'Kit Aid' for South African Townships

The following is an extract from a letter from Luton RFC :

"On the 19th October 2007 our Under 16’s Youth Rugby team are going on Tour to South Africa!! They will be spending 10 days together, training, playing rugby, looking after themselves (without Mum and Dad) and learning about the culture of a completely different country. Importantly, the boys have also been collecting spare kit to take out to the South African Township teams, which is much needed. The Township Youth sides mostly do not play in boots as these cannot be afforded. Thanks to the generosity of British Airways, we now have the opportunity of taking an extra 32 kg luggage per person. We are therefore hoping to be able to take as much kit for SA as possible and are asking local clubs for any outgrown boots, shirts, socks and shorts, plus any spare protective gear…scrum hats etc. PLEASE CAN YOU HELP? We particularly want to collect boots sizes 6 to 14…. (Any condition as we will clean, replace studs and laces). Please can you have a look in the lost property box and ask parents for any thing out grown. "

If you are able to donate any kit for this project, please let Mike or Heather know as soon as possible so they can get it over to Luton before the lucky Luton lads set off.

Rochford Festival

Another early start this Sunday - can everyone who is meeting up to get, or give, a lift to Rochford or just to travel down together, please meet at the club by 8.00 am. It's a 90 minute drive (if you don't get lost - see below) and we are aiming to arrive by 09.45 to have everything set up and ready by the 10.00 start.

For those who have not been to Rochford before, I would like to say that there are more recommended routes to Rochford than there are members of the club ..... and they all seem to end up somewhere other than Rochford Hundreds RFC! One year, we tried an alternative route only to find John Birch going to the same club down the same road but in the opposite direction! (It will be no surprise to know that we were both on the wrong road!).
Hopefully, this year we have it all sorted .........

The address for the club is:

Rochford Hundred Rugby Football Club, The Rugby Park, Magnolia Road, Hawkwell, Essex. SS4 3AD

and here's a better map to help everyone find it first time (I can supply it in more detail - 1 : 25000 - by email or at the club on Sunday, if you want) :

We also have two proven routes for you ... the simplest appears to be this one supplied by the AA which we managed to follow last year ...

But if you'd prefer, you can use this one which John posted last year, quoting directly from the Rochford Website (the really good thing about this one is we know it does work even if it feels a bit slow) :

"Leave M25 at junction 29. Join A127 in direction of Basildon and Southend
Continue until you reach Rayleigh Weir junction. Take slip road left, A129 towards Rayleigh.
Stay on this road through Rayleigh town centre, following signs for Hockley.
At traffic lights at the top of the High Street (Church on left), go straight on.
Follow the road for 2-3 miles, going straight ahead at three mini roundabouts.
At next mini roundabout (Spa Public House facing), take left fork.
Follow the road past the shops, under railway bridge (Greensward Lane), continue past college on right for 1-2 miles, then past Ashingdon Primary school on left, continue on this road towards Ashingdon going up the hill, then on for another 2-3 miles until you reach mini roundabout (shops on your right), turn right at roundabout ( Rectory Road).
Take the third turning on your right just before the traffic light (Magnolia Road).
This will become an un-made road continue down for about a half a mile, the club is on your right. "

As John said on the blog last year ..." So, no problem then"!

Don't forget your diaries!

We want to start to collect availability details from everyone on a routine basis as we think that this might be a bit better than just standing in the club car park on a Sunday morning wondering who is going turn up.

So this Sunday (or even earlier) could you try to bring with you any details you may have of any future holidays, dramatic performances, family events or other commitments which might prevent you from playing in any forthcoming fixtures, and pass these on to Mike Alcock so that we can see what numbers (and positions) to expect in future weekends.

Obviosuly things will not be set in stone from now until May, but any information would be useful. Once we have the information in place all you need then do is let Mike know if anything changes.

Do you want to become a coach?

Several of you did the "Play Rugby" course last season, and a fair few also did the refereeing course. Would any of you like to take the next step and undertake the Level 1 coaching course?

This is a two day course - and is really worth doing, not only so that you could help develop younger players, but it might even help you get the odd bit of paid employment (I speak from experience here!). There is some funding available via Herts/RFUW (but it is limited!), and also through the club, so you would not have to pay anything - the only requirement is that you need to be aged at least 16 on the first day of the course you go on.

Do not worry about course dates at this stage - the important thing is that you let me know that you want to do the training so that we can put you forward for the Herts/RFUW grant (before it all goes). We can then worry about the where and whens of the actual course once we know who wants to go on it.

In addition, anyone who got a Level 1 last season (Katie?) might also like to think about Level 2 for which there is oodles of cash around as thus far only one person in Herts has applied for Level 2 funding. However, this is a more time-consuming course so you should consider other time commitments you may have before putting your name forward.

What's the difference between .....?

In a week that has seen all manner of over-the-top reactions following the France v. All Blacks game (including referee Wayne Barnes receiving emailed 'death threats'), it is good to see that most rugby-mad Kiwis do keep things in proper perspective : this contribution to a BBC Sport blog about rugby in New Zealand was offered by a Kiwi fan following last Saturdays demonstration of the supposedly poor state of northern hemisphere rugby ....

What's the difference between the All Blacks and a teabag?
A teabag stays in the cup longer!

Incidentally, on the subject of the 'death threats' to referees, etc., I feel that one can do no better than echo the sentiments of the IRB referees boss, Paddy O'Brien - a New Zealander himself - which are reported on http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/7034858.stm

Ampthill 12 v. Letchworth 39

Letchworth scorers :

Tries : Ruby, Hayley (2), Katie, Carla, Nikki, Jess

Conversions : Ruby, Carla

Although neither of the usual picture takers were able to attend the match, we still have some fine photographs courtesy of Richard who kindly agreed to help out.

Firstly, there's the 'hokey-cokey' -

Ruby scores a try to the obvious delight of her teammates -

Carla breaks away from a maul -

Charlie makes a break -

The Letchworth scrum powers forward -

A well contested lineout -

Nikki 'mugs' the Ampthill defence -

Hayley makes a break to score -

and, finally, Dave gives the post-match talk -

Once again, many thanks to Richard for the photos.

A result - in more ways than one

A thoroughly professional performance today by the U18s. Seven tries from six people, and a dominent performance by the forwards, winning practically every scrum regardless of put-in. A few points to work on - the opposition at Rochford will not allow players to run through them quite as easily, and a similar lack of concentration at the start and finish could be very costly. We also need to work on the kicking! However it was great to see Ruby get her first try for two years - in fact since Rochford 2005 - and also see Carla keep going all the way to the line this time!

But today was about more than the result. This was a good run out ahead of next week against a talented by largely inexperienced team - but a team on our doorstep that will grow and develop if they are given the experience. We will be seeing them again at Letchworth on 28th (thus filling the hole created by the postponement of the National 10s) and it will be interesting to see what they will have learnt from today.

One other aim for the day was to try to see if we could combine our U15s (small in number, but experienced) with theirs (plenty of players but little experience). By and large this worked as well. The joint training session may have been rather simple for those of our girls who are now used to a more robust approach to rugby, but the good news is that the Ampthill girls enjoyed workign with our people and that three of their most experienced girls should be joining us at Rochford next weekend thus ensuring that the U15s will have a viable squad (something we had been concerned about).

At least one of Ampthill's U18s will also be joining us which will also give us greater options in our defence of the senior trophy as well.

So all in all a very productive day - now the focus falls on next weekend. Can we be the first club to retain the trophy?

GET INVOLVED!

For those of you who were unable to get to the first day of the GET INVOLVED! exhibition at Plinston Hall, here's a few pictures let you know what was going on.

