Showing posts with label County. Show all posts
Showing posts with label County. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
The weekend's county festivals cancelled
Breaking news: RFU have cancelled ALL of this weekend's senior and junior festivals due to the weather, flood warnings, and saturated pitches. See here for official statement.
Monday, September 03, 2012
Herts Senior Trials
Date: Sunday 30th September meet at 2pm, trials end 4pm
Venue: Tabard RFC Cobden Hill, Radlett WD7 7JN
Eligibility criteria:1. 18years or over, no upper age limit.Venue: Tabard RFC Cobden Hill, Radlett WD7 7JN
2.A trialist needs to either live in, or play rugby in, or have been born in, Herts.
3.A trialist must not have been awarded a full international cap for another country within the last 3 years.
We are hoping to arrange a warm up match (venue TBC) on Friday October 19th under floodlights against Buckinghamshire Ladies county team.
The county fixtures are:1. 4th November away to Essex
2.18th November at home against Kent. venue will be OA's and the U15's and U18's will be playing the same day, so a wonderful day of female rugby!
3.a Festival on either 1st or 2nd December- details TBC.
Training will take place the Friday evening before each match.( excluding the warm up match.)
Your coaches will be Nat Granger and just waiting on confirmation of a fowards coach.
You do need to Register your intention to trial before Monday 24th September.
Please e-mail Amanda Bate, Team Manager the following essential details.
1.Name
2.Address
3. mobile number
4.date of birth
5.County of birth if you do not live in or play rugby in Herts
6.Club you play for.
7. please give your 2 most preferred positions you would like to play in.
Any questions, do please ask.
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
Somerset "county champions"
Its a shade strange to award a "county championship" based on just three rounds of games, but Somerset lead the RFUWs table at the end of this season's senior county programme.
Yorkshire, North Mids and Kent might dispute this - North Mids suffering from cancellations as they only played two games. Each are, however, clearly their own divisional winners - maybe if RFUW could organise a play-off weekend to settle all arguments?
Hertfordshire lost narrowly to Kent - but were otherwise unbeaten. The final weekend's results were:
Lancashire 0, Yorkshire 6
Northumberland 46, Cumbria 12
Warwickshire 0, NLD 32
East Mids 0, Leicestershire 49
North Mids 5, Staffordshire 15
Middlesex 21, Surrey 26
Eastern Counties 0, Hertfordshire 20
Sussex 0, Kent 65
Somerset 52, Gloucestershire 12
Berkshire 5, Cornwall 6
Walkovers for Cheshire, Hampshire, and Dorset & Wilts over Durham, Essex and Devon respectively
Which results in the following official results table:
Yorkshire, North Mids and Kent might dispute this - North Mids suffering from cancellations as they only played two games. Each are, however, clearly their own divisional winners - maybe if RFUW could organise a play-off weekend to settle all arguments?
Hertfordshire lost narrowly to Kent - but were otherwise unbeaten. The final weekend's results were:
Lancashire 0, Yorkshire 6
Northumberland 46, Cumbria 12
Warwickshire 0, NLD 32
East Mids 0, Leicestershire 49
North Mids 5, Staffordshire 15
Middlesex 21, Surrey 26
Eastern Counties 0, Hertfordshire 20
Sussex 0, Kent 65
Somerset 52, Gloucestershire 12
Berkshire 5, Cornwall 6
Walkovers for Cheshire, Hampshire, and Dorset & Wilts over Durham, Essex and Devon respectively
Which results in the following official results table:
| Club | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Somerset Ladies | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 138 | 15 | 123 | 2 | 0 | 15 |
| Kent Ladies | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 118 | 31 | 87 | 2 | 0 | 14 |
| Yorkshire Ladies | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 53 | 28 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 13 |
| North Midlands Ladies | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 101 | 7 | 94 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| Surrey Ladies | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 85 | 43 | 42 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| Northumberland Ladies | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 83 | 42 | 41 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| Notts,Lincs & Derby Ladies | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 74 | 46 | 28 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| Staffordshire Ladies | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 27 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| Hertfordshire Ladies | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 54 | 30 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| Cornwall Ladies | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 38 | -27 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Middlesex Ladies | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 109 | 36 | 73 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| Lancashire Ladies | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 55 | 22 | 33 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| Devon Ladies | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 50 | 30 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Essex Ladies | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 3 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Cheshire Ladies | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 34 | 30 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Gloucestershire Ladies | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 37 | 67 | -30 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Eastern Counties Ladies | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 50 | -37 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| East Midland Ladies | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 25 | -15 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Berkshire Ladies | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 56 | -48 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Leicestershire Ladies | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 67 | -50 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Durham Ladies | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 27 | -24 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dorset & Wilts Ladies | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 36 | -36 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hampshire Ladies | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 82 | -63 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cumbria Ladies | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 91 | -79 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Warwickshire Ladies | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 85 | -85 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sussex Ladies | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 148 | -148 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
County rugby: Junior festivals
Last weekend saw the first ever official RFUW county festivals for junior teams - though, before RFUW became involved, they had been going on for some years in this part of the country at least, and with plenty of Hertfordshire success!
In London and the South East, as mentioned a couple of days ago, Hertfordshire success continued in the U18s with Simon Shutler bowing out as county coach with yet another county title (we think he never lost a festival as a county coach, either in his U15 days, or with the U18s - he certainly cannot ever remember losing!). The U15s lost their final to Kent (see report), but even so another festival with both of the county's team reaching a final.
Can anyone remember a county festival in the past 6-7 years where Hertfordshire's team failed to at least finish as runners-up? I must confess that I can't - which, for a county with not the most magnificent of sporting traditions, isn't bad. I wonder - have our girls' rugby teams, over the past few years, been the most successful teams that the county had ever produced in any sport?
Anyway - full results from the L&SE tournament are on the Herts blog. So lets look at how things went elsewhere.
