was a repeat of the Newquay Sevens final a week earlier, where a try in added time by The Army's Alex Swann broke at 24-24 deadlock.

This time, two tries from the Army's huge wing Semesa Rokodugun, one of their 10 Fijians, and a touchdown by their captain Mark Lee, their only Englishman, with conversions by Filipe Tawayaga, put British Army in command.

In the second half, Rhodes released Tongan Under-20 player Mateo Malupo and Graham converted, but the Army came straight back with a double reply. Powerful support running sent over Eric Butodroku and Maliki Magnus. This time the only other non-Fijian, Gerhard Wessells from South Africa, converted both, and it was 35-7.

To rescue respectability for the Marauders with well-worked tries, Ifan Evans from Llandovery scored and converted, himself, after Malupo broke, and Dan Caprice of Saracens, the first man in a double overlap, also went over with Graham providing a lonesome conversion.

The Old Boys of Glentaf, an all Welsh-speaking school near Cardiff, will provide Worthing's first-team hooker this coming season in Rhys Blumberg.

As the two pool runners-up and third-placed teams provided the other two finals, he helped BUSA Cup semi-finalists Glentaf into the Plate Final and 38-7 victory over Black Knights - a team with several National League players from Macclesfield, Manchester and Waterloo, but who had little left for their ultimate contest. Glentaf OB won £500 in Kukri kit vouchers, to Black Knights' £350 worth.

Worthing's young sevens squad, called Spartans and playing to raise awareness of Disability Trust, met recent foes from Haywards Heath, Road Runners, in the Shield Final. Runners made it third time lucky in this final over the past three years and avenged one of those defeats to Worthing, 33-12 and by five tries to two.

Runners, obviously the more up for it, were 3-0 up in tries before Jack Maslin teased, then scorched past two defenders to put Worthing on the scoreboard. Richard Kaye, put away just inside his own half by captain Danny Peach, made it 3-2 in the second half, but Runners retorted twice and captain John Fordham's try sealed it.

The Shield Final spoils were a dozen luxury Kukri polo shirts and Road Runners' £100 entry fee refunded, with T-shirts to Worthing.

Come back for Stephen Goodger's picture gallery on this website on Monday.

Get the Herald this week for a fascinating story from this tournament.

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Email the Herald: richard.amey@worthingherald.co.uk