It all got started for us at about 7.15 am when we arrived to set up the Letchworth Rugby Club (Girls) stand. Katie got busy putting up the pictures ...

while Mike tried all combinations of cables/laptop and projector until he found one that worked. It took until 9 o'clock before Katie was satisfied that we'd got all the exhibits displayed OK ...

Fortunately, by then Mike had managed to join the 3 cables and two devices together so the promotional DVD could be shown continuously throughout the day ...

and stocked the table with the Girls section handouts, etc.

Shortly after the exhibition opened to the public, we noticed a discussion on the Letchworth Rugby Club stand opposite us between our club chairman, Dave Sharp, and an Australian shirt wearing Stuart Kenny .....

I think Mr Kenny may have been explaining the likely winning margin for Australia later in the day....

Meanwhile, back on the girls stand, we were having a deal of success. As you can see, Hayley is discussing the club with a new recruit who is already sporting the No. 8 shirt!

Hayley and Tracey set out around the exhibition to distribute our leaflets to as many likely looking girl players as possible while the rest of us settled to talk to any interested visitors. After an initial flurry of visitors it was rather slow going so we had a cup of tea, watched the DVD again and sent Mike back home to fetch a small TV so we could see the Australia v. England match!

By 1.30 pm it was very quiet round the exhibitions and everyone retired to watch the game at home except Heather & Mike who stayed at Plinston Hall to greet any visitors to the two rugby club stands (and watch the game, of course!) It was then that we experienced - between 2pm and 3.40pm - the most interest in our stands!! OK, it was mostly people asking what the score was, watching a bit of the game with us or asking if we had the West Ham game on (and I didn't even know that West Ham played rugby!) but it was rather fun. Every time the Royal Naval Association stand next to us played their DVD, our TV got covered in interference and it was quite funny when 4 people tried to watch Jonny kicking for goal on our 5" TV screen!!!

In the final hour of the exhibition, we received a few more visitors and then, having played the DVD 40 times, we packed things away for the night.

Tomorrow the exhibition is open for 4 hours, so I will get to see the DVD another 22 times. Bet you're jealous really ....

Directions for tomorrow

Some people didn't go to Ampthill last season, so a reminder of the directions may be useful:

Directions:

Address: Ampthill RFC: Dillingham Park, Woburn Street, Ampthill, Beds, MK45 2HX

Distance: About 18 miles. Journey time: 30 to 45 minutes.

• Take the A507 west past past Arlesey, Henlow, Shefford, and Chicksands, etc.towards Ampthill
• At Ampthill stay on the the bypass (A507 ) towards Ridgemont.
• Past the industrial estate (on the left), take the right turn for Ampthill (B530, Woburn Road leading to Woburn St.).
• Pass Ampthill Park on the left, then the Rugby Club is on the Right

An important weekend

Next weekend at Rochford will obviously be big - we are now in October and this will be where our season really "kicks off" - but this weekend could be just as important in the long term.

First today (and tomorrow) we have the "Get Involved" fair in Letchworth. We have our own stand at the fair and the aim is obviously to publicise what we do and attract new players to the team. Clearly - as Mike has said - the more of you who can spare and hour or so during the day (10am to 5pm) the better as a stand featuring enthusiastic participants will be more attractive to potential newcomers than one largely run by aged parents. So please drop by - any help (or just encouragement) you can give will be appreciated.

Tomorrow is also important. Not only will it be a chance to try out a few moves for next week against an opposition that will not be aware of them, but perhaps just as importantly it will give us a chance to encourage and help with the growth of a neighbouring club - and moreover a club that doesn't reach for the garlic, crucifixes and shotguns when the word "Letchworth" is mentioned (heaven knows what the male side of the club has got up to over the years, but clearly they have left an impression!).

Having a strong club at Ampthill will not only benefit us by being a mere 17 miles away (and therefore giving us games a shade nearer than the Dorset coast!) but it also means that we can potentially work together, either like the ad hoc way Saracens and Fullerians did last year - giving players a potential game when their own club does not have one - or even (and I'm thinking of our U15s here) by having a more formal Basford-style "cluster" team combining our small number of generally quite experienced junior players with their greater numbers of more fresh-faced rising stars.

U18s & U15s matches at Ampthill this Sunday!

Rather a last minute arrangement I know, but we have been offered matches for both U18 and U15 squads at Ampthill this Sunday with games starting shortly after midday.

This is a really useful opportunity to hone your skills in 10-a-side matches against one of our closest neighbours as a warm up for the Rochford 10s the following week and it is really important that we get a good turn out from both age groups.

Please let John, Mike or Heather know as soon as possible if you can't play on Sunday.

Please meet at the club by 10.55 am for 11.00 am departure. Can anyone who needs a lift to Ampthill please let Mike or Heather know so that we can arrange one for you.

Directions to Ampthill RFC may be found on http://clubs.rfu.com/Clubs/portals/AmpthillDistrictRFC/directions.aspx

Club gets new website

The club has a brand new website - see http://letchworthrugby.com/ - which covers all teams, including ourselves.

It will not affect this site - in fact the new site is based around several blogs which will feed news into the main site from each team, so you could say that we pioneered the way that the rest of the club is now following.

There are still aspects of "work in progress" (like they haven't got our feed working yet) but other than that its a real step forward from the previous site, using the latest in web technology. Drop by and take a look.

Free Sports Equipment!

There is a promotion at Tesco stores & filling stations until 4th November whereby 'TESCO SPORT ' vouchers are issued to customers making purchases of over £10. These vouchers can be exchanged by registered clubs and schools for a variety of sports equipment such as rugby balls, kicking tees, tackle bags, etc..

If you or your family get any of these vouchers, could you please pass them to Mike.

This Sunday....

We may have something to replace the gaps in the schedule caused by the postponement of the Regional and National tens - and something that will benefit the U15s as well as the U18s (indeed may particularly benefit the U15s). And what is more without long journeys!

Anyway, lots of details to sort out yet - so watch this space...

Four Letchworth girls in Herts U18 squad... so far

Four of our girls have been selected for the 2007 U18 Hertfordshire county squad - but there is still time for more players to join them yet.

Katie Alcock, Hayley Guilder, Emily Vivian, and Jess Robinson have been named amongst 21 players named to date for the eventual 25-strong squad - the remaining four girls will be chosen after the final county day on 21st October.

Rugby reading

With the men's world cup building towards some crucial games Rugby Player Magazine has now moved from monthly to weekly issues - and a good read it is too, even if the women's rugby page seems to have gone to sleep for the duration.

Incidentally, on the subject of the media the author of the Women's Rugby Review blog has now had media recognition for his efforts. He actually runs two blogs - one the above unique and ground breaking review of women's rugby news worldwide, the other (Total Flanker) a random collection of musing devoted to the male game - amusing but not wildly original.

Now which one of his two productions - launched at the same time - do you think The Times newspaper has now picked up and highlighted as its site of the week?

County training & trials tomorrow

As its not a club fixture tomorow we haven't arranged any official meet time or transport arrangements - the assumpion is that if you want to go you will have made arangements by now!

However its not too late - if you are still looking for a lift give me a ring asap.

Start time is 1.30pm for a 2pm start at Welwyn RFC.

GET INVOLVED!

On 6 & 7 October, the North Hertfordshire Voluntary Sector Fair ("GET INVOLVED!") is at the Plinston Hall. This event is for charities and clubs to present what they do to the public to attract volunteers or new players to their organisation.Letchworth Rugby Club Girls Section will be on stand no. 15 in Plinston Hall and the main club stand is directly opposite us. We will be using the display we put up at the RFU presentation evening and, hopefully, we'll be showing the promotion video as well. Our main objective is to encourage more girls to play rugby at Letchworth so that the future of the teams in all age bands is secured.