North Division
First, congratulations to Lancashire - the only county to do the "double" and win both U15 and U18 titles at their Divisional festival. With Cumbria, Cheshire and Durham having to combine to create a geographically unlikely team, the Red Rose county only had three opponents, but even so it was an impressive performance. Their U15s lifted their title without conceding a single point (but scoring 94!), while the U18s had some scares but still came through unbeaten.
The scores...
U15 Results
Yorkshire 0 Lancashire 34
Northumberland 21 Cumbria/Cheshire/ Durham 0
Yorkshire 33 Northumberland 5
Lancashire 20 Cumbria/Cheshire/ Durham 0
Yorkshire 27 Cumbria/Cheshire/ Durham 0
Lancashire 40 Northumberland 0
U18 Results
Yorkshire 0 Lancashire 7
Northumberland 0 Cumbria/Cheshire/ Durham 0
Yorkshire 20 Northumberland 5
Lancashire 19 Cumbria/Cheshire/ Durham 7
Yorkshire 0 Cumbria/Cheshire/ Durham 5
Lancashire 5 Northumberland 7
South West Division
The biggest festival was in the South West, where seven teams competed for the U15 crown, and six for the U18. The U15s had a long day - a single round-robin pool, meaning six matches for each team. Cornwall came through this marathon as the only unbeaten team, though Berkshire held them to a draw (but then lost to Devon, but still finished runners-up).
Unfortunately Cornwall were unable to do the double as they did not enter a U18 team at all, so the six remaining teams played off in the same format as London & South East used. However, the far South West triumphed again with Devon taking this title, easily seeing off Dorset & Wilts in the final. Somerset, on the other hand, completed a disappointing day with two wooden spoons.
The scores:
U15 results:
Berkshire 21 Somerset 0
Devon 12 Oxon 0
Berkshire 19 Gloucestershire 5
Cornwall 12 Oxon 7
Berkshire 17 Oxon 5
Berkshire 0 Devon 10
Oxon 28 Somerset 0
Berkshire 5 Dorset &Wilts 0
Gloucestershire 0 Oxon 19
Berkshire 5 Cornwall 5
Gloucestershire 7 Devon 5
Dorset & Wilts 12 Gloucestershire 0
Cornwall 27 Dorset & Wilts 0
Devon 12 Somerset 0
Devon 10 Dorset & Wilts 7
Cornwall 10 Somerset 0
Cornwall 10 Gloucestershire 0
Gloucestershire 0 Somerset 0
Devon 0 Cornwall 5
Somerset 0 Dorset & Wilts 24
Dorset & Wilts 7 Oxon 5
U18 results:
Pool A:
Berkshire 5 Devon 19
Gloucestershire 5 Devon 10
Berkshire 5 Gloucestershire 5
Pool B:
Dorset & Wilts 27 Somerset 0
Dorset & Wilts 15 Ox & Bucks 12
Somerset 0 Ox & Bucks 12
Play-offs:
5th/6th: Somerset 5 Berkshire 15
3rd/4th: Ox/Bucks 15 Gloucestershire 19
1st/2nd: Devon 21 Dorset & Wilts 0
Midlands Division
And finally the Midlands. Four U15s and five U18s competed for these titles, with North Midlands (home of Worcester) missing out on a double by two points - the margin of defeat for their U18s against Staffordshire & Warwickshire who went on to take the U18 title. However, the North Midlands U15s had few problems in their event, which saw some very high scoring for short festival matches.
The results:
U15 results:
NLD 5 Leicestershire 29
North Midlands 24 East Midlands 10
NLD 5 North Midlands 34
Leicestershire 10 East Midlands 0
NLD 5 East Midlands 12
Leicestershire 0 North Midlands 38
U18 results:
NLD 5 Leicestershire 0
North Midlands 5 Staffs/Warks 7
East Midlands 0 Staffs/Warks 14
NLD 10 North Midlands 17
East Midlands 0 NLD 22
Leicestershire 0 North Midlands 12
Staffs/Warks 7 NLD 5
Leicestershire 5 East Midlands 0
North Midlands 22 East Midlands 0
Staffs/Warks 19 Leicestershire 0
In London and the South East, as mentioned a couple of days ago, Hertfordshire success continued in the U18s with Simon Shutler bowing out as county coach with yet another county title (we think he never lost a festival as a county coach, either in his U15 days, or with the U18s - he certainly cannot ever remember losing!). The U15s lost their final to Kent (see report), but even so another festival with both of the county's team reaching a final.
Can anyone remember a county festival in the past 6-7 years where Hertfordshire's team failed to at least finish as runners-up? I must confess that I can't - which, for a county with not the most magnificent of sporting traditions, isn't bad. I wonder - have our girls' rugby teams, over the past few years, been the most successful teams that the county had ever produced in any sport?
Anyway - full results from the L&SE tournament are on the Herts blog. So lets look at how things went elsewhere.
North Division
First, congratulations to Lancashire - the only county to do the "double" and win both U15 and U18 titles at their Divisional festival. With Cumbria, Cheshire and Durham having to combine to create a geographically unlikely team, the Red Rose county only had three opponents, but even so it was an impressive performance. Their U15s lifted their title without conceding a single point (but scoring 94!), while the U18s had some scares but still came through unbeaten.
The scores...
U15 Results
Yorkshire 0 Lancashire 34
Northumberland 21 Cumbria/Cheshire/ Durham 0
Yorkshire 33 Northumberland 5
Lancashire 20 Cumbria/Cheshire/ Durham 0
Yorkshire 27 Cumbria/Cheshire/ Durham 0
Lancashire 40 Northumberland 0
U18 Results
Yorkshire 0 Lancashire 7
Northumberland 0 Cumbria/Cheshire/ Durham 0
Yorkshire 20 Northumberland 5
Lancashire 19 Cumbria/Cheshire/ Durham 7
Yorkshire 0 Cumbria/Cheshire/ Durham 5
Lancashire 5 Northumberland 7
South West Division
The biggest festival was in the South West, where seven teams competed for the U15 crown, and six for the U18. The U15s had a long day - a single round-robin pool, meaning six matches for each team. Cornwall came through this marathon as the only unbeaten team, though Berkshire held them to a draw (but then lost to Devon, but still finished runners-up).
