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."

Try and tackle votes: the last few days

Just a few days to go and its neck-and-neck in both the try and tackle of the year votes! Its between Sasha or Natalie (though with Katie coming up on the rails) for the tackle, and Jess or Katie for the try.

Incidentally there has been some - how can I put it? - very enthusiastic - voting in some parts, especially for the try of the year so I have taken the liberty of resetting things to more managable (not to say realistic) levels.

Also, as we enter the final straight, you can also now only vote once - so drop by one final time and think carefully before deciding on whichever of the current leaders you'd like to lend your final support to.

Working away behind the scenes

Nothing may be happening on the field other than the grass growing, but behind the scenes things are ticking along.

First - there is a slight chance (and at this stage it is slight, but not impossible) that you could all be cinema stars - at the Broadway at least. On the off chance I wrote to them to see if The Film could be shown there (or at least a cut down version) in the advert bit before the main feature. And - to my slight surprise actually - they said, in principle, yes it could. It would have to get a certificate from the British Board of Film Classification (anyone care to guess what it might be, considering the high body count?) and converted to actual film first - two not insignificant hurdles - but time to practice those autographs and invest in some dark glasses, maybe?

Also Heather is working away at the fixtures. Some way to go yet, but to give you an idea she has already arranged are games with...

• Kettering (Home - November 11th, Away- February 24th)
• Basford(Home [with Paviors & Swaffham]- November 25th, Away April 13th)
• Westcliff (Home - December 9th, Away - January 27th)
• Saracens (Home - January 13th)
• Reading (Away - March 2nd)
• Dorking (Home - April 6th)

...with more to come - plus potentially a good clutch of tournaments that could well include Regional 10s (October 7th), Rochford 10s (October 14th), National 10s (October 28th); National Cup (February 24th); Worthing 10s (May 4th); Dorking 7s/10s (May 11th); Herts 7s (May 18th); and National 7s (May 25th).

Throw in half a dozen county weekends, about eight regional weekend, plus a tour and its already looking like a season to rival last year for the u18s (certainly a much better balance of home and away), and something rather better than last year for the U15s.

And the final thing is that Katie says that trainng may start earlier as Simon may have a prior engagement on the 19th August - so watch this space. Admittedly there is nothing to stop training that Sunday anyway even if Simon is away - Joe will still be around (and Nim too...).

Oh - and speaking of Katie - can she do the double on the try and tackle of the year (below)? She's leading both at the minute (just) - but have you voted yet? Only one week to go!

Wales shows the way

You turn up and train midweek, you play games Sundays. Beyond that - who cares - does it matter how the game is run or who by?

Actually, in truth, it does. The fact that the RFUW and the RFU are separate bodies running their own game really does impact at ground level. It means, for example, that there is no obligation for counties to support girls or womens rugby because the counties are RFU bodies. Fortunately most are rather more far-sighted than that, and we are okay in Hertfordshire, but there are players in parts of the North East and South West are not so lucky.

It means that funding and sponsorship to the game as a whole does not necessarily and automatically find its way to the girls and womens game, it means that television contracts (for example) will only cover male internationals. It means - ultmately - that we have "rugby" and "women's rugby" as if they were different things.

It need not be so, and from the end of August in Wales at least it won't be as the Welsh Rugby Union and the Welsh Women’s Rugby Union are merging - which means that the WWRU will no longer be merely an "associate member" of the WRU, but instead that the WRU will take on full responsibilty for the development of the women's and girls' game. So - in theory at least - any development programme in Wales will now automatically include women and girls, and it will be interesting to see whether the men's international team sponsors names start appearing on women's shirts.

That is what happened some ten years ago when the men's and women's boards merged in cricket. National team sponsorship immediately applied to women's teams as well, and TV contracts included an obligation to show at least some women's games. As a result every county now fields a women's team stronger than the regional teams that existed ten years ago. Even club funding became dependent on programmes to develop the women's game.

Admittedly mergers do not guarantee success - only two days before the above announcement one of the New Zealand "Black Ferns" was complaining about the lack of support they get from the NZRU, which they are full members of. And this is not the first time the World Champions have had cause for complaint.

But overall the impression you get is that being part of a single governing body measurably benefits the women's game - look at the USA and Canada, where women's rugby has been a full part of their rugby unions for ten years or more. Remember how much girls' rugby is played around where IE Weldon came from, and - perhaps even more importantly - the positive attitudes there seemed to be towards it. Or maybe it would be better to say the lack of attitude - it was the routine acceptance of the women's game that was so impressive, the impression that every school that had a boys rugby team would of course have a girls team too. It barely needs saying how far we are from that!

The RFUW and RFU have been in discussion for some years, I gather, but niggling differences remain. One day a merger will come, though, but in the meanwhile its going to be interesting to see how things develop over the border. Maybe it will take a revialised, well supported Welsh team beating England (something that has never happened in over 20 years!) before bullet is finally bitten?

Try of the season - vote now!

The highlights video contains around 20 tries - but what is the best? What was the Letchworth "Try of the Season"?

I've been through the video as it appears on the website and picked a top ten - and I actually struggled to get it down to ten so apologise for any I missed out, but it had to be brought down to a reasonable number!

The list includes the timing on the video for the start of each try - so you can jump to the right one easily. Vote in the usual way below. I have set it up so that you can vote more than once, just in case you have more than one favourite or several people want to vote - but don't go mad or I'll just start the poll again! Poll closes in two weeks. Visitors welcome to vote as well!

And don't forget Tackle of the Season (below)