U17s - you played in the game - now watch the video!

As some of you may have seen, Mike Alcock - Nikki & Katie's dad - videoed virtually the entire game last weekend. An edited and streamed version his recording is now available by clicking here and the second half is here - or you can click on the image below (it has to be edited down to 10 minutes for each half as that is the maximum YouTube will accept).

Needless to say the quality is not exactly that of the original DVD, added to which it was a bit dark in the first half (the clicking noise is rain falling on the microphone), but even so its very watchable.

Highlights of first half....

• The first Letchworth try (from Hayley) - where does she come from to pick the ball up?
• The first Bucks/MK try - for which the phrase "a comedy of errors" is barely adequate. Count the number of opportunities we squandered to clear our lines
• The almost complete lack of any back moves - and the effectiveness of the few that there were. Consider why this might have been...

Highlights of second half:

• Hayley doing the splits... ouch!
• Hayley's second try minutes later. Say no more.
• Sophie's try - well you don't see it, but the celebrations are good
• The sun is out and there is much more passing etc.
• Competing in the line outs (see how high Nichola gets!) pays off at the end.

What do you all think, now having watched yourselves play?

U17: Training and Beckenham

Well done to all that played at the weekend. Brilliant result. The best part was that none 0f you gave up untill the final whistle went!!!

Training tomorrow is an important session as its our only chance to fix things before beckenham on Sunday. Please meet at the club at 6:45 so tht we can be started by 7:00.

Directions to Beckenham have now been posted below and we will meet at the club at 8:15 to have left by 8:30.

As always can you let me know if you cannot attend training or beckenham this weekend. Can you please also let me know if you require a lift.

See you all tomorrow
Joe

Beckenham Festival: Directions and meet

The day has finally dawned - and appropriate word considering the time we are leaving. But fortunately its not quiate as early as Joe suggested last week.

Play begins at Beckenham at 11am, and we have to be there to register by 10.30. Its about 80 miles (depending on the route taken) and the estimated journey time is just over one and a half hours. Well, that is what the journey planners say. So I suggest - unless you are travelling direct - we meet at the club aiming to depart by 8.30.

For those with SatNav the address of Beckenham RFC is Balmoral Avenue, Beckenham, Kent BR3 3RD.


Various journey planners come up with a variety of routes but experience from previous years suggests the best route is:

• Follow the M25 round to Junction 4
• Turn right onto the A21 following it for about 4 miles until just after Farnborough Common (see above map)
• Turn left onto the A232 towards West Wickham
• In just over three miles you reach West Wickham where you turn right onto the A214 (passing West Wickham railway station)
• After about two miles, just after passing under the railway, turn right into Balmoral Avenue (see map below)

Sundays game

Ok well despite losing I was very impressed with the performance the girls put in on sunday. With only 2 team members having played a full season, you girls were not a pushover and made MK work for their tries. Despite injuries and a lot of players feeling sick as we were due to start! You are starting to look like a team and one that can do well, and this will come through experience in practice and playing. The play got better as the game went on and at the end you were playing the best all game and the result was the try, (although not scored by our own player) it took the whole team to create the chances.

Well Done to all of you in the first game of the season and some of you your first game at Letchworth.
Rachel

Besting Bucks

Well done to everyone yesterday!

U14s vs Milton Keynes

The U14s had a tough assignment. As they went onto the field it seemed to get noticably darker as the sun disappeared from view. The odd things is that this was was before the thunderstorm and the eclipse of the sun was more due to our girls facing a team that was - on average - a foot taller. And more in some cases.

However with the opposition's heads that much into the clouds our girls could not do anything but tackle round the legs (on the grounds that waists were a bit high to reach) and fought incredibly hard. Okay they lost, but for half the team this was their first match of any sort and they did outstandingly well getting better and better as the game went on, finishing with an excellent try and conversion from Hayley.

Its worth remembering that two years ago on the same pitch the U17s lost by a similar score. And look at them now! As indeed we could as their game was on the next pitch...

A Buckinghamshire U17 XV 19, Letchworth U17s 22
(HT: 14:12)

I see that Joe has already done a report, but what the heck. A game like yesterday's deserves to be remembered twice over and anyway it needs pointing out that you weren't just playing Milton Keynes!

Oh no. You were due to play Milton Keynes but you took on what was in effect a Buckinghamshire XV composed of all available U17 players from all of the county's three clubs - Milton Keynes, Aylesbury and Chesham.