Unfortunately Cornwall were unable to do the double as they did not enter a U18 team at all, so the six remaining teams played off in the same format as London & South East used. However, the far South West triumphed again with Devon taking this title, easily seeing off Dorset & Wilts in the final. Somerset, on the other hand, completed a disappointing day with two wooden spoons.
The scores:
U15 results:
Berkshire 21 Somerset 0
Devon 12 Oxon 0
Berkshire 19 Gloucestershire 5
Cornwall 12 Oxon 7
Berkshire 17 Oxon 5
Berkshire 0 Devon 10
Oxon 28 Somerset 0
Berkshire 5 Dorset &Wilts 0
Gloucestershire 0 Oxon 19
Berkshire 5 Cornwall 5
Gloucestershire 7 Devon 5
Dorset & Wilts 12 Gloucestershire 0
Cornwall 27 Dorset & Wilts 0
Devon 12 Somerset 0
Devon 10 Dorset & Wilts 7
Cornwall 10 Somerset 0
Cornwall 10 Gloucestershire 0
Gloucestershire 0 Somerset 0
Devon 0 Cornwall 5
Somerset 0 Dorset & Wilts 24
Dorset & Wilts 7 Oxon 5
U18 results:
Pool A:
Berkshire 5 Devon 19
Gloucestershire 5 Devon 10
Berkshire 5 Gloucestershire 5
Pool B:
Dorset & Wilts 27 Somerset 0
Dorset & Wilts 15 Ox & Bucks 12
Somerset 0 Ox & Bucks 12
Play-offs:
5th/6th: Somerset 5 Berkshire 15
3rd/4th: Ox/Bucks 15 Gloucestershire 19
1st/2nd: Devon 21 Dorset & Wilts 0
Midlands Division
And finally the Midlands. Four U15s and five U18s competed for these titles, with North Midlands (home of Worcester) missing out on a double by two points - the margin of defeat for their U18s against Staffordshire & Warwickshire who went on to take the U18 title. However, the North Midlands U15s had few problems in their event, which saw some very high scoring for short festival matches.
The results:
U15 results:
NLD 5 Leicestershire 29
North Midlands 24 East Midlands 10
NLD 5 North Midlands 34
Leicestershire 10 East Midlands 0
NLD 5 East Midlands 12
Leicestershire 0 North Midlands 38
U18 results:
NLD 5 Leicestershire 0
North Midlands 5 Staffs/Warks 7
East Midlands 0 Staffs/Warks 14
NLD 10 North Midlands 17
East Midlands 0 NLD 22
Leicestershire 0 North Midlands 12
Staffs/Warks 7 NLD 5
Leicestershire 5 East Midlands 0
North Midlands 22 East Midlands 0
Staffs/Warks 19 Leicestershire 0
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Herts juniors favourites for county finals
Despite a somewhat mixed set of performances this season, a very kind draw means that both Herts U15s and U18s are favourites to reach the finals at this weekend's London and South East divisional festival, to be played at Beckenham on Sunday.
The leadings county teams in the Division - in terms of results - have been Surrey and Sussex in the U18s, and Sussex and Kent in the U15s, all of which have 100% records. But Surrey, Sussex and Kent have been drawn together in Pool A for both the U15 and U18 competitions - true Groups of Death where it is impossible to guess who might come out on top!
Hertfordshire, on the other hand, are in Pool B where they will play Hampshire (who have so far lost all of their games at U15) and Essex (who have won only one of four). At U18 Essex have a good record, with a win and a draw, but Hampshire have yet to win a game.
Click here for fixture details
The leadings county teams in the Division - in terms of results - have been Surrey and Sussex in the U18s, and Sussex and Kent in the U15s, all of which have 100% records. But Surrey, Sussex and Kent have been drawn together in Pool A for both the U15 and U18 competitions - true Groups of Death where it is impossible to guess who might come out on top!
Hertfordshire, on the other hand, are in Pool B where they will play Hampshire (who have so far lost all of their games at U15) and Essex (who have won only one of four). At U18 Essex have a good record, with a win and a draw, but Hampshire have yet to win a game.