Although the stand will be set up and run by one or more of the Alcocks, we would very much appreciate some help from players in both age groups who could be on the stand during the days to tell potential new players all about the girls' teams at Letchworth (somehow, I think that discussing the club/game with girl players is much more likely to persuade them to join us than if they talked to a BOG (Boring Old Git) like me!!). Also, if the same people are on the stand all day they may become, shall we say, a little jaded by the end of the proceedings so I would much rather have more people helping for say an hour, or two, each.

Obviously, we need to have people on the stand at all times (10am to 5pm on Saturday 6th/midday to 4pm on Sunday 7th) but it is only fair to point out that there are World Cup quarter-finals at 2pm on both days (involving the winners (Sunday) and runners-up (Saturday) from England's group!).

So if you can help on the stand for an hour or two, please let Mike know when you are available and he will then draw up a rota.

Regional & National 10s

The Regional 10s, which were due to be played on October 7th, have been postboned to April 20th and the National 10s, which was planned for October 28th, has been postboned to May 5th (Bank Holiday Monday).

This change means we will have an extra day of training at Letchworth on 7th October before the Rochford 10s tournament the following weekend. We will try to get an alternative fixture for October 28th.

In the spring, the Regional 10s take the place of one of the Regional training days and the National 10s are now on the day after the Worthing 10s Festival ..... !

Coaching courses

For any of you girls who would like to take a level 1 coaching course but have been somewhat put off by these being done on Sundays when you want to be playing for the club, there's some good news : there is now an intention to run level 1 and level 2 coaching courses on Saturdays if sufficient interest is shown.

Obviously, in return for the course being paid for by the RFUW, those who take it will be expected to do some coaching for girls rugby at schools or clubs.

Also please note that, as far as I understand it, you need to be at least 16 years old to do these courses.

If you are interested, please let Heather know.

Hertfordshire County Trials

The second day of county training and trials is taking place at Welwyn this Sunday (30th September) where the county selections will be made for both U18 and U15 squads.

There was a disappointing turnout at the first county day this year and the county are keen to see as many of you as possible this Sunday as they wish to have two teams in each age band this season. It is worth pointing out that, particularly at U15 level, enthusiasm is far more important than experience so don't let the fact that you're a newcomer to the sport hold you back!

"... but above all win"? Is that right?

Something about the Basford* blog (see below) has been bothering me... and its the header.

"Play with the spirit of the game. Enjoy, make lasting friendships, but above all win!!!"

There is a degree of tongue-in-cheekness about this, obviously, but even so it has had me thinking... "but above all win"... is winning really the most important thing?

I grant you that I may be quite terribly out-of-date here but frankly I would not even put it in the top three. I will admit that for professional sportspeople winning really IS number one. It is, after all, their job and livelihood - but its also true that, when it comes down to it, many professional sportspeople do not truly enjoy playing their sports anything like as much as you do. You doubt that? Well look at how many stop playing as soon as the money disappears!

Professional sport is a different world with different values - values that dominate the sporting media and therefore infect our game. But that does not make them right. What we play is amateur sport - moreover junior amateur sport - and to my view to say that winning here is the most important thing is plain wrong. After all, for every winner there must be at least one loser - but does that mean the "loser" has failed? Did we "fail" yesterday merely because we lost the match? I think from all your reactions the answer is clearly no - you were all proud of your performance, and justifiably so.

So what is important, where does "winning" come? My personal view is that its around about fourth - even fifth - behind...

1. Participation. Just simply being there, being part of something bigger than you, being part of a team and taking on the challenges that flow from that. It means giving up stuff sometimes - like your entire Sunday - and it can be hard work (ie. getting out of bed at 6am when everyone else is having a lie-in) but its always worth it.
2. Playing as well as you can. There is a satisfaction that comes from knowing that you have put everything you can into something - that you have tried as hard as you could - regardless of the actual outcome - yesterday was a prime example. Equally a win achieved without trying too hard often seems to lack something.
3. Self-improvement. Kind of flows from 2. Simply getting better at something, taking on a new and higher challenge, and succeeding in it. Playing your first game, making that first tackle, working in a new position, running faster, kicking further.
4. "Making friends", as the Basford blog has it. Being the team (and club) that people remember playing for all the good reasons, and want to play again. Its a truism, but worth repeating that results are often forgotten after a few weeks - but reputations can last a lifetime.
5. Winning comes in around here I think. Its important - you need to play to win otherwise there's no point - but more important than any of the above? No - well, I don't think so.

As sporting values go I think this is what is described as "Corinthian", and much derided, but in the end I think it guides my views on sport and - I think (partly as a result?)- our team's. In the end what is most important to you - a box full of medals or a circle full of friends?

[*And no, I'm not having a go at Basford here, just using their published "mission statement" as a jumping off point to a wider discussion - and one Phil, Gavin et al may even agree with.]

Basford launch a blog

Basldon/Rochford have become latest team to launch a blog, starting with a report on last weeks events - see http://basfordgirlsrugby.blogspot.com/ for more.

A long way, but worth it

[Having written the following I see Mike's done a match report as well (below) which is no bad thing, having two different views of proceedings. Enjoy!]

Wimborne is a long way. I think we kinda knew that anyway, but the fact that Hayley et al managed to get through virtually all of Matrix Revolutions on the way down before we even made it to Hampshire (let alone Dorset) was indicative. Randy's iPod filled in the rest of the journey, as did the Two Towers on the way back once we had dropped Randy off with her machine gun toting friends - but more on that anon. After all the main reason for spending five hours in a car with the sound system turned up to 11 was to get to the match - and it wasn't a bad one too.

It has to be said that a fair few people have been looking on this game with a degree of trepidation. If there was a "Club of the Year" last season it was undoubtedly Wimborne, who seemed to come from no-where to dominate the U17 season with podium positions in all three national events - Cup, 10s and 7s - while at the same time remaining a pretty decent bunch. I think that there were some concerns that we were on for a damn good hiding, a concern that probably grew a bit when it was realised how many of our forwards we'd be missing.

Come the day, though, our hosts (who were helped by Salisbury) lent us a few girls who played very well indeed against their erstwhile team-mates allowing a very competitive 15-a-side game to be played.

And what a surprising game it was. Wimborne had a couple of girls out and a few new girls in their team, which may have been significant, but rather than the fast running game we'd sort of expected (based on the conditions and past experience of the "girls in black", who had now become "girls in green and white" just to confuse us presumably) we had a forwards battle that was as close to complete stalemate for the first two third of the first half as its possible to get. Until the final few minutes I'm not sure that either side managed to get into their opponents 22 and its possible that some backs - certainly wings - may have been wondering exactly why they were there...

It was a real war of attrition, but a war in which gradually Wimborne gained the upper hand - their pack getting the better of the rather makeshift combination we had been able to field (certainly light on a prop - Carla filling in here, but its not her best position). Wimborne did close on our line near the end of the half, but it remained 0-0 and never looked like being much else.

The second half did result in some more open play, perhaps as the forwards on both sides began to tire. Both sides were, however, guilty of not moving the ball quick enough - Wimborne possibly more than ourselves as we were lucky on two or three occasions when the centres suddenly came over all white-line fever when they had wings outside them with massive overlaps.

The deadlock was, however, broken near the start of the second half - and one of our oldest problems was a key contributory factor, viz fannying around and ultimately fluffing responses to restarts. The Wimborne kick-off - which was not a deep kick - bounced around for seemingly an age with those nearest seeming to treat it as an unexploded bomb, and then when someone did take on the job of picking it up a rather wild pass (perhaps a result of the rapid arrival of the Wimborne hordes) seemed to hit Nikki(?) in the head. The referee then took a 10 metre exception to something that Sasha may or may not have said, and Wimborne now had a penalty well into our 22. Some sterling defence kept them out for fair while but we simply could into clear our lines and there was a degree of inevitability over the eventual score.