Anyway its worth repeating that everyone watching said was one of the best games of girls' club rugby they had ever seen. The game was pulled back from 14-5 down to win 22-19, with first-half tries from Sasha and Hayley, and Hayley then scored the winning try by crashing through as usual (see right). But in between was something really special with the third try came from Sophie, awarded player of the match, who'd only been to two training sessions before Sunday.

And well deserved it was too. Having spent the first half watching - and itching to come on - Sophie looked like she been playing for years (though the borrowed shorts were a bit of a giveaway!). Playing on the wing (which probably won't be her position in the long run) she tackled superbly, including a try and match-saving effort just before Hayley's winner.

The hours of line-out practice also came into their own, with clean catch by Nichola setting up the move that lead to the fourth try, and then all the extra height our lifters are achieveing allowing Nichola to steal the ball from an opposition throw to close out the game at the end (see left).

It was an excellent game which everyone on both sides clearly enjoyed, and played (and watched by coaches and parents alike) in the right spirit as well.

Pointers from the game will be discussed on Wednesday but a few from me...

• Dithering around at restarts. Both sides as bad as each other, but the mess we made of their restart after our first try lead directly to their first score. Really we do need to build more confidence in this aspect of the game otherwise some sides will murder us.
  
• Letting Sasha take in penalties from 5m out is a good idea.... but she does need a bit of help sometimes. She can be pretty daunting on her own, but if two or three of you were bound with her she'd be unstoppable.
  
• If - early in the game - you get a penalty inside their 22m line and only slightly to the left of the posts one option (instead of running it, or kicking for touch) is to kick for goal. Especially if the wind is behind you.
  
• If you run clear to score a try near the touchline... keep running and put it down under the posts. Could be worth another two points!
  
• We still haven't found a full back. Volunteers please form an orderly line on Wednesday.

U17: Milton Keynes Match Report and Awards

Starting XV: 15 Hobbs 14 Randfield 13 Threlfall 12 Robinson 11 Schipani 10 Alcock, N .9 Alcock, K (C)

1 Randall 2 Kelly 3 Watson 4 Birch 5 Glenister 6 Guilder 7 Parnell (VC) 8 Acheson

Replacements: 16 Jordan 17 Boorman 18 Hughes

After a month of preparation and just two injuries we made the trip up to Milton Keynes with possibly a record size squad for our Under 17s. Missing just Emily, Danni and Steph the squad was bolstered by the arrival of Sophie Boorman, who was yet to play a game of rugby, and Charlie Hughes, who has joined us from Bishops Stortford after they folded at the end of last year.

And so we started with the warm up, in what can only be described as very poor weather, the girls took their time to adapt to the slippery conditions. Warm Up completed, a quick jog to the changing room and back saw the girls come sprinting out in their brand new shirts ready to go.

At last it was time. Our season was underway.
The conditions took both sets of backs by surprise with much of the early part of the half being taken up by scrumaging for innocent handling errors from both teams. Hayley powered over mid way through the half to break the deadlock and score our first points of the season but the conversion was missed. Letchworth’s unorganised defence then saw them conceded two tries in quick concession both of which were converted. Letchworth were awarded a penalty 5m giving Sasha the opportunity to force her way over from close range and ground the ball to give us our second of the game. Nim them proceeded to strike a wonderful drop kick that sailed through the middle of the posts and saw us narrow MK’s lead to 2pts. A sustained period of pressure by Letchworth before half time came to nothing and we went in at the break trailing narrowly.

Half Time Score: Letchworth 12 Milton Keynes 14

A slow start to the second half saw Letchworth concede an early try under the posts only for the MK kicker to slice her easiest kick of the afternoon past the left hand post. Suddenly mid way through the second half Letchworth upped the intensity and dug themselves into the MK half creating several opportunities one of which was converted by debutant winger Sophie Boorman. With a new found desire Letchworth worked their way back up towards the MK 22 and finally with 6 minutes still to play Hayley broke through the MK defence to sprint away and touch down for her second and Letchworth’s third. The girls then proceeded to mob Hayley as the conversion was missed leaving Letchworth 3 pts ahead with 5minutes to play. Letchworth then proceeded to play the game of keep ball denying MK of any scoring opportunities and when the MK winger was bundled into touch in her own 22 the game was over and the girls were ecstatic. Good performances all round.