Click here for fixture details
Tuesday, November 08, 2011
Counties - looking ahead
After last weekend's results (see below) the senior county teams have one more round of games to look forward to on 4th December:
London & SE U18s
1. Surrey (2 wins from 2 games, points difference +78)
2. Sussex (2 wins and 1 draw from 3, +39)
3. Essex (1 win and 1 draw from 3, +2)
4. Kent (1 from 2, -4)
5. Hertfordshire (1 from 2, -14)
6. Hampshire (0 from 2, -50)
7. Middlesex (0 from 4, -91)
8. Eastern Counties (have not played)
London & SE U15s
1. Sussex (4 from 4, +186)
2. Kent (2 from 2, +48)
3. Hertfordshire (1 from 2, +1)
4. Surrey (1 from 2, -16)
5. Middlesex (1 from 4, -90)
6. Essex (1 from 4, -103)
7. Hampshire (0 from 2, -33)
8. Eastern Counties (have not played)
Midlands U15s
1. East Mids (2 from 2, +51)
2. North Mids ( 2 from 2, +18)
3. Leicestershire (0 from 2, -24)
4. NLD (0 from 2, -48)
5. Staffs/Warwicks (have not played)
North U15s
1. Lancashire (2 from 2, +119)
2. Northumberland (2 from 2, +53)
3. Yorkshire (0 from 2, -68)
4. Cumbria/Durham (0 from 2, -104)
5. Cheshire (have not played)
South West U15s
1. Devon (4 from 4, +109)
2. Berkshire (2 from 2, +91)
3. Dorset & Wilts (1 from 2 (+1 draw), + 58)
4. Oxford/Bucks (3 from 4, + 51)
5. Cornwall (0 from 2 (+1 draw), -12)
6. Gloucestershire (0 from 4, -71)
7. Somerset (0 from 2, -145)
Lancashire v Yorkshire; Cheshire v Durham; Northumberland v Cumbria; Warwickshire v NLD; East Mids v Leciestershire; North Mids v Staffordshire; Middlesex v Surrey; Eastern Counties v Hertfordshire; Sussex v Kent; Hampshire v Essex; Dorset & Wilts v Devon; Somerset v Gloucestershire; Berkshire v CornwallThe juniors, on the other hand, have divisional festivals on 20th November. Hertfordshire will, of course, be in the London and South East divisions tournament at Beckenham and the current form of their opponents looks like this:
London & SE U18s
1. Surrey (2 wins from 2 games, points difference +78)
2. Sussex (2 wins and 1 draw from 3, +39)
3. Essex (1 win and 1 draw from 3, +2)
4. Kent (1 from 2, -4)
5. Hertfordshire (1 from 2, -14)
6. Hampshire (0 from 2, -50)
7. Middlesex (0 from 4, -91)
8. Eastern Counties (have not played)
London & SE U15s
1. Sussex (4 from 4, +186)
2. Kent (2 from 2, +48)
3. Hertfordshire (1 from 2, +1)
4. Surrey (1 from 2, -16)
5. Middlesex (1 from 4, -90)
6. Essex (1 from 4, -103)
7. Hampshire (0 from 2, -33)
8. Eastern Counties (have not played)
Elsewhere one result (Leicestershire U18s v East Midlands) has not been published, so the Midlands table is not quite complete. However, that aside :
Midlands U18s
1. NLD (3 from 3, +54)
2. Staffs/Warwicks (3 from 4, +64)
3. North Mids (1 from 2, +38)
4. East Mids (0 from 3, -70)
5. Leicestershire (0 from 2, -86)
North U18s
1. Northumberland (2 from 2, +15)
2. Lancashire (1 from 2, +5)
3. Yorkshire (1 from 2, 0)
4. Cumbria/Durham (0 from 2, -20)
5. Cheshire (have not played)
South West U18s
1. Dorset & Wilts (2 from 2, +112)
1. Dorset & Wilts (2 from 2, +112)
2. Berkshire (3 from 3, +79)
3. Gloucestershire (3 from 4, +22)
4. Devon (2 from 3, +51)
5. Oxford/Bucks (0 from 4, -72)
6. Somerset (0 from 2, -80)
7. Cornwall (0 from 2, -102)
Midlands U15s
1. East Mids (2 from 2, +51)
2. North Mids ( 2 from 2, +18)
3. Leicestershire (0 from 2, -24)
4. NLD (0 from 2, -48)
5. Staffs/Warwicks (have not played)
North U15s
1. Lancashire (2 from 2, +119)
2. Northumberland (2 from 2, +53)
3. Yorkshire (0 from 2, -68)
4. Cumbria/Durham (0 from 2, -104)
5. Cheshire (have not played)
South West U15s
1. Devon (4 from 4, +109)
2. Berkshire (2 from 2, +91)
3. Dorset & Wilts (1 from 2 (+1 draw), + 58)
4. Oxford/Bucks (3 from 4, + 51)
5. Cornwall (0 from 2 (+1 draw), -12)
6. Gloucestershire (0 from 4, -71)
7. Somerset (0 from 2, -145)
Monday, November 07, 2011
County results: round 2
Adult county results are now on Rugby Roundup, but not (it seems) juniors - so...
Seniors
After two games, only seven of the 26 counties remain unbeaten with North Midlands and Somerset the stand-out teams. North Mids followed a 53-0 win over Warwickshire in round one with a 48-7 win at Leicestershire last weekend, while Somerset beat Berkshire 50-3 this weekend having beaten Dorset & Wilts 36-0 in round one. However, the biggest win was Middlesex's 83-0 demolition of Sussex, despite having lost to Eastern Counties in their opening game. Overall the major plus is that every county has now managed to get a team on the field.
Hertfordshire recovered from their narrow first round defeat to Kent with an impressive 22-15 win over Surrey.
Results:
Only five U18 counties are unbeaten - Dorset & Wilts, Berkshire, Surrey, NLD and Northumberland. The first three teams seem very strong - Dorset brushed aside Cornwall 64-5 having beaten Somerset 53-0 in round one; Berkshire have yet to concede a point in their three games to date; and Surrey sent Hertfodshire U18s to possibly its biggest ever defeat (certainly at home), winning by 40-5 - but not that much of a surprise given Surrey's 43-0 win against Hampshire in round one. Cheshire and Eastern Counties have yet to get onto the field. A more detailed form guide can be found here.
Results:
Results:
Seniors
After two games, only seven of the 26 counties remain unbeaten with North Midlands and Somerset the stand-out teams. North Mids followed a 53-0 win over Warwickshire in round one with a 48-7 win at Leicestershire last weekend, while Somerset beat Berkshire 50-3 this weekend having beaten Dorset & Wilts 36-0 in round one. However, the biggest win was Middlesex's 83-0 demolition of Sussex, despite having lost to Eastern Counties in their opening game. Overall the major plus is that every county has now managed to get a team on the field.
Hertfordshire recovered from their narrow first round defeat to Kent with an impressive 22-15 win over Surrey.