The second try was - ironically - an object lesson in how to return a restart. In fact Randy's kick was very good - deep and into space - but Wimborne organised very quickly and were soon pushing deep into our territory. Again a long period of defence, but again we simply could not get it away, eventually their forwards driving over in the corner.

As the clock began to run down we did finally stage an attack and were camped on their line for the last five minutes or so, but failed to take full advantage of a series five metre penalties and scrums, the ball being held up over the line at least twice before Wimborne finally cleared into touch to end the game.

It was a defeat then - but 10-0 against a team of Wimborne's quality ain't bad, especially after the woeful performance in the training game with Basford last week. Randy may have complained about not getting to see much ball on the wing, but at least it was getting to Jess at outside centre. In practice there was little to choose between the sides beyond Wimborne's more powerful pack. It was a loss, but a loss with many positives - like Kettering last season... who we went on to beat, of course, later on when it really mattered. So... who knows...

And so - after a very convivial post match session - it was the long way home, especially long for those of us travelling via deepest Hampshire to meet the friendly folk Randy lives with. There is something surreal about pulling off a main road in an ordinary leafy suburban town and entering the world of green and khaki. In some respects the place where we parked to unload Randy and her baggage looked like a university halls of residence, except with added extra tanks, APVs, and guys with SLRs wandering around. The feeling of unease that this provoked was the ramped up a bit when Hayley and Carla managed to set the car alarm off while I was handing the pass back, resulting in a speedy exit before we were suspected of being a bomb or something. Actually the guys on the gate seemed rather pleased to see the back of us...

County next weekend, then... well rather in the lap of RFUW as it should be Regional 10s but my guess is that it probably won't be unless the denizens of Twickenham really manage to pull a dramatically impressive rabbit out of the hat being as no venues have been set yet, never mind any calls for actual entries. Hey ho...

Wimborne 10 Letchworth GC 0

It was indeed a very early start - and a long journey - to Wimborne but it was a journey well worth making for the warm welcome and the excellent game of rugby. Letchworth were a little short staffed for this match due to a few previous engagements and Megan's wrist having not yet fully recovered so we were a travelling party of 11 players. However, Wimborne kindly furnished us with 4 players so we were able to play a very competitive - and close fought - 15-a-side match.

The match was played in an excellent spirit and was a very well-balanced affair with the defences of both teams being equal to the challenge in the first half. Indeed is was not until the last quarter of the match that Wimborne scored their 2 tries and, even then, Letchworth continued to attack the Wimborne line right to the final whistle - getting within inches of scoring on more than one occasion but ultimately being denied by a very determined Wimborne defence.

The match was a credit to all players on both sides but a special word of thanks should be said to those Wimborne players who gave their all playing for Letchworth.

A few pictures from the game -

1. Ruby ready to get the season underway

2. Letchworth recycle the ball
3. Jess attacks the Wimborne defence
4. Sasha drives forward

5. Katie makes a break

6. A secure Letchworth scrum

7. Letchworth defensive line

8. Sasha blasts a penalty downfield

9. Superb Letchworth defence stops Wimborne just short

10. Superb Wimborne defence stops Letchworth just short of the line

Early start for Wimborne!

This Sunday sees us travelling to Wimborne in Dorset for the first U18s match of our 2007/8 season. We are taking a very strong side with only Megan (broken wrist) and Natalie & Emily (previous engagements) missing from the ranks. Unfortunately, as most of the U15s are not available, the fixture with Ellingham & Ringwood has, regrettably, had to be cancelled

I know that all you U18s will be pleased to hear that, as we have an 11am kick-off, we will need to make an early start so please meet at the club by 7.30am at the latest ......

The suggested route to Wimborne RFC is given below. Please note that at Wimborne, as with many other places, there can be some difficulty with parking and we have been asked to park in the Flight Refuelling car park near to the rugby club (see map below)

Follow A1(M) (south) for approx. 22 miles then join M25 towards Heathrow
Follow M25 for approx. 32 miles then join M3 towards Southampton
Follow M3 for approx. 52 miles then join M27 West
Follow M27 for approx. 10 miles then continue straight onto A31
Follow A31 for approx 18 miles to Canford Bottom roundabout
Take 4th exit onto B3073 towards Wimborne (Wimborne Road West)
After 1.5 miles turn left into Gordon Road
After approx. 70 metres turn left into Barnes Crescent
After approx. 250 metres turn into Flight Refuelling car park.

Any problems/questions about the above - please contact Heather, John or Mike.

Random snippets

A few bits and pieces of news from here and there....

• First - any coaches (or prospective coaches) should be aware that there is a FREE "coach development evening" on Monday at the club from 7pm to 9pm. It will cover "front row and coaching contact". If you want to attend contact Dave Roberts.
  
  
• On a related theme confirmation that our new Club and Coach Development Officer (see below) will be Andrew Skipper, who will be covering Herts, Essex, and Eastern Counties. His brief is pretty wide ranging, but his interests will include those of you with (or thinking about acquiring) coaching qualifications. Incidentally one of his major tasks will also be to try to bridge the gap (gap? Grand Canyon more like!) between junior and senior clubs - a real issue for those of you turning 18 in the next year or so.
  
  
• Although that is nice and clear for East Region, I understand that Bedfordshire will have a different CCO from the rest of East Midlands as Maggie Alphonsi's "London" brief will include Berks, Bucks... and Beds. Slightly odd definition of "London"!
  
  
• Staying with county matters, Essex have confirmed that they will aim to get out a U12 team to play Herts at the Essex County Festival on 18th November - so definitely something for U12s to aim for.

• Due to fixture clashes with their new league Welwyn U18s will again not be at Rochford this season (their U15s will be). With Saracens also in a league it is therefore possible that we will be defending the Hertfordshire cause alone against all comers!

• Finally, details or travel arrangements for our trip to sunny Dorset this weekend shoudl be finalised tonight - but be prepared for an early start (c7.30am)!
  

East Midlands (county) U15 & U18 trials

I know a few of you are thinking about your options for county this season. East Midlands have now provided me with details of their trials on 30th September. The trials will be at Kettering RFC, meeting at 1.30pm and start the sessions at 2pm. The day will be finished by 4pm.

The day will include a match situation as well as a few warm up and drills. Players need to bring plenty of fluid, correct kit, and gum shields.

If you are interested interested in going, or have any questions about eligibility (I understand that East Mids are being very lenient) contact Rachel Sawford Tel 07702779484 or email(Tel 07702779484 or rachels@emru.co.uk). And have a word with Fern as well, maybe.

Remember - if you want to have any chance of playing regional rugby in the New Year you MUST get into a county squad first. You can also go to any number of trials and development days at any number of counties - you are only tied to any one county or region when you accept a place in a squad.

Might win this one...

Maths a bit tedious today? Nothing to do in a "free lesson"? Try this.

There's fun little rugby-and-general knowledge quiz game on the BBC website. Officially you should go here but if you want to go straight to the game (a good idea if you haven't used the BBC's interactive services before as there is a rather tedious registration procedure) try clicking here - apart from anything else that should mean you get the game up full screen. If this backdoor doesn't work let me know and I'll look at the code again.

I managed to get the final - but lost 17-10 to Australia. The questions get tougher depending on which team you choose, who you are playing, and the stage you are at in the competition. Any winners out there?

That's probably why we never normally play in September...

Well, that and entering a game against practically a county - indeed regional - level pack with (I think) only two fully fit forwards. Forwards matter....