Full time Score: Letchworth 22 Milton Keynes 19

Tackle of the Match: Nim
Towards the end of the first half I looked up to see one of our players putting in such a big tackle that it even made me go ouch!!!!

Player of the Match: Sophie
Just two training sessions. No previous experience of rugby and a try scoring debut!!!!Says it all really

U17: Player of the Month

Congratulations to Jess who is our first player of the month for the new season.

Jess has accumulated the most points towards her Player of the Season total for the period from the start of Pre-Season to the end of October.

Well Done Jess

Regards
The Management

Some people never grow up...

Fearnhill School open day yesterday. Exciting I know, but when you have a Year 6 child you have to do the rounds. Sigh.

Anyway - saw Hayley A in one room (erm... English? I dunno) which inspired me a bit. They had some PCs there with internet access. Guess what one or two of them were displaying by the time we left the room?

No - those sort of sites are blocked. Well, I hope they are. And how could you think such a thing?

What I meant was this website!

I know. Terribly childish. But seize every opportunity to sell the team I say. And much more interesting than the Arsenal website that the previous user had pulled up.

Highfield on Monday. Ho hum. But I wonder....

A singular honour

Probably the most comprehensive and up-to-date listing directory of women's rugby clubs can now be found here. It seems to be the private project of one man - Steve Uglow of Canterbury Rugby Club in Kent - and covers not just women's clubs, but al clubs across the country, as well as referees societies, governing bodies, and so on.

He does - with the odd exception - limit himself to just adult clubs that play within a league structure. Indeed he actually says he does not include student or school sides.

With one apparent exception. Just one. Us.

Yep - it would appear that - of 100 or more junior girls teams in the country - only Letchworth Girls' is worth including on Steve's website.

I'm ever so slightly touched by that. Not to say chuffed and rather pleased.

Anyway if ever idlly wandering the web and want to get a flavour of the adult game, or if someone should ever suggest that women's rugby isn't a significant sport, go over to Steve's page and take a look at how many clubs there are across the country.

Spying on the opposition...

Just discovered that our opponents on Sunday have a blog too - see http://madkows.vnworks.net/.

I wonder where they got that idea from?

Anyway, drop by the site some time and check them out!

U17: Dress Code - Milton Keynes

As we now move towards our first fixture I have decided that we need to get our preperation spot on. One of the key things within this to work together as a team from the moment we meet in letchworth.

To help with this you need to appear as a team and therefore a team dress code is now in place. You are requested to travel in

• Blue Jeans (dark trousers of some sort)
• A white T-shirt, preferably plain (don't worry if it has a design on)
• And your letchworth girls team hoodie

You will also need with you:

• Black shorts
• Black Socks
• If you have your own yellow and black striped shirt please bring it with you

Changing rooms will be available and you will find your match shirt along with a warm up shirt on your peg when you arrive at the changing rooms.

Those girls that comply with the new dress code on Sunday will be awarded2 bonus points for your player of the season total. A reminder that an away game is already worth 2 points so that 4 points for just turning up before youve even touched a ball.

Any problems or questions please ask especially if you dont have part of the dress code ust tell me so that i know and we can sort out a suitable alternative.

See you tomorrow night

Joe

Milton Keynes: Kick off time confirmed.

Kick-off on Sunday will be 1pm, so - for those travelling from Letchworth - we will meet at Sainsbury's at 11.15.

If you are travelling direct please let us know.

Milton Keynes have also confirmed that there will be access to full changing room and shower facilities.

In reponse to popular demand...

Propects are looking good for at least one fixture with Thomas Becket School, Northampton this season. Various options are being investigated, including their joining us for our fixtures at Ampthill or Kettering, as well as possibly coming down to us when Kettering visit us (for what would then become a four-way "East Midlands challenge").

There is even a chance that they might visit us for a mid-week fixture in the spring when we start the U11 girls tag as Thomas Becket also have a U12 girls tag team. They are also entering the National Cup, so we could well meet them in that as well.

Apparently they have close to 30 girls at U17 this season, and a dozen or so U14s.

Under 14's

Ok, so after training on Sunday I am very impressed with the progress that the under 14's are making. Particularly as for most of the girls this is their first full season.

Directions for Milton Keynes are below.

Unfortunatly I may not be at training on Wed as I have a training course, however there I will be setting work for another coach to take the session. However I do need all the girls to be regestered with the club and RFU before the game to ensure you are all insured.

The next few weeks are going to be busy, as we have a number of matches and tournaments planned.
As a reminder....
1st Oct Milton Keynes and Aylesbury
8th Oct Beckenham Festival
15th Oct County trianing at St Christopher School
22nd Oct Rochford Festival
29th Oct Training.
Please can you let me know as soon as possible if you can not make any of the games.
07968372995, rachel.ansbro@north-herts.gov.uk
Rachel

Girls' team hoodies now available!

New supplies of the "official" team hoodie are now available in the club shop.

This unique item of kit (essential when it gets starts getting a bit colder) - here "expertly" modelled by Nichola and Hayley - was worn by everyone throughout last season, which is why one or two may now need replacing!

Created for us by by the designers at Tackle Girls - an international women's and girls' rugby website (and well worth a browse, especially wth Christmas coming up) - the top quality garment can be bought for only £20 at at the club shop (open every Sunday morning).

Letchworth Girls' Hall of Fame

Representative honours and other awards gained by girls while members of Letchworth Garden City RFC (honours gained before joining Letchworth are not included):

2003-04

U14s:

North Hertfordshire:

Katie Alcock; Nichola Birch; Hannah Clemmens; Hayley Guilder; Mel Hobbs; Ruby Sharp

End of season award

Player of the year

Ruby Sharp

2004-05

U14s:

North Hertfordshire

Nikki Alcock; Hayley Aldridge; Hannah Clemmens; Mel Hobbs; Sophie Lane; Natalie Threlfall

East Region

Nichola Birch; Hayley Guilder; Carla Kelly; Ruby Sharp

East Region Player of the Year

Hayley Guilder

End of season awards

Player of the year

Hayley Guilder

Most Improved

Nikki Alcock

Players' player

Ruby Sharp

U17s:

End of season awards

Player of the year

Nim Parnell

Most Improved

Jade Randfield

Players' player

Katie Alcock

2005-06

U11s:

North Hertfordshire

Philippa Theobold-Roe

U14s:

Hertfordshire

Nikki Alcock; Sophie Lythgoe; Jess Robinson; Natalie Threlfall; Emily Vivian; Laura Watson

East Region

Nikki Alcock; Natalie Threlfall; Emily Vivian

End of season awards

Player of the year

Natalie Threlfall

Most Improved

Jess Robinson

Players' player

Nikki Alcock

U17s:

Hertfordshire

Hayley Guilder; Naomi Parnell. (VIIs only Nichola Birch; Mel Hobbs; Rosie Randall; Chloe Schipani)

East Region

Sasha Acheson; Hayley Guilder; Carla Kelly

RFUW Performance Camp (PDA)

Sasha Acheson; Hayley Guilder

End of season awards

Player of the year

Hayley Guilder

Most Improved

Mel Hobbs

Players' player

Katie Alcock

2006-07

U11s:

North Hertfordshire

Philippa Theobold-Roe

U14s:

East Midlands County

Samantha Theobold-Roe

Hertfordshire

Hayley Aldridge; Laura Wennington

End of season awards

Player of the year

Vicky Wood

Most Improved

Samantha Theobold-Roe

Players' player

Anna Randall

U17s:

East Midlands County

Fern Glenister

Eastern Counties

Sasha Acheson

Hertfordshire

Katie Alcock, Steph Crome, Hayley Guilder; Naomi Parnell; Rosie Randfield; Natalie Threlfall; Laura Watson. Also Emily Vivian (captain, Herts Barbarians).

East Region

Sasha Acheson, Hayley Guilder, Naomi Parnell

East Midlands Region

Fern Glenister

RFUW High Performance Academy (HPA)

Sasha Acheson, Hayley Guilder

RFUW Talent Development Group (TDG)

Sasha Acheson

End of season awards

Player of the year

Jess Robinson

Most Improved

Rosie Randall

Players' player

Carla Kelly

2007-08

U15s

End of season awards

Player of the year

Laura Wennington

U18s:

East Midlands County

Fern Glenister

Eastern Counties

Sasha Acheson

Hertfordshire

Katie Alcock, Hayley Guilder; Charlie Hughes, Jess Robinson, Emily Vivian, Laura Watson

East Region

Sasha Acheson, Hayley Guilder

RFUW High Performance Academy (HPA)

Sasha Acheson, Hayley Guilder

Herts Sports Awards

Coach of the year

Joe Randall (runner up)

End of season awards

Player of the year

Nikki Alcock

Most Improved

Georgie Brinkley

Players' player

Emily Vivian

2008-09

U15s:

End of season awards

Player of the year

Ellah Hughes

Most Improved

Jade Cooper

Players' player

Sydney Gregson

U18s:

Eastern Counties

Sasha Acheson

Hertfordshire

Nikki Alcock, Hayley Guilder, Charlie Hughes, Eleanor Morris, Jess Robinson, Natalie Threlfall, Emily Vivian, Laura Watson

East Region

Sasha Acheson, Jess Robinson

London North TDG

Hayley Guilder

Herts Sports Awards

Young Community Volunteer

Katie Alcock (runner up)

Volunteer of the Year (Under 21)

Natalie Threlfall (Commended)

RFUW High Performance Academy (HPA)

Jess Robinson

End of season awards

Player of the year

Nikki Alcock

Most Improved

Jess Robinson

Players' player

Natalie Threlfall

Seniors:

East Region

Hayley Guilder

U20s:

England

Final trial

Hayley Guilder, Sasha Acheson

National Squad

Sasha Acheson

England v Wales, and Nations Cup

Sasha Acheson, Lizzel Heather

2009-10

U15s

Hertfordshire

Sydney Gregson, Ellah Hughes

East Region

Sydney Gregson, Ellah Hughes

End of season awards

Player of the year

 Sydney Gregson

Most Improved

Florrie Jones

Players' player

Ellah Hughes

U18s:

Hertfordshire

Chloe Baker, Laura Barnard, Jess Robinson, Natalie Threlfall

East Region

Chloe Baker, Jess Robinson

End of season awards

Player of the year

 Jess Robinson

Most Improved

Jade Cooper

Players' player

Nikki Alcock

Three more of our U17s win county selection

The names of the Hertfordshire's backs have now been announced and two more of our girls have been selected.

• Rosie Randfield
• Natalie Threlfall

... and there may be more yet as there is still room for other names to be added from those who couldn't make trials.

But congratulations to Rosie and Natalie. Rosie in particular played out of her socks last Sunday (see above!) and deserves recognition for the effort she put in, while Natalie (racing away to score in typical style, below) is one of only five girls from last season county U14s to make this season's county U17s.

As two of those are from Letchworth perhaps congratulations should also go to Rachel for the quality of her training last season. In fact - on a related theme - 75% of Rachel's county U14s came back for more this season, compared with only 59% of last year's county U17s. Draw whatever conclusions you see fit...

It also means that we have gone from having two girls in the U17 squad last season to five this time round!

And the third county cap? Sasha Acheson - who we hear may well be the captain of the newly-formed Eastern Counties U17s.

U17: Training, Milton Keynes and Beckenham

Sorry lots to cover here. Its all very important so please make sure you read it all.

Training:
Sunday please meet 10:15 so that we can start by 10:30!!! The next few training sessions (Sunday and Wednesday) are vital as we are now starting to finalise combinations ahead of our first fixtures. Remember the only way you can stake your place for a starting place is by showing us what you can do at training. As usual please let me know if you cant attend by return email.

Oct 1st Away to Milton Keynes:
John has been very efficient and has already posted directions below!!!!!!!
Times to be confirmed next week. It is unlikely we will be able to meet at the club in the morning as the mini's have a tournament. Meet place that morning is likely to be the back of Sainsburys car park, or somewhere similar. Again this will be confirmed next week.

This is a hugely important fixture as it is our one and only chance to test our game plan in a match situation before going to Beckenham on the 8th.

Please let me know ASAP if you cant attend this fixture as we are now starting to finalise team plans and combinations. If you are struggling with lifts please let myself or John know I'm sure we will be able to sort something out.

Oct 8th Away at Beckenham tournament:
Directions should be finding there way onto this blog early next week. No leave time as yet but likely to be an early start. Meet time at Beckenham most probably to be 10:00 so I hope all your alarm clocks are working.

I hope those that were at the county trials on Sunday realise how lucky we are to have the numbers and the quality we do in our squad and we should go to Beckenham with high hopes. The tournamnet itself is hugely important as it is our first chance to compete for some silverware this season and show evrybody else what we're made of.
Again please let me know ASAP if you cant attend this tournament as we again are starting to finalise the likely strating team. We hope to take all of you in the squad as there are 19 of you and the max. squad size is 20.

Registration:
For those of you that are still yet to register please email me for a membership form.
daddyrandall@hotmail.co.uk
Membership must be paid before the MK game otherwise you will not be able to be play.
By my reconing thee are still 6 to register. If you are unsure wether you have registered please ask dont asume you have.

Finally I send the my personal congratulations to the three forwards that were announced today that have made the herts county squad. Well done to Nim, Hayley and Laura. Backs have yet to be announced so keep your fingers crossed.

Sorry about the volume of information see you all sunday
Regards
Joe

Milton Keynes, 1st October: Directions

We are playing at Milton Keynes Rugby Club this season (not at the school as last year) - address Field Lane, Greenleys, Milton Keynes MK12 6AZ (for those with SatNav). For those lacking high-tech gizmos the directions are as follows:

Starting from the M1 Junction 13 (about three miles west of Ampthill):

• Roundabout 3rd exit, A421 to Milton Keynes
• Stay on A421 (V8 Standing Way) past hospital
• Turn right at Bleak Hall roundabout onto V6 (Grafton Street)
• Turn left onto H2 at Bradville roundabout
• Turn right onto V5 (Great Monks Street) towards Greenleys
• 2nd left into Field Lane

(Click on the map for a bigger image)

The distance from Letchworth is about 38 miles, with an estimated journey time of 50 minutes. Kick-off time is 1pm might be reasonably assumed. As the club will be a bit busy on Sunday we will meet at Sainsburys, aiming to leave at c11.15

Three forwards in the county squad

The selections for the backs have yet to be announced, but the names of 13 forwards chosen for the U17 county squad have been announced... and three Letchworth names are included:

• Hayley Guilder
• Naomi Parnell
• Laura Watson

So well done to those three - and particular congratulations to Laura as one of only two forwards from last season's U14 county squad who have been selected for this season's U17s. All three will now have county training sessions on three Wednesday evenings (including this coming Wednesday) in addition to the development days in October and November. Details are here.

For the other seven of you it is still intended to form a county "B" squad - so the development Sundays in October and November will still be important.

The main reason for the delay in announcing the names of the backs is that not all of them were there last Sunday - in particular Katie and Steph, who the county backs coach is intending to see in action shortly.

"The greatest women's rugby match ever"

Or so last Sunday's World Cup Final has been called.

I know we lost, but its still well worth watching - the England forwards were incredible, but the New Zealand backs astounding.

If you'd like to borrow a DVD of the match please let me know, and if you want you own copy to keep give me a blank recordable DVD this weekend.

U17: Training 20th Sept.

A reminder that training is tonight at the new later time of 6:50. We've got lots to go through especially little bits and pieces that myself and John picked up at the weekend. Lets have a good turnout please.

I'll be there setting up from about 6:30 if any of you want to get there really early.

We should finish about 8:10.

Thanks
Joe

Please dont be late!!!!!!

Ahoy! Arrrrr!

Aye, I know it be bit late an all, but I''e bin bit busy and mightily forgaret thaht 'tis Int'rnashnul Talk Like A Pirate Day! Argh!

Clearly such nahn'port'nt day carnt g'bee wiraht bein' marked in some way. So this be it. A-haaaarrrrr!

Anyway - ti' trainin' tomorree, usual times (six of the clock for ye under-f'rteens and se'en for under se'enteens). See 'ee there!

Arrrrrr!!

On the county trials, injuries and "illness"

Well done on everyone who survived the heat of the trials - and the good news is that Natalie's finger is not broken, just bruised. Should be okay by next weekend. And hopefully we'll know soon enough how many of you have been selected (and even if you haven't there should be a game or two for the county 2nd XV, like vs Oxfordshire last year)

Anyway the trial was a pretty useful exercise all in all as it highlighted a few areas we need to work on, several of which Joe mentioned at the end, but one thing we can't do in training is solve one problem that came up. Indeed less a "problem", more a contagious virus which can be chracterised as...

The "Oh my god its Welwyn!" syndrome

The symptoms of this complaint are a tendency to behave as if your boots have been filled with lead and your hands covered by butter-covered concrete whenever someone hoves into view wearing a purple shirt. The total shut down of all higher brain functions also seems to take place in some cases.

Truth is that - while good - they ain't THAT good. At least one of the Welwyn girls yesterday had never, ever played a game of rugby before and half of the rest were last year's U14s. I would actually venture to suggest that had they been wearing different shirts and called themselves "Tunbridge Wells" or something the result might have been a shade different. We might maybe still have lost, but equaly we just might have managed to catch at least one restart and even got into the other half of the field.

However, there is hope. After all we proved in the first game that the we have now finally found a cure to the related problem called "Oh heck its Hertford!".

And if we do sort the former problem out then in March we can maybe look forward to applying the solution to our other remaining complaint - "B!@~ 'ell, its Basildon!".

Basildon close the final fixture window

The final free date in the fixture list is now closed off as on 4th March we will now be playing Basildon (well, Basildon & Rochford as they have combined for the season I gather).

Hopefully this will be at home as they have no objection to travelling - but we still have to check on pitch availability for that day.

World Cup Final LIVE on Sky!

If you have Sky then set your videos / DVDs / whatever - or be prepared for a blearly start to the week - because the World Cup Final between England and New Zealand will be on Sky Sports 3 live from 11.55pm on Sunday night.

So not exactly a huge build-up to the game anticipated being as it starts at midnight, but even so its good to see.

The semi-finals also went out on Sky last night - 24 hours after the matches actually took place, but broadcast "as live" so you saw the entire games. Basically it seems to be the same coverage as the 24.7 internet broadcasts - Sky have not gone to the trouble of actually having reporters out there or anything.

Both teams should be fully up-to-strength and England seem confident that they can steal it. So remember to tune in - could be a memorable night!

Extra fixture for U17s

The final significant hole in the fixture list (in more ways that one) has been filled with the addition of a game away to local friends and rivals - Welwyn - on 17th December.

At present this will be a game for U17s only as Rachel is currently not sure that our new U14s are ready for the sort of challenge that Welwyn can provide!

It may be possible for squeeze one more game into the lists in March - but we'll hold that open for now in case we have to move fixtures due to cup results, or other events.

New county newsletter published

The sixth county newsletter - and the first of the new season - has been published.

The latest edition headlines the trials and development day at Stevenage on 17th, but also includes a summary of the main news items of the summer and a diary of key dates for the season and a contact listing of county coaches and managers.

Also now available is the registration form for the county day. Every player attending the day must arrive with a completed form as it provides important information for the organisers as well as essential parental permissions.

Club vs. County: no contest?

A few of you were loyally suggesting tonight that you wanted to put your club before county or region this season. While that is all very noble, team spirited and so on its worth considering a few points before making the selfless sacrifice.

1. There are no clashes between any county training or match days and anything the club is doing. By taking part in county activities you will miss nothing at club level - not least because all you coaches are, or are likely to be, involved with the county teams so there will be nothing going on at the club on county days!
   
2. Equally with the Region there will only club training on regional days as there will be virtually no-one to play even if we wanted to. Any matches that may be will be inter-county games, like the tournament in Wimbledon last season. So again by going to region you miss nothing at club level.
   
3. Maybe half of last year's county squad are now too old- and not far off a fifth of all the U17s in the county are at Letchworth. So by these numbers alone you need not be concerned about playing in a squad dominated by girls from other clubs - in fact the boot will be firmlyon the other foot
   
4. The awesome performances in training over the past couple of Wednesdays (especially tonight) also means that frankly any or all of you are quite capable of getting selected by county!
   
5. County trials is by way of a "tournament" and you will be playing as Letchworth. Not only will this be a good dry run for Beckenham, but it will be a great opportunity to play other Herts teams, espcially those who do not currently appear on the fixture list.
   
6. Your involvement at county or region means you will play at a higher level, will work with some different coaches, and will come back better players. That clearly happened with those who played at county and regional level last year. And if you are better players the club obviously benefits!
   
7. We also have targets, as a team and club, which are performance related and county/regional selection is a ley part of that. Or in other words the club (and therefore the team) has a major stake in getting as many of you into the county and regional teams as possible!
   
8. If you miss out trialling this year you will risk missing out next year as well. Due to age band changes this season's squads will run on more or less unchanged into next season.

So if you were thinking of not going to county or regional trials this year - think again! In the end we want you to play county and regional rugby. You are ALL quite capable of making that step up, and the club (and you) will benefit far more by your taking part in representative rugby than it ever could will if you stayed away.

Under 17 : Midweek Training time changes from NEXT WEEK

The Under 17s will now train on a Wednesday night starting at 7:00, so please arrive at 6:50. Training will finish at 8:10 so please inform parents pick up is 8:15.

Sorry about all previous confusion.

This training change will take place as off next week the 13th of September.

Training will be at the usual time of 10:30 on Sunday. Please arrive 10mins early. I cant be there but John and Mike will be taking the session, and are likely to cover some of the same stuff we did this evening.

Finally thank you for a brilliant session tonight a lot of good work all round.

Thanks
Joe

Midweek training: U17s time change, U14s no change!

After long discussions and consultations and so on we have now agreed with the rest of the club that the U14s will continue to train from 6pm to 7pm, and the U17s will train from 7pm to 8.10pm, both on Wednesdays.

The boys will be training from 6 to 7.15, so there will be a slight overlap with the U17s - but we'll just be warming up then so it won't be a major issue. The U14s are also currently a small group so until numbers grow again it isn't a major problem.

One benefit from this is that the U17s have the entire training pitch to themselves from 7.15 to 8.00 (or indeed as long as it is wanted!), so although we will be finish 30 minutes later than last season the positives in the end outweigh everything else.

Things are likely to get even more difficult next season... but that is still along way off yet.

How far could rugby take you?

If you are a U17 then about 7,000 miles... or the west coast of the USA to be exact!

If you need an incentive to get into the county or regional team then how about being part of the first ever girls' rugby tour of the USA and Canada?

Today it has been announced that the RFUW have given permission for the official East Region's girls' U18 squad to take visit North America in July 2008. It will be the U18 squad because, as you will remember, age bands change next season. This means that it will effectively be the same as the U17 squad that is selected this season.

Ideas in the ambitious plan includes possible participation in a USA's West Coast championship (to be held in Washington State) or a similar inter-state tournament to be followed by games with at least one Canadian provincial team. The tour will take place in July 2008 as this best co-incides with both the US and Canadian seasons.

And - of course - the first stage in selection for the tour will be the county trials in Stevenage on the 17th - because "closed" regional trails mean that if you are not in a county squad its unlikely you'll make the regional squad.

Why North America? Because girls' rugby is a a BIG thing over there – a quarter of all American rugby players are women, and the attitude to the female game in the USA in particular seems to be hugely positive. East can expect a warm welcome, with plenty of top quality rugby in two different countries.

Clearly there will be a lot to do before then. Such tours are not "free" and there is a great deal of planning to do. But with the better part of two years to plan and fund raise for the trip it should be a event that you will remember forever.

And the first step to getting on that plane is only two weeks away...

As for the U14s the problem we face is that there is not the range of opposition available for the younger age group. This is also a huge step into the unknown, so we need to get it right. And if do and all goes well then we can expect future tours to follow - in both direction. So the intention is that you will get a chance - next time!

Can you spare a minute to write a message to the BBC?

If you check on the BBC sport pages you will find on the main football page (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/default.stm ) there is a permanent link to a permanent index page of news about women's football.

On the main cricket page (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/default.stm) there is ALSO a permanent link to a page of news about women's cricket, and today there is even - highlighted with a photograph - a review of the women's test series. And the same applies to tennis. And golf. In fact I could probably carry on down the list of major sports and in every case where there is significant and separate women's participation there is a permanent link to a permanent page of news about the women's game.

With one exception. Guess which one. I'll give you a clue - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/default.stm

Okay for the period of the women's world cup they have a small index buried in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. But this will disappear when the world cup finishes, thus again wiping all mention of the women's rugby off probably the busiest general rugby news webpage anywhere.

I've written a small note to the BBC to ask quite why this should be, but presumably one moan from one reader won't make much difference. So I wondered if you felt that if the BBC's treatment of your sport (or lack of it) was a shade unfair you might also like to pen something to them - there is a feedback form at http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/front_page/3701180.stm

Does it matter? Yes! If the BBC (of all people) don't cover the game, who will? Coverage brings in interest which brings in sponsors and funding. It also attracts more players and it also means that people (well, lets be honest here, men) in the game are more likely to (eventually) take the women's game more seriously.

At the moment we are all but invisible - and it shows.