Results:
- Lancashire 45-0 Cumbria
- Durham 0-27 Northumberland
- Yorkshire 20-18 Cheshire
- Warwickshire 44-20 East Mids
- Leciestershire 7-48 North Mids
- NLD 17-36 Staffordshire
- Essex 25-3 Eastern Counties
- Middlesex 83-0 Sussex
- Hertfordshire 22-15 Surrey
- Hampshire 19-38 Kent
- Cornwall beat Dorset & Wilts (walk-over)
- Gloucestershire 25-17 Devon
- Somerset 50-3 Berkshire
U18s
Only five U18 counties are unbeaten - Dorset & Wilts, Berkshire, Surrey, NLD and Northumberland. The first three teams seem very strong - Dorset brushed aside Cornwall 64-5 having beaten Somerset 53-0 in round one; Berkshire have yet to concede a point in their three games to date; and Surrey sent Hertfodshire U18s to possibly its biggest ever defeat (certainly at home), winning by 40-5 - but not that much of a surprise given Surrey's 43-0 win against Hampshire in round one. Cheshire and Eastern Counties have yet to get onto the field. A more detailed form guide can be found here.
Results:
- Cumbria / Durham 10-22 Northumberland
- Yorkshire 22-19 Lancashire
- NLD 22-12 North Mids
- Leicestershire 0-38 Staffs / Warwick
- East Mids 0-36 Staffs / Warwick
- Middlesex 7 -22 Sussex
- Middlesex 12-47 Essex
- Sussex 12-7 Essex
- Hertfordshire 5- 40 Surrey
- Hampshire 10-17 Kent
- Cornwall 5-64 Dorset & Wilts
- Gloucester 14-0 Devon
- Gloucester 19-14 Oxford / Bucks
- Devon 29-7 Oxford / Bucks
- Somerset 0-27 Berkshire
U15s
Things are rather more polarised in the U15s with eight out of 23 counties with 100% records. - but Sussex stand out with four wins from four games, scoring 186 points and conceding none. Lancashire, Devon and Berkshire have also scored over 100 points. Hertfordshire came back from defeat in round one with and impressive 45-15 win over Surrey last weekend. Cheshire, Eastern Counties and Staffs/Warwicks have not managed to field any U15 teams so far. A more detailed form guide can be found here.
- Cumbria / Durham 21-50 Northumberland
- Yorkshire 7-51 Lancashire
- NLD lost to North Mids (walk-over)
- Leciestershire 12-15 East Mids
- Middlesex 0-43 Sussex
- Middlesex 5-12 Essex
- Sussex 67-0 Essex
- Hertfordshire 45-15 Surrey
- Hampshire 0-19 Kent
- Cornwall 17-17 Dorset & Wilts
- Gloucester 0-38 Devon
- Gloucester 12-24 Oxford / Bucks
- Devon 26-5 Oxford / Bucks
- Somerset 0-87 Berkshire
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
County results: round 1
For unknown reasons county results will not be appearing on Rugby Roundup this year (they are now there, apparently - I was misinformed. Apologies). However, I have been sent the results of last week's first round games (below). County rugby across the board is now being taken a more seriously than in the past as it is the first step on the way to possible national selection.
So it is disappointing to see walk-overs. In the seniors Durham (home of a premiership club??) and Sussex were unable to raise teams, while Staffs and Warwickshire cannot enter a U15 side (and have to combine for the U18s), and Cheshire with no junior county teams at all. What happens to girls from these areas, I wonder?
Herts had a mixed weekend - the U18s (with Sydney!) being unbeatable (again - when did they last lose?), while the seniors and U15s were less fortunate.
Meanwhile Sasha was playing back with Eastern Counties seniors and scored a dramatic try - see comments!
Seniors:
So it is disappointing to see walk-overs. In the seniors Durham (home of a premiership club??) and Sussex were unable to raise teams, while Staffs and Warwickshire cannot enter a U15 side (and have to combine for the U18s), and Cheshire with no junior county teams at all. What happens to girls from these areas, I wonder?
Herts had a mixed weekend - the U18s (with Sydney!) being unbeatable (again - when did they last lose?), while the seniors and U15s were less fortunate.
Meanwhile Sasha was playing back with Eastern Counties seniors and scored a dramatic try - see comments!
Seniors:
- Cumbria v Durham w/o to Cumbria
- Cheshire 16 Lancashire 10
- Northumberland 10 Yorkshire 27
- North Mids 53 Warwickshire 0
- Staffordshire 19 Leciestershire 10
- East Mids 10 NLD 25
- Eastern Counties 10 Middlesex 5
- Surrey 44 Hampshire 0
- Sussex v Essex - w/o to Essex
- Kent 15 Hertfordshire 12
- Devon 33 Cornwall 5
- Berkshire 12 Gloucestershire 17
- Dorset & Wilts 0 Somerset 36
U18s:
- Lancashire 12 Cumbria /Durham 20
- Northumberland 22 Yorkshire 19
- North Mids 48 Leciestershire 0
- East Mids 19 NLD 38
- East Mids 5 Staffs / Warwick 20
- NLD 25 Staffs / Warwick 0
(Trianguar - won by NLD) - Surrey 43 Hampshire 0
- Sussex 10 Essex 10
- Sussex 39 Middlesex 5
- Essex 17 Middlesex 10
(Triangular - won by Sussex) - Kent 13 Hertfordshire 24
- Devon 43 Cornwall 0
- Berkshire 7 Gloucestershire 0
- Berkshire 45 Oxford / Bucks 0
- Gloucestershire v Oxford / Bucks - w/o to Gloucestershire
(Triangular - won by Gloucestershire) - Dorset & Wilts 53 Somerset 0
U15s:
- Lancashire 85 Cumbria /Durham 5
- Northumberland 36 Yorkshire 12
- North Mids 40 Leciestershire 22
- East Mids 53 NLD 5
- Surrey 29 Hampshire 15
- Sussex 31 Essex 0
- Sussex 45 Middlesex 0
- Essex 10 Middlesex 15
(Triangular - won by Sussex) - Kent 32 Hertfordshire 3
- Devon 29 Cornwall 17
- Berkshire 14 Gloucestershire 10
- Berkshire 0 Oxfordshire 33
- Gloucestershire 5 Oxfordshire 32
(Triangular - won by Oxfordshire) - Dorset & Wilts 63 Somerset 5
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
County trials - a mixed story nationwide... and a growing threat
Last weekend's Herts county trials went pretty well by the sounds of it - and congratulations for ex-legends like like Ellah, Jade and Sydney for winning their places in the U18 squad.
Unfortunately the news from some other parts of the country is less good.
Cheshire have apparently abandoned county rugby for girls altogether - which presumably bars any girls in the county from possible divisional selection as well - unless they make themselves available for neighbouring countries. And Northumberland - a county that used to be a hotbed of the game - can just about get a U15 squad together, while at U18 they can get a team out only if pretty much every player in the county shows up - but "boyfriends, parents, apathy and injuries often get in the way".
What is killing girls rugby union in the north? Well, curiously it is not because girls have problems with contact and therefore need to be carefully introduced to the game through some untrialled, ill-thought-out, watered-down U13 game. No - the problem is something first identified on this blog just under three years ago.
Rugby League. Whatever you may have to say or think about this unsubtle, watered down version of the game it is not only threatening Union in the north, its beginning to beat it hands down. In the north east six new junior RL teams were formed this year, as well as a girls' performance programme, with two U14s squads - one from Tyne & Wear and the other from County Durham, all linked to a senior ladies team at Peterlee which is taking union players.
At the same time "the union side of rugby in Durham has collapsed at U15 with Darlington MP (women's premier league team hosting the current England captain) unable to field an U15's team, while a new Northumberland rugby league team - Whitley Bay Barbarians - is in direct competition with the struggling union team at Whitley Bay Rockcliff".
Why is League doing to well? The earlier post covered much of it - a unified sport with money and a clear focus from the top to support the women's game - but the fact is that both tag and the U13 game move much more naturally into League than they do Union. All the things that make Union unique - the game for everyone, the importance of forwards, rucks, mauls, line-outs, proper scrums - are absent from both tag and U13 rugby as they are from League. Look at the basic tactics for tag - this is League, isn't it? And as for U13 rugby - effectively no proper rucks, no real mauls, and when the ball crosses the touchline U13 rugby even restarts with an uncontested scrum - just like rugby league, and certainly not union! Throw in the need for fewer players, more flexible age bands - I am pretty sure that girls can play adult league at 16 - and a game that is based in the north (as opposed to one that barely recognises the existence of a world outside the M25) and its a winning formula that in some parts of England is, well, winning.
Unfortunately the news from some other parts of the country is less good.
Cheshire have apparently abandoned county rugby for girls altogether - which presumably bars any girls in the county from possible divisional selection as well - unless they make themselves available for neighbouring countries. And Northumberland - a county that used to be a hotbed of the game - can just about get a U15 squad together, while at U18 they can get a team out only if pretty much every player in the county shows up - but "boyfriends, parents, apathy and injuries often get in the way".
What is killing girls rugby union in the north? Well, curiously it is not because girls have problems with contact and therefore need to be carefully introduced to the game through some untrialled, ill-thought-out, watered-down U13 game. No - the problem is something first identified on this blog just under three years ago.
Rugby League. Whatever you may have to say or think about this unsubtle, watered down version of the game it is not only threatening Union in the north, its beginning to beat it hands down. In the north east six new junior RL teams were formed this year, as well as a girls' performance programme, with two U14s squads - one from Tyne & Wear and the other from County Durham, all linked to a senior ladies team at Peterlee which is taking union players.
At the same time "the union side of rugby in Durham has collapsed at U15 with Darlington MP (women's premier league team hosting the current England captain) unable to field an U15's team, while a new Northumberland rugby league team - Whitley Bay Barbarians - is in direct competition with the struggling union team at Whitley Bay Rockcliff".
Why is League doing to well? The earlier post covered much of it - a unified sport with money and a clear focus from the top to support the women's game - but the fact is that both tag and the U13 game move much more naturally into League than they do Union. All the things that make Union unique - the game for everyone, the importance of forwards, rucks, mauls, line-outs, proper scrums - are absent from both tag and U13 rugby as they are from League. Look at the basic tactics for tag - this is League, isn't it? And as for U13 rugby - effectively no proper rucks, no real mauls, and when the ball crosses the touchline U13 rugby even restarts with an uncontested scrum - just like rugby league, and certainly not union! Throw in the need for fewer players, more flexible age bands - I am pretty sure that girls can play adult league at 16 - and a game that is based in the north (as opposed to one that barely recognises the existence of a world outside the M25) and its a winning formula that in some parts of England is, well, winning.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Rugby this weekend: Support your county!
As a rule, men's rugby doesn't receive much coverage on this blog - on the not unreasonable grounds that it gets huge coverage elsewhere and can more than look after itself. However, I'll make an exception this weekend... because the men's county rugby team are one step away from their first ever County Championship Final!
After two astonishing, unprecedented, away wins in Cornwall and Kent, Hertfordshire are just one home win from the Twickenham final (against either Lancashire or Cheshire) - and in the county's 75th anniversary year as well.
Admittedly their opponents are Gloucestershire - attempting to reach their 34th final - but Herts' performances have been far better than Gloucs. so far - and with home advantage and (hopefully) a big crowd behind them anything is possible.
The game kicks off at 3pm on Saturday at OAs - with the women's and girls' season now at an end, why not go along and cheer them on?
Results so far...
7th May:
Cornwall 18 , Hertfordshire 25
Gloucestershire 33, Kent 26
14th May
Gloucestershire 44, Cornwall 23
Kent 7, Hertfordshire 48
After two astonishing, unprecedented, away wins in Cornwall and Kent, Hertfordshire are just one home win from the Twickenham final (against either Lancashire or Cheshire) - and in the county's 75th anniversary year as well.
Admittedly their opponents are Gloucestershire - attempting to reach their 34th final - but Herts' performances have been far better than Gloucs. so far - and with home advantage and (hopefully) a big crowd behind them anything is possible.
The game kicks off at 3pm on Saturday at OAs - with the women's and girls' season now at an end, why not go along and cheer them on?
Results so far...
7th May:
Cornwall 18 , Hertfordshire 25
Gloucestershire 33, Kent 26
14th May
Gloucestershire 44, Cornwall 23
Kent 7, Hertfordshire 48
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
From a concerned coach...
I received the following today, in response to the article earlier this week about the leagues. Its far too long to go as a comment - and also far too important (its also disturbing that people still feel the need for anonymity when criticising RFUW):
From a concerned coach
Over the last few years as more and more girls teams sprang up, unofficial leagues had sprung up to accommodate these teams. There were two distinct types, highly competitive leagues between clubs able to field full teams, and cluster leagues where teams clustered together to get enough girls to play a game. Not all the country was covered and not all the leagues worked particularly well. There was a county programme with counties finding their own fixtures and some running successful tournaments and there was a regional programme that had developed really well and culminated in an excellent tournament at the end of the year. In summary something fun to keep grass roots going and something more competitive to develop the talent. It did have a few problems in the way it took chunks out of the fixture list for those that didn't move up the ladder, but overall it was successful and fulfilling for the girls.
Adjustments could have been made to it to continue its evolution. However, in one go at the end of last season the RFUW got rid of the lot. Every team was told they would need to enter a RFUW league as none of the old ones could continue. Although it was not compulsory to enter, teams felt obliged to enter to ensure fixtures. Teams reluctantly did this without knowing playing numbers in case they couldn't find fixtures Teams were placed in leagues and corresponding fixtures were published, but it was evident from the beginning that many of the clubs registered didn't have the playing numbers to fulfil the fixtures, or were not at the playing level of other teams in the league.
In prior years lists of teams were published in categories relating to the number of players. These clearly showed few clubs with large playing squads and many who would struggle to field a 7's team. The league rules were lifted from the Women's league where there is a structure for relegation and promotion, something that is not present in the girls leagues and not appropriate. The additional try bonus point system also encourages teams to rack up points, something that doesn't help development. This has led to uncertainty in the league winners list published on the Letchworth Blog. In fact although some of these teams currently top their leagues now all the games have been played, the RFUW will be adjusting some points and in some leagues there will be new winners. Leagues also cause problems to teams emerging during the season, how do they find fixtures when clubs already have a fixture list in place? So we see in many leagues vast discrepancies in results and in many cases teams not playing a single game. What has happened to these clubs and their girls? Some have clearly folded, girls have quit rugby for other sports. This has been detrimental to the development of the girls game. Hopefully some clubs will return.
What leagues do is introduce competitiveness. Often this is due to the egos of the coaches involved, but witness the introduction of junior leagues in Boys' rugby. This has had an effect on fixture lists, relations between clubs and the development of boys as winning is vital to avoid relegation. At least with the boys' leagues there are enough to have promotion and relegation to ensure teams are in a fairly competitive environment. This is not the case with girls rugby as there are not the number of teams to do this. Examination of the effect of the introduction of the men's leagues shows a similar problem. Many clubs now run fewer teams. Clubs have folded as playing numbers diminished and old club rivalries were lost as teams moved up into different leagues. There is now a large influx out of the lower leagues into merit tables to find the lost ethos that competitive league rugby destroyed.
We need more girls in rugby and more clubs, the base needs to be very broad to support the ultimate goal of a successful world cup winning England team. However, that elite few need to be supported by a fun rugby many. There should be a fundamental principle that club rugby is about developing girls and supporting the growth of and increasing the number of clubs. We do not want to see the emergence of super teams who attract the best players in each county and who de facto become the county team. We want to see clubs growing numbers and new clubs emerging. The strength and support for a competitive league structure with promotion and relegation is not there yet. Concentration should be on growing the base. The leagues should be more flexible to allow new teams to join during the season. Try bonus points should be abolished, with a simple 4 points for a win 2 points for a draw and 1 point for a loss. Games should automatically stop after a margin of 30 points and a new game started with more evenly matched sides. Stronger clubs should be supporting the developing clubs as it is in their long term interest. Alternatively the old merit table idea could be used of ranking teams by the number of games they have won as a percentage of the games played against other teams in their league, so late joiners are not disadvantaged.
The move to Divisional rugby from the regional rugby has been good news for clubs as fewer girls are lost on average. But the divisional structure needs to be sorted out especially at U18 level. Are they going to be like the U15's a couple of practice matches then a tournament, or like the Women a simple league where everybody plays everybody else? My preference would be for a tournament at both U15 and U18 because the girls really enjoy them.
More competition needs to be introduced at the County level. The CB's throughout the country need to be running county girls. Within each division there should be one or two leagues and teams should play each other to win these. This would be a replacement for the sadly missed county festivals from prior years. It would also give divisional coaches the chance to watch girls in competitive games and help them select the divisional nominations from each county instead of the nomination mess that happened in some divisions this year.
Girls are not boys or women! They need to be coached slightly differently. They play the game slightly differently and they need a different structure to support it. One size doesn't fit all.
From a concerned coach
Over the last few years as more and more girls teams sprang up, unofficial leagues had sprung up to accommodate these teams. There were two distinct types, highly competitive leagues between clubs able to field full teams, and cluster leagues where teams clustered together to get enough girls to play a game. Not all the country was covered and not all the leagues worked particularly well. There was a county programme with counties finding their own fixtures and some running successful tournaments and there was a regional programme that had developed really well and culminated in an excellent tournament at the end of the year. In summary something fun to keep grass roots going and something more competitive to develop the talent. It did have a few problems in the way it took chunks out of the fixture list for those that didn't move up the ladder, but overall it was successful and fulfilling for the girls.
Adjustments could have been made to it to continue its evolution. However, in one go at the end of last season the RFUW got rid of the lot. Every team was told they would need to enter a RFUW league as none of the old ones could continue. Although it was not compulsory to enter, teams felt obliged to enter to ensure fixtures. Teams reluctantly did this without knowing playing numbers in case they couldn't find fixtures Teams were placed in leagues and corresponding fixtures were published, but it was evident from the beginning that many of the clubs registered didn't have the playing numbers to fulfil the fixtures, or were not at the playing level of other teams in the league.
In prior years lists of teams were published in categories relating to the number of players. These clearly showed few clubs with large playing squads and many who would struggle to field a 7's team. The league rules were lifted from the Women's league where there is a structure for relegation and promotion, something that is not present in the girls leagues and not appropriate. The additional try bonus point system also encourages teams to rack up points, something that doesn't help development. This has led to uncertainty in the league winners list published on the Letchworth Blog. In fact although some of these teams currently top their leagues now all the games have been played, the RFUW will be adjusting some points and in some leagues there will be new winners. Leagues also cause problems to teams emerging during the season, how do they find fixtures when clubs already have a fixture list in place? So we see in many leagues vast discrepancies in results and in many cases teams not playing a single game. What has happened to these clubs and their girls? Some have clearly folded, girls have quit rugby for other sports. This has been detrimental to the development of the girls game. Hopefully some clubs will return.
What leagues do is introduce competitiveness. Often this is due to the egos of the coaches involved, but witness the introduction of junior leagues in Boys' rugby. This has had an effect on fixture lists, relations between clubs and the development of boys as winning is vital to avoid relegation. At least with the boys' leagues there are enough to have promotion and relegation to ensure teams are in a fairly competitive environment. This is not the case with girls rugby as there are not the number of teams to do this. Examination of the effect of the introduction of the men's leagues shows a similar problem. Many clubs now run fewer teams. Clubs have folded as playing numbers diminished and old club rivalries were lost as teams moved up into different leagues. There is now a large influx out of the lower leagues into merit tables to find the lost ethos that competitive league rugby destroyed.
We need more girls in rugby and more clubs, the base needs to be very broad to support the ultimate goal of a successful world cup winning England team. However, that elite few need to be supported by a fun rugby many. There should be a fundamental principle that club rugby is about developing girls and supporting the growth of and increasing the number of clubs. We do not want to see the emergence of super teams who attract the best players in each county and who de facto become the county team. We want to see clubs growing numbers and new clubs emerging. The strength and support for a competitive league structure with promotion and relegation is not there yet. Concentration should be on growing the base. The leagues should be more flexible to allow new teams to join during the season. Try bonus points should be abolished, with a simple 4 points for a win 2 points for a draw and 1 point for a loss. Games should automatically stop after a margin of 30 points and a new game started with more evenly matched sides. Stronger clubs should be supporting the developing clubs as it is in their long term interest. Alternatively the old merit table idea could be used of ranking teams by the number of games they have won as a percentage of the games played against other teams in their league, so late joiners are not disadvantaged.
The move to Divisional rugby from the regional rugby has been good news for clubs as fewer girls are lost on average. But the divisional structure needs to be sorted out especially at U18 level. Are they going to be like the U15's a couple of practice matches then a tournament, or like the Women a simple league where everybody plays everybody else? My preference would be for a tournament at both U15 and U18 because the girls really enjoy them.
More competition needs to be introduced at the County level. The CB's throughout the country need to be running county girls. Within each division there should be one or two leagues and teams should play each other to win these. This would be a replacement for the sadly missed county festivals from prior years. It would also give divisional coaches the chance to watch girls in competitive games and help them select the divisional nominations from each county instead of the nomination mess that happened in some divisions this year.
Girls are not boys or women! They need to be coached slightly differently. They play the game slightly differently and they need a different structure to support it. One size doesn't fit all.
RFUW announce new junior festivals for 2011/12
The 2011/12 junior calendar has been published - and there are some rather interesting developments:
LEAGUES
COUNTY RUGBY
Much as this season - one training/selection/development day (25th September), two matches (16th October and 6th November), and a County Festival (or festivals?) on 20th November.
DIVISIONAL RUGBY
As above. Trials will be 22nd January. U15s get a match (19th February), two training sessions (12th February and 25th March), plus a festival (1st April). U18s also train on 12th February, then play three games on 19th February, 18th March and 1st April.
NATIONAL SEVENS
Returns to a reasonable date (it was originally planned that this year's 7s would have been next weekend!), and two weekend are set aside for "local tournaments" in the lead in. Which is good - RFUW have clearly learnt that there are some rather successful independent events (like Herts 7s) that need preserving.
REGIONAL CLUB FESTIVAL
This is new (or maybe not, actually). Basically on 22nd April 2012 there will be "five festivals held across the country - clubs can choose which they want to attend. This festivals will be split for developed club and developing clubs". No indication yet whether these will be for 15s, 13s or 10s or what - but what is striking is that this sounds very like the good old National 10s which were also based on "festivals held across the country" where clubs could "choose which they want to attend".
One might ask "why five??" (when we have four divisions), but the main matters to watch for will be how sensitive the RFUW will be to existing 10s festivals played at this time - like Worcester and Worthing. If they have any sense (and sensitivity) they will bring these into the structure - the trouble is that words like "sensitivity" have not really been associated with Twickenham decision making in the past...
However, that quibble aside, this is a great idea. It'd be nice if there were more, spread across the season, as everyone loves a festival, but its a start. And if they work maybe they will be extended!
U20 FESTIVAL
And finally, you never saw this coming. Truly this is from way left-field and opens stacks of questions (and cans of worms), but could be great.
Trouble is that - apart from being planned for the "Easter holidays" - there are no other details, least of all who could play in such a non-standard age group competition. In theory it might allow some of the Former Legends (including the likes of Nikki and Natalie) to pull on the Black and Amber again, but how far wide will the age grouping go? Could 17 year olds play, even though they are technically still "juniors" playing alongside "