Anyway before we get onto the U18s a word about the U15s, whose game I saw rather more of. A highlight of the game was Josephine Lohoar's debut. It was pretty impressive. A small, rather nervous, slightly shy girl went onto the field and a hour later a confident, excited rugby player who looked about two inches taller came off. Moreover, a player with a well taken try to her name and (as someone said) "our new winger" - Josephine is seriously quick once she gets the ball in hand, but was also diving into rucks and joining in mauls by the end too.

Basildon/Rochford did win the game - about eight or nine tries to three or four. In the end the score was not what was important (well, not at this end of the season) though it was significant that probably half those tries came in the first ten minutes of a 30 minute game. As Josephine and the other Letchworth girls grew in confidence so they competed more and forced their opponents to work harder. In the end there is no denying that "Basford" were the better side - but Letchworth played above themselves. If only we could find two or three more players... but we've said that before!

Hopefully most of the U15s can make it next weekend - lets look to build on this good start.

But back to the U18s. Based on what was said to me the main things seem to come out....

1. Basford were far better prepared - but that is no surprise. They have been training practically since the last season ended, whereas we started only a few weeks ago. We have never previous played this early (in fact I'm not even sure we have played in September before) and it looks like it showed.

2. Starting a match with two key forwards missing and another three carrying injuries would normally be unfortunate. Going up against Basford - of all teams - its close to suicidal - I am impressed that you managed to win any ball at all!

3. Tactically it sounds as if we also played the (usual) high-impact game - from what I hear not much ball (when we had ball) was moved wide. In the past we have done well like that - but now without Nim to crash through and make the gaps we may need to rethink. We have scarily fast wings (or people who can play wing) - Randy, Natalie, Jess, etc. - and need to make more use of them this season. After years of being a forwards-based side does such a significant change in personnel mean we now need to look to quick hands and fast backs?

4. U18 rugby in 2007 is a world away from U14 rugby in 2005.

5. The defence sounds reasonbly solid - despite all the above only five tries conceeded in around a hour's play? Could have been worse - could have been MUCH worse!

But then that was Basford and Basford are possibly unique. Its Wimborne next week - and they are masters of moving the ball fast. Ironically they are a team where keeping things tight with the forwards may be our best chance of success.
Anyway - what do you all think? Where did things go wrong (or right)?


For more pictures of both games click here.

Army "champion" to join us this weekend

A member of the British Army Women's Inter Corps Trophy winners joins us this weekend... though the face may seem familiar.

Yes - Randy's back for a couple of weeks, fresh from her first run-out with REME's adult women's team (apparently they can start playing with the senior team from 17 - and they wasted no time in calling Randy up) for whom she scored a try in a tournament at Aldershot on Wednesday. REME triumphed 17-5 over AMS (the Army Medical Service) in the final, retaining the trophy which they won last year, in a one-day tens competition which included teams from all six army corps.

Randy's next test - once she gets back - will be to see if she and her teammates can follow on from that in the Women's Corps League, which starts on 17th October. In the meanwhile she will be with us for Basford this weekend and Wimborne next.

More development support from RFUW

... plus a shade more confusion.

The RFUW have appointed ten "Club and Coach Officers" (CCOs) for the new seasonto support the "development of women’s and girls rugby across the country" with an "extensive remit" which will include player development, coach development and club development. Each have been given a region... but at this stage its not clear who will be "ours" as, quite conceivibly, we could have one of three. This is because, although each has been given a "region" they do not seem to be the same "regions" as the 11 currently used by RFUW (where we are "East") or eight used by RFU (where we are "London North").

Anyway our most likely CCO will be Andrew Skipper who will be CCO of the "East". However as he is based in Ipswich its possible that we might not see too much of him. So it is possible that we might see more of Maggie Alphonsi who will be the "London" CCO. But London is a big place, and one we have never felt ourselves "part of", so it is quite likely that she will have her work cut out covering the capital without having to trail up to remote outposts in north Hertfordshire.

Our third bet therefore might be one Laura Jayne Adams who is moving from the position of a Regional Judo(!) Development Officer and Community Rugby Coach to be CCO for "East Midlands". She will be based in Northamptonshire, which is a bit nearer than Ipswich, and being as we are increasingly getting involved in East Mids activities it is not unreasonable to suspect that she may take an interest in us.

Details for Sunday

We're just about finished putting together details for Sunday's "training match" against Basford. Simon may add some more information later but the basics are:

• 9.30am start
• Games for U18s AND U15s - regardless of numbers (we'll create two teams one way or another)
• Finish by 11.00 (as there are other games due to start then).

Casualty clearing station report....

With several people picking up injuries last weekend could you please let us (me, Mike & Heather Alcock, Simon...) know - ideally by Thursday at the latest - whether you think you will be fit for Sunday, as if we are short it will only be fair to let Basford know. If you are unsure then I'd suggest resting an injury this weekend as we will be playing Basford again later in the season (at least twice). The main target for the minute has to be Wimborne - we have to aim to go to Dorset with as strong a team as possible.

Not sure yet about start time on Sunday as we need a full pitch (obviously) and we hadn't "booked" one as we had been assuming this would be just a standard training weekend.

For those of you who can still stand unaided lets have a good turnout this Thursday - U15s especially as there is some potentially good news for you lot (at last!). Fingers crossed...

Medical update:
Carla: Should be fit in time for game on 24th (and training beforehand)
Hayley: Soft tissue damage to shoulder - can play "when she feels able to".
Katie: Should be okay by Sunday
Megan: Broken wrist - out for a few weeks

[PS: For county news remember to check the county blog (link and latest stories in the column on the left). Stuff appearing on the county blog will not generally be repeated on here].

Looking back on the first County Day

I think the main thing to come out of the first county day of the new season is.... there is still plenty of time for new people to come along and join in!

For some reason there was only about 25 U18s at the session, down a fair bit on last season, so I gather from those who took part that at the moment they will be sticking to that group and not formally selecting yet - so if you were away or injured you have not missed your chance.

The U15s was not a trial so there is also time for other to join in - but they probably had as many girls as the U18s did - maybe more. Laura was our sole representative, towered over a bit by some seriously big players from other teams (mostly a couple of years older, it has to be said). I think its clear - if this was representative of players in other clubs - that the U15 band will be a very different animal to the U14 band last year!

The new U12 age band also worked well. 14 girls took part, which was a good number, and half of them had not played contact before (they have now!). Again, though, there is room for more.

Next County Day is 30th September at Welwyn, after which I think they will be looking to fixtures on future county dates.

County forms (part 2)

Just to add to the entry below that would appear that I was sent the forms last week but somehow or other didn't get the messsge. Or lost it. Or something.

Anyway suffice to say that I have now received a further copy and you will now find that the Herts Blog (here).

Anyone else need a lift on Sunday?

Fixture "amendment"

Not a fixture as such, but on 16th September (ie. Sunday week) we will be joined at out training session by the girls from Basford (Basildon/Rochford). They are also facing fixture problems due ot the growth of leagues (see below) and wanted something a bit more challenging than the "usual" session in advance of their first fixture the following weekend.

Should be a really good session. Not sure exactly what we will be doing on the day - and we may have to look closely at pitch availability which might mean a different start time - so watch this space for further details.

County registration forms

A few of you - well in fact a whole chorus of you - asked about these this evening.

To confirm that I haven't had any official forms as yet BUT if you look on the Herts blog you will still be able to download last year's form (PDF or Word). Could I suggest that you use this - maybe amending the date at the top - and bring that along on Sunday?

As its not a fixture we haven't arranged any pick-up times. The day starts at 2pm, so registration will presumably be from c1.30, so I was working on a 1pm departure. If you need a lift please get back to me asap.

