Herts 7s 2011

This year the Herts 7s returned to where the tournament was first held in July 2004 at Camelot RFC in Hemel Hempstead. With the ground rock hard from weeks of dry weather, it was a very good thing that at least a little rain fell in Hertfordshire the day before the tournament but I suspect that I was not alone in being pleased to have the weather dry and warm on Sunday.


Letchworth were drawn in Group 4 with Oakmedians A, Hertford, Guildford & Camberley and, as usual at major tournaments, Worcester. Anyway, the girls seemed quite happy with their lot (and Wonky told them who to blame if anything went wrong) ...

The first match was against Hertford and, after Letchworth had made their traditional slow start and then woken up, it proved to be a pretty even contest. However, by that time, Hertford had a decent lead which they did not relinquish even though Letchworth fought back to within 3 points by the final whistle - and secured a bonus point which would prove to be very important later in the day.

For the second game against Guildford & Camberley, Letchworth had a change of strip ... well, turned their shirts inside out which amounts to the same thing ... to avoid a complete muddle with both teams in virtually identical colours and shirt patterns. The change of colour didn't quite do the trick for Letchworth as they, once again, ended up second best in a closely fought game. However, with the score at 17 : 12, Letchworth again secured a vital bonus point.

With only 2 bonus points to show for their efforts in the first two matches - and with the tough game against Worcester still to come - the third game against Oakmedians A was a 'must win' fixture if Letchworth were to avoid bottom place in the group. As we have seen many times in the past, the Letchworth girls take while to get going but then go from strength to strength through a tournament and so it turned out again. The match against Oakmedians was another close encounter but, with Letchworth starting to play with more cohesiveness, they came out on top and, courtesy of the conversions to two of their three tries, a 9 point victory margin to deny Oakmedians their bonus point.

The final group game against Worcester A was never going to be easy but the Letchworth girls gave it a very good shot and contested keenly throughout. The final scoreline of Letchworth 5 v. 41 Worcester A showed what we already knew - that Worcester are a very good side and that Letchworth have some way to go to match them but it also tells us that Letchworth don't give up and that they can and do score against the top teams.
Before I move on, I must mention the Letchworth try against Worcester. I've seen many matches between these clubs and Letchworth tries are never plentiful and they are never easy to get so they are something special. And as it was a solo effort from a long way out against a couple of defenders, this must be one of the best of them ....

At the completion of the group stage, 3 teams in Group 4 had won only one of their games and the bonus points were the deciding factor. As Letchworth had 2 bonus points, they were placed 3rd in the group and went through to a Bowl semi-final against last seasons 'cluster' partner, Saracens.

The Letchworth girls had really warmed to the task by stage of proceedings and were playing their best rugby of the day. They took control of the game from the outset, scoring early on and maintaining pressure thoughout to earn a place in the Bowl final.


The Bowl final was between Letchworth and Hertfordshire U15s league winners, Royston. This was an entertaining game with both sides pressing throughout. Letchworth took an early lead and were looking comfortable by the interval but Royston came back strongly in the second half. Letchworth responded and were able to hold off the challenge, eventually running in another try of their own to make the game - and the Bowl - safe.

So then there just remained the business of collecting the U15s Bowl and medals from Hemel Hempstead MP, Mike Penning, and Terry Hathaway, Chairman of Camelot RFC -



Letchworth Results :

Group 4 games :

Letchworth 17 v. 20 Hertford
Letchworth 12 v. 17 Guildford & Camberley
Letchworth 19 v. 10 Oakmedians B
Letchworth 5 v. 41 Worcester A

Bowl semi-final :

Letchworth 32 v. 5 Saracens

Bowl Final :

Letchworth 19 v. 5 Royston

Hertford Girls win the day

On Sunday, Letchworth girls played Hertford girls in an entertaining U15s match at Legends Lane. The game was notable for the open running rugby and determination to win shown by both sides in a good-natured contest.

Although Letchworth took an early lead, they were soon pegged back by Hertford as the sides exchanged scores in the first quarter of the match. Moving into the second quarter, Hertford steadily built themselves a lead which, by the interval, had reached 25-15. The second half followed a similar pattern and even though Letchworth were continuing to press - and score - right through to the end, Hertford deservedly ran out winners by 50-30.

Burfield - and a couple of Letchworth U15s - at the National 7s

For the first time in several years, Letchworth U15s - when combined with Saracens - were sufficient in numbers to permit us to make an entry to the National 7s. However, due to the large number of players who were unavailable, we had to reluctantly withdraw from the tournament. At Letchworth, we had two players - Sydney and Florrie - who were both fit and definately available to play and they, of course, were now without a team to play for ...

