"Wonky's Word" on the Worthing 10s and Letchworth Saracens U15s

Firstly, I would like to congratulate the girls on their fantastic results at the Worthing 10's tournament. The day left me in high spirits for the future of girls rugby in our clubs.

Arriving at Worthing, it was apparent that there would definately be the odd shower through the day - ha ha - and, with the U15's still trying to get comfortable with each other, we were sure to have a slow start. The girls went out against local rivals Welwyn and, not long after the whistle, the first torrential downpour made conditions a little difficult. With a slippery ball and unsure footing due to the mud they were playing on - I was surprised to see how quickly the girls settled in. Welwyn are always a very strong team and threw everything at the Letchworth Saracens team who fought hard but lost by a single try which was the only score in the game. The girls came off the field with their heads held high and so they should have!

With wise words from Simon and a harsher line from myself, the girls had something to think about for their next game against Aylesford Bulls, which was going to be no easier than the first. A nail biter followed with numerous breaks from both teams throughout the game but, due to the "never say die" attitude of both teams, the scoreboard remained at a stagnant 0-0 until the last minute of the game when the opposition made a full length dash for the try line and scored in the corner. Another game lost and spirits were a little low but the U15's were getting used to playing with each other and communication was definitely improving.

Ellingham and Ringwood had beaten Welwyn and the girls had their work cut out in the final group game. There was also the added problem of injuries which left us with only 10 players - so no subs were available for this game. The girls had narrowly lost to two very strong opponents and, although they did not like losing, they knew that they had made the opposition work for their points. With a "take it to them" attitude Letchworth Saracens scored first - finally all that hard work had paid off! The simple reward of one try can do so much to confidence levels and it showed immediately : the back line were a lot more verbal in defence, the forwards had found their feet and were working together. The team were putting numerous phases together with great discipline and support. Not once in this game can I recall a forward or back walking or resting and the hard work paid off : Letchworth Saracens accumulated a big enough lead to give the bonus point needed to finish second in the group and compete for the Plate.

The great thing about these tournaments is that mistakes can be noted and rectified through the day thus giving coaches numerous opportunities to point the girls in the right direction. Letchworth and Sarries girls listened and wanted to learn and, consequently, the knock-out matches that followed saw the U15 squad grow in confidence to achieve fantastic results.

The girls faced Worthing in the semi-final followed by Penguins in the Plate final. In winning both games, they communicated well, defended well and when winning showed great sportsmanship. The combined score for the day was 68 points for and only 22 points against - a great performance!

Group matches :

Welwyn 5 v. 0 Letchworth Saracens

Aylesford Bulls 5 v. 0 Letchworth Saracens

Ellingham & Ringwood 5 v. 25 Letchworth Saracens

Plate semi-final : Worthing 0 v. 26 Letchworth Saracens

Plate Final : Penguins 7 v. 17 Letchworth Saracens

Letchworth Saracens scorers :

Tries : Sydney (7), Emily (2), Melissa (2), Catriona (2)

Conversions : Emily (2), Sydney (2)

A big thank you to Rebecca Belcher, Abi Parsons, Catriona McNaney and Devon Holt from Berkshire Baa-Baas for helping us out, we couldn't have done it without you! Thank you Simon, Alan, Jackie, Mike and Heather for the hard work you put in. Thank you to all the parents who made the long journey down to support and, lastly, thank you girls for being good sportswomen!

See you at training!!!!

Wonky