Follow the (men's) World Cup at Letchworth RFC

The club are organising some "social events" to co-incide with some of the matches at the men's world cup being shown on the Big Screen.

The games the club currently plans to show are:

• Saturday 8th September: England v USA (5pm)
• Friday 14th September: England v South Africa (8pm)
• Friday 21st September: France v Ireland (8pm) (Irish band, Irish stew, cheap Guinness for over 18s)
• Saturday 6th October: Quarter finals
• Saturday 13th October: Semi finals
• Saturday 20th October: Final (8pm)

More details on the main club website.

Calling all dual qualified girls!

A bit short notice, but East Midlands are also holding a development day on Sunday. It will not be a trial (unlike the U18s in Hertfordshire) - the East Mids county trials are not until the 30th - but if you aren't really interested in playing for Hertfordshire and want to investigate the alternative then it would be a good opportunity to get your face known by the East Mids selectors, and maybe also get to see what you might be up against!

The day will be held at Northamptonshire Old Scouts RFC, meeting at 1.30pm for a 2pm start training session and a finish at around 4pm.

East Mids advise that you need to remember suitable clothing for the day including wet gear if it looks like rain and boots if you have them. A gum shield would be advisable as we will be doing contact work and a water bottle and any food you may wish to have. The bar will be open and food available to buy for you and you family to enjoy. Wales also play Canada in the Rugby World Cup that afternoon and that will be shown in the bar.

If you have any questions about the day or would like to confirm you attendances please contact Rachel Sawford (Community Rugby Coach, Northamptonshire) on 07702 779484 or rachels@emru.co.uk.

League rugby

Little snippet of news that has reached me - apparently Welwyn have joined the South East girls league, going straight into Division One alongside Dorking, Esher, Gravesend, Havant & Petersfield, West Surrey District, Worthing and Wimborne.

This is interesting for a number of reason, most significant of which to us is that as these leagues grow and draw in more sides it gets increasingly difficult for teams outside leagues to get fixtures. The reason we aren't playing Milton Keynes this season (and only played them once last) was because of their participation in the Thames Valley league.

It raises the question of where we should be doing. Should we do the same?

Welwyn always seem to have looked on themselves as being a "London" or at least "south" facing team so in many ways it is a logical step. At Letchworth, being further north, we've always looked the other way - almost all of our games over the years have been in east or the midlands (in fact the trip to Wimborne at the end of the month will, I think, be the first time we have ever played south of the Thames - apart from the National Cup and the tour) so following Welwyn's lead would not perhaps be appropriate (even before you look at the distances involved).

The Thames Valley league might be an alternative, but at present is a competion for county-based "cluster" teams - would also involve long trips away from our "patch" to Oxfordshire and Berkshire.

There are at present no leagues in East or East Midlands, though the matter has been discussed in East but has never really got very far. There were a numberof reasons for this - such as teams not wanting to be tied down - but also a general perference for "friendly" games during a period when clubs are developing, which is understandable.

However I suspect that it will not be long before its raised again though - in East Midlands perhaps if not in East - and whatever we may think about league rugby once a league is formed in either region then we will inevitably have to join it. It would be a shame in some ways as it would mean a more limited diet of the "same" teams most weekends, which I know many of you find a bit frustrating already ("oh no - not x again!" was the cry that saw us enter the East Mids 10s last season instead of the "local" event) but it will be that or precious few fixtures at all!

The ideal solution (well, ideal for us!) would be a "East of England" league that covered both regions - but I can't see that going down well in Essex...

Anyway - what do you all think? Should we support (or even initiate) the idea of leagues in one region or the other (or both - we now have seats on both the East and East Midlands forums so we could raise it in either)?

200 club - and other club matters

200 club

The club's "200 Club" is being revamped. On the last Sunday in the month, starting in September, a draw will take place where winning numbers will be picked at random.
Over 12 months 50% of the pot will be returned in winnings and 50% will go to the Club. The value of prizes will be advised prior to the draw.

A number in the 200 Club may be bought for just £2 per month, available via standing order mandates obtainable at the Bar and Shop and from Nick Cave from Sunday 2nd September.

For every ten new members each section produces the club will give also give a £30 commission to that section.

Registration

For those who missed out registering today I have forms for you which you can pick up and fill in (or get filled in by a parent) at your next session. Please don't "forget" - not only does it become a bit tedious chasing you throughout the season, but also you will actually be uninsured so if the worst happened...

Attracting new players

The men's world cup starts on Friday, which will mean that rugby will be getting big headlines and lots of press coverage. Its therefore going to be a good time to attract new players - and next weekend at the county day in Welwyn will be a great opportunity for anyone you know to "have a go" - especially if they are in school years 6-10. Failing that the following Sunday will also be a training session at Letchworth - so encourage them to come along!

Fixtures & Results 2007/8

September

23rd : U18 : Wimborne 10 Letchworth 0


October

7th : U18 : Ampthill 12 Letchworth 39

14th : U18 : Rochford 10s :
Westcliff 12 Letchworth 0
Aylesford 10 Letchworth 14
Sudbury 5 Letchworth 12
Basford 17 Letchworth 5
Welbeck College 22 Letchworth 0

28th : U18 : Letchworth 46 Ampthill 5


November

11th : U18 : Letchworth 5 Kettering 44

25th : U18 :
Letchworth 0 Basford 27
Letchworth 0 Paviors 12


December

9th : U18 : Letchworth 47 Ampthill 12



January 2008

13th :
U18 : Letchworth 29 Saracens & Ampthill 0
U15 : Ampthill & Letchworth 0 Saracens 72

27th : U18 :
Worcester 40 Letchworth 5
Westcliff 12 Letchworth 0



February

17th :
U18 : Kettering 20 Letchworth 10
U15 : Kettering 35 Ampthill 20

March

2nd : U15/U18 : (A) Training
9th : U15/U18 : (A) Regional training (venue : tbc)
16th : U15/U18 : (A) Regional match (venue : tbc)


April

6th : U15/U18 : (H) Dorking
13th : U15/U18 : (A) Basford
20th : U15 : (H) Training
20th : U18 : Regional 10s (venue : tbc)
27th : U15/U18 : (A) Regional training (venue : tbc)


May

4th : U15/U18 : (A) Worthing 10s (tbc)
5th : U18 : National 10s (if qualified) (venue : tbc)
11th : U15/U17 : (A) Regional Festival (venue : tbc)
11th : U15/U17 : (A) Dorking 10s (tbc)
18th : U15/U17 : (A) Herts 7s (venue : tbc)
25th : U15/U17 : (A) National 7s (venue : tbc)


I think it's worth reminding everyone that the only thing certain about a fixture list is that it will change ...... for example, we will be adding tour dates and venues when they have been agreed. This list on the blog will, of course, be updated as changes occur.

The end of pre-season - and registration

Apologies for the gap in any postings, but there's not been much to report ove rthe Bank Holiday - and I've been elsewhere anyway.

Final pre-season training tonight (6pm as usual) before the "real" thing begins. Which, admittedly, for the first week or so will be mainly training... but not for long. Mike will be publishing the fixtures shortly, but the main points for the next couple of weeks are:

This Sunday:
Registration, starting at 10.00. Bring a parent and a cheque book. Leaving them in the clubhouse to work their way through the paperwork will leave you free for an important Sunday session, because the following week is....

County day (9th September)
at Welwyn for all Hertfordshire people. Trials for U18s, training sessions for U12s and U15s. There will also be county days for East Midlands, Eastern Counties and Hampshire (for those with an interested in these) but - so far as I am aware - the actual trails for these three are not until the 30th, when Herts will also probably have their U15 trials.