Step forward, Burfield U15s. Burfield (that's Burton and Lichfield from Staffordshire) were also suffering problems with player availability and they kindly offered our two girls places in their squad for the tournament. So on a rather damp day in Harpenden, Sydney and Florrie put on Burfield shirts and took to the field with determination to do their best for Midlands side.


Sometimes things that are driven by necessity can work out really well and, happily, that is what happened last Saturday. The coaches and girls from Burfield were friendly and welcoming and our girls had a great day. Of course, what made it even better for everybody is that Burfield played superbly to win the Plate competition. What a great result!

Now, with many thanks to the girls and coaches from Burfield, here are a few pictures of the U15s in action ...

I can't resist putting this one on the blog again - well done, Burfield!

And, finally, the Letchworth girls of both age groups show off their medals -

So near and yet so far ...

This year's RFUW National 7s was again held at Harpenden RFC and, as defending Plate champions, Letchworth U18 girls were looking to the prospect of finishing off the season in style and, maybe, gaining a third National 7s Plate title in 4 years ...

However, things didn't go to plan from the start - well, from before the start, really! Even before we set off to Harpenden we had lost 2 players - one to school work comittments and the other to a turned ankle during final training on Thursday which refused to get better in time.

Nevertheless, undaunted, Letchworth Saracens girls set off on Saturday to discover that we were in a group with Burfield, Ellingham & Ringwood and Tyldesley. Those of you who have followed Letchworth's fortunes at the National 7s over the last 5 years will know that we always seem to have a tough group - not that there are any easy groups at the National 7s - and this year was certainly no exception as the group contained teams who would be the Plate winners and runners-up, a cup semifinalist and the eventual cup winners!

Our first game was against Burfield. As has been traditional for Letchworth over the past 5 seasons, Letchworth Saracens duly got off to a slow start; something that you just cannot afford to do against a side as good as Burfield. Inevitably, Burfield opened the scoring and, following an injury to Claire which saw her sidelined for the rest of the game, cantered away to claim the opener 26-5.

Second up were our old friends from Ellingham & Ringwood who had beaten us so narrowly in the group stages 12 months ago. Fortunately, Claire was recovered sufficiently to rejoin the team for this match. Letchworth Saracens put on a somewhat better display, though maybe the long wait between games on (another!) wet tournament day did not help their concentration, and they were eventually beaten 17-5 by the team who were to be crowned National 7s champions later that day.

The game against Ellingham & Ringwood was a good result against such fine opponents and it was also notable because it was Nikki's 200th junior game. Letchworth girls rugby founder, John Birch, was on hand to present her with a commemorative shirt.

With two group games lost, Letchworth Saracens were heading for the Plate competition and the result of the final group game against Tyldesley would determine whether they would finish the group in 3rd or 4th place and would, therefore, affect how difficult their Plate quarter-final game would be.

After raising their game in the second match of the day, Letchworth Saracens did not really get going in the final group match. Tyldesley were a well-drilled side who took the game to Letchworth Saracens and dominated proceedings from start to finish to record a 24-0 victory.

So at the end of the group stages, Letchworth Saracens found themselves in fourth place in the group and facing a Plate quarterfinal against Morpeth who were placed third in their group. Entering the knock-out phase, and a change to some dry Letchworth shirts, brought out the best in Letchworth Saracens who were determined not to exit the competition so early. A tight first half in which Claire broke away to score the only points was followed by a much more determined and assured performance in the second half resulting in a final scoreline of 26-0 in Letchworth Saracens favour.

The Plate semifinal opponents turned out to be Reading who have several times been our undoing in previous touraments however, on this occasion, a tight game was resolved in Letchworth Saracen's favour by 12-5.

So for the third time in four years, Letchworth girls found themselves contesting the Plate final. This time the opposition were Tyldesley who had convincingly beaten Letchworth Saracens in the group stages and, with a depleted squad and several girls carrying injuries, it was always going to be a difficult game for Letchworth Saracens to win. Although they put in a much better performance second time around, it turned out to be a similar result to the first game with Tyldesley running out deserved winners 19-0.

In the end, they Letchworth Saracens girls can be proud to have done so well at this national event when starting with a depleted squad some of whom were carrying injuries. To have finished as medal-winning Plate runners-up - that is, 10th place overall in England - is a very significant achievement. Well done, girls!

Results :

Group : Letchworth Saracens 5 v. 26 Burfield

Group : Letchworth Saracens 5 v. 17 Ellingham & Ringwood

Group : Letchworth Saracens 0 v. 24 Tyldesley

Plate QF : Letchworth Saracens 26 v. 0 Morpeth

Plate SF : Letchworth Saracens 12 v. 5 Reading

Plate Final : Letchworth Saracens 0 v. 19 Tyldesley

Scorers :

Tries : Claire (3), Natalie (2), Jess (2), Chloe

Conversions : Claire (4)