This actually means that - for U18s who are dual qualified - you can have a go at getting into the Herts squad without it stopping you trying elsewhere a few weeks later - you are not tied to any one county until selected, and until you accept that selection.

After that its the build-up towards the first fixture. As I said above, Mike will announce the details shortly but it will be a visit to a club we have never visited before - and buckets and spades might be in order...

First injury of the season

We've not started the season yet, but Carla has still managed to put herself out of action for the next few weeks. The exact circumstances behind our senior hooker's injury ("senior" in as much as she has been playing for Letchworth longer than Charlie or Emily) are unclear but I gather that she has damaged tendons in her shoulder and hand and will be unable to train or play for at least the next two weeks, and possibly as much as three months.

Carla has been involved in a number of bizarre off-field injuries over the years, but normally this has involved inflicting the injury on others - such as, or example, knackering Hayley's hand on a bouncy castle the day before the Regional Festival in 2006, and then (if I remember right) managing to injure Robyn with a chocolate bar last Christmas (but without any explanation as to how this was achieved). Taking herself "out" would seem to be a new departure, and it all goes to show that the rugby pitch often seems to be a far safer place to be than the Real World.

No training next Sunday (26th August)... at the moment...

Just a note for those who where not there today that Simon and Kirsten are away next Sunday, as am I - plus Joe no longer has any keys - so at the moment there will be no training over the Bank Holiday weekend. But we've already had a good start so one session "off" this early shouldn't be a major problem.

For those of you who haven't made it yet, training at Letchworth is now on Thursdays from 6.00-7.30 and Sundays from 10.00-11.30 (unless there are fixtures). Next Sunday training at Letchworth will be on the 2nd September, which will also be registration. The following Sunday is County (including County Trails for U18s) at Welwyn.

In the meanwhile this article from the Times entitled Getting fit for rugby may be useful!

Meanwhile in the Caribbean...

Its a story that the press as a whole seem to be ignoring with avengence, but as I was only exchanging a few emails with the islands a few days ago I kinda feel obliged to pass on what is happening out there - or at least that which I know, which isn't much. Partly so that if anyone ever complains about the weather again I can point out that it could be worse, but mainly because I reckon someone should say something.

Anyway - the story so far. After a year or preparations the Cayman Islands were due to host one of their most prestigious rugby events ever this weekend. Rugby in the islands had been all but wiped out on three years ago when Hurricane Ivan devastated the islands, and especially the rugby grounds in George Town on Grand Cayman. However, since then the game has been revived and they have hosted a number of regional sevens tournaments, including the ironically names "Hurricane Sevens".

These have brought in cash - and also sparked a revival of the game, including the women's game. The men's team is one of the strongest in the Caribbean and the women sound as if they have been catching up - despite a very small base they have run the Caribbean's leading women's nation - Jamaica - close in the internationals played to date.

So the hosting of the third Caribbean Championships was a big event - and the first time the women had entered. Women teams from Trinidad and Jamaica - plus men's teams from seven nations (including Mexico!) were on their way in the lead up to the first game, due to be played today.

Then last Wednesday came the hurricane warning - headed straight for the Caymans by way of Jamaica. This is a proper hurricane - not the storms we occasionally have over here which are mistakenly given that title. Hurricane Dean is big - we are talking average wind speeds of 100mph+ winds plus 20" of rainfall over a few hours.

Its seems that the Jamaican team had not set off - fortunately - though they will have the storm arriving with them today. Most of the Trinidad team were already in George Town, however, and have only just managed to find a flight out. That flight will take them to Miami, but they will have no accommodation there nor any news of any other flights taking them home. However, three of their party - plus their referee - were still in transit and were last heard of stuck in Jamaica (not a great place to be stuck at the moment).

As for the Cayman girls, and their clubs - presumably battening down everything and hoping the storm will miss them. The good news is that the latest forecast has the predicted line of the Hurricane inching south... it might just miss them... They'll find out tomorrow...

This 'n' that...

Some short snippets of news here - some good, some less so...

• Coaching. Message from Danni:

  "I'm really sorry to do this to you at the last minute, but I have recently got a new and very demanding job, that involves me occasionally working late nights and travelling. As a result I will not be able to make a full time commitment to coaching the girls. I would like to take this chance to thank you for the oppertunity, and would be delighted to coach them in the future when my schedule is not as demanding!"

  In practice we knew that Danni would not be able to be with us every week, so its not in practice going to cause too many problems - especially with Simon and Kirsten around. And once she has settled in we'll hopefully see her. Until then - best wishes to her in her new job.
  
• Barbeque. To confirm that there is no BBQ tomorrow as Simon and Kirsten have to be away in the afternoon. Suggest you discuss with them an alternative date.
  
• New "Half of Fame" addition. As some may have heard on Wednesday Randy will be available for us for most weekends. The even better news is that she is very involved with rugby in her Corps - REME. Indeed she sounds as if she is one of the leading players in the junior squad, and already has a place in the senior squad waiting for her when she turns 18. As REME are possibly the leading rugby unit in the army (certainly in women's rugby) this is pretty impressive, and only one step away from the British Army team. Could Randy be our first player to pull on a national shirt?
  
• Finally, spare a thought for... the players from Trinidad, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands due to play in the third Women's Caribbean Championship starting tomorrow in the Caymans. After months of preparation the entire event has just been called off - due to a hurricane. It sounds pretty chaotic with bits of various teams diverted at the last minute to various islands, or trying to get out of the Caymans having only just arrived, or being simply worried about what state their own islands will be in even if the hurricane misses wherever they currently are. We may complain about ice and snow, rain and mud, but at least we know the buildings will remain standing...

The new season is underway

Good to be back?

Well done everyone for a great turnout for the first training session tonight. Clearly some people were a bit rusty, and it was interesting to see the U15s (and U12!) tended to show some of the U18s up a bit when it came to catching the ball!

For those who didn't make it, Simon will now be here on Sunday so it'll be 10.00 to 11.30, 6-7.30 next Thursday... and so on.

Needless to say that the fixtures are still be worked on - more news there as we get it.

Coaching courses

Many of you are intersted in taking your Level 1 coaching course (Steph, Katie and Nim did this last season). The dates are now out (see the Herts blog). Courses are once a month - but note that the closing date for the first course is next week.

You will not have to pay - either the club will, or there are grants available. If you are interested (and over 16 on the date of the course) let me know.

A tackle Sasha would be proud of!

Thanks to Saturday's a Rugby Day for this.

I hesitate to maybe highlight this at a time when we trying to bring in new girls, so maybe a should emphasise that this is an international U19 game. You pretty unlikely to see this sort of thing at club level, especially at U12 or U15s!

Anyway, Wales U19s vs USA. The Welsh wing (14) gets a quick pass inside and tries to dodge through the US forward line. Unfortunately the US loose-head has other ideas....

To be honest what is really impressive is that the Welsh girl is not only still in one piece after that, but actually managed to lay the ball back so that Wales kept possession. They breed them tough in the valleys!!

There are also a few more video clips from the same game, including a line-out "masterclass" and two magnificent tries. Well worth a look.

All systems GO for training... on 16th August!

Yes - the clock has jumped forward a bit!

The first training session will now be on Thursday 16th August from 6pm to 7.30. We know that a fair few people will be away, but if you are around please make a special effort to get to you new coach's first session.

At this stage there also seems to be enough interest (ie. about half of the people replying have said "yes") in a session on Sunday 19th from 10.00 (or 10.30), which Joe has agreed to take. We will confirm this next Thursday. After that it'll be Thursdays evenings and Sunday mornings (or afternoons for fixtures) from there on for the next eight and a half months!

So enjoy your final week of relaxation... a whole new season awaits!

And - yes - this means EVERYONE. U15s and U12s as well!!

U18s wanted for "fun" season opener

Hertfordshire "Ladies Link" is a programme to try to introduce new adult or late teenage players to the game. As part of this a "fun" mixed age tag tournament is being organised at Welwyn on the afternoon of the 2nd September (kick-off 2pm).

Teams at the tournament must include 5 adults and 5 U18s (that is the new RFUW U18 age band) though squads can be any size, and Amanda Bate is putting together an impressive team. This already includes two England players (Shelley Rae and Vanessa Grey) plus county level netballers, footballers, and a fitness instructor.

On paper it looks like a world-beater - but she doesn't have enough U18s at the moment... so she has asked if any of our U18s would be interested in joining this team for an afternoon of fun, adult tag (and maybe the odd trophy)? At least four other teams are also taking parts, including OAs, Welwyn, and Barnet - so it'll be pretty competitive.

If you are interested then drop Amanda a line (AmandaBate@rfu.com) or give her a ring on 07809 512738.

The votes are in...

Both votes for the try and tackle of the year (or at least of the video) were close (and not really affected by some suspicious of multiple voting), and we now have winners:

Tackle of the Year.

3rd: Katie vs Saracens (2:04) - 11%

For a long time this was leading, mainly I suspect because of its sheer comedy potential. Not that anyone does anythng wrong, but there is something slapstick about the way in which the Saracen girl is suddenly lifted clear off her feet and into the crowd by an unseen hand (thanks to Joe partly steeping in the way of the camera).

2nd: Natalie vs Dorking (6:59) - 23%

A late rush of voting for this one nearly pipped the eventual winner. Natalie shows great speed running down a certain Dorking try. Not only does she bring the larger Dorking girl to the floor, but she also traps her arms and prevents her from passing to her support. Great stuff.

1st: Sasha vs Vampyres (4:54) - 24%

This is over in about a second, but its the tackle that gets the big reaction when you show it - everyone goes "Oooo" and winces! Typical Sasha and justification for the nickname. Vampyres girl (probably a wing) picks up the ball in open space near her line. However just on the edge of frame something is moving in at high speed and.... well, that winger's going no-where!

Try of the year:

3rd: Sasha vs Exeter (6:01) - 10%

Having seen what Sasha does when she doesn't have the ball, we now turn to what she can do when she has it. First we see a typical Sasha hand-off, then we find that the inconvience of having one of the Exeter girls hanging round her waist from about 20m out is not going to stop her reaching the line...

2nd: Jess vs Ampthill (2:58) - 27%

A very different sort of try this. Jess receives the ball in her own half with the entire Ampthill team in front of her. The the video seems to switch to fastforward as Jess explodes forward, side-steps three girls and then disappears into the far distance...

1st: Katie vs Liskeard (4:00) - 28%

This is not Katie's try - its a total team effort. Katie actually begins the whole move wth a pass to Jess who explodes through the Liskeard line (as above!), is caught this time though... but there is Natalie on her shoulder. Natalie races for the corner but is held up short, she turns to her left and there is Nikki perfectly placed to take it through the gap Natalie has opened. But Liskeard haven't given up and even Nikki is now pulled up short... but racing though on her right is Katie. Touchdown!

Training: update (Sunday 19th August)

If enough people are around on Sunday 19th (and there haven't been enough replies yet really to say one way or another) then Joe has confirmed that he could take the session.

So... once more for old time's sake?

[And, by the way, U15s (and come to that prospective U12s) this means you too - so let us know about your availability as well!]

Training: Start date?

As you see from Simon's piece (below) he can't make 19th now and so he is suggesting we might begin on the 16th - if enough of you are around. So... are you?

And also - even if Simon cannot make the 19th - do you want to train on that morning anyway, if we could get someone else to run you through a few light drills (Joe did suggest he might be able to make it - and Katie is our in-house coach)?

Rather than try to get you to reply to emails, or ring people up, or just guess I've put together a couple of simple polls appear below. Replies by Friday week - or earlier if possible!

And - yes - it looks like midweek training will be Thursdays for U15s and U17s (and U12s is we have any!), from 6pm to 7.30 for all. For every reply that said it was a problem, someone else said that it was better so it balances in the end.

Also if you can't make a 6pm start (not easy for many I expect) but can get here later, then get here later - remember that we trained for an hour last year from 6.45, and now we'll be having 90 minute sessions from 6.00 - so even if you could only make the old start time you'd still be having a session almost as long as last year.

Training

Yes training is almost upon us. I am now away on the 19th of August so we will have to move the BBQ the week later to the 26th which should hopefully work out better as you guys will be back form holidays. regards to the thursday before (16th ) a session can be arranged. I know it is still holidays and some of you are away but if there is enough interest we will start then, otherwise we will start in full swing on the thursday 23rd at 6pm. Train until 7.30pm then look forward to the BBQ that weekend. Parents are invited to stay we will be training first, then hopefully sit down in the sun and get to know each other properly over a sausage and a beer, if you are old enough.

I am starting to look at session plans for the season, if there is anything you lot think you need to work on, then email me your thoughts.

Also the front row, yes I know you dont get a mention very often, which is a shame as we do most of the work beofre the backs score the tries, the seniors and the older boys teams are going to be going through technique and skills on some wednesday nights before the season starts. specifically scrummaging. I will be up there. I dont know when the next session is going to be but i am hoping for next week, I will keep you posted. It will be very benificial you need to organise it between you as it would be better if there were atleast three there to make a full front row.

We are going to have a great season i have looked through some of the videos and I am very impressed. tell all your mates to come down to training as well we can get them playing. Thats all from me, hope I have done it right computers and me dont really go together.

If the going ever gets tough next season...

... things could be worse. Women's Rugby Review have picked up a story that appeared in the Australian Daily Telegraph (absolutely no relationship to the British paper of the same name, incidentally) who seem to have been doing a search for Australia's worst sports team.

Because, believe it or not, not every Australian sports team is an all-conquering steamroller - occasionally there is the odd team that are less than world-beaters. However, one effect of Aussie sports culture is that if you are a bit lacking the opposition will not let up and take their foot off the pedal just because they are 50 or 100 points up. Oh no.

So spare a thought for Wollondilly White Waratahs women's rugby team (from somewhere near Sydney before you ask - they are the ones in the white, black and green stripes in the picture), a bunch of sports-mad women (emphasis on the second word maybe) who got together to enter a team in the Premier Division of the Sydney Rugby League (there is only the one division in fact...). They made a good start as one team promptly withdrew from the league, thus granting the Waratahs a "28-0" walkover... but after that things went slightly downhill.

Once they got onto the field - and being relatively new to the game (like none of them had played before) - loses of 83-0 and 88-0 in their first two games were perhaps not too surprising, but it was their next fixture against Parramatta which made the rugby world sit up and take notice as our heros went down 237-0, or (if you do the maths and assume pretty much every try was converted) a try every two minutes or so (you see what I mean about Aussie sport culture?). Since then the scores have not be quite as bad as that, but still not good - 0-112, 0-137, 0-140, 0-168, 0-121, and (last weekend) 0-170. So far Wollondilly have now conceded 1,385 points in 12 games without scoring once themselves - and there are still four games to go.

However they remain upbeat - nearly scoring in a recent game when they were held up over the line - and their aim is record that elusive first try before the season ends (on 1st September). So the best of luck to them in their away game at Warringah - a side currently unbeaten and second in the league...

Personally, its the coach I sympathise with. I find there is something eerily familiar about these words...

"Two girls involved with the club saw a women's rugby game a few years ago and thought "why not?'" They approached me and I told them if they could get a team together I'd coach and get them into the competition. My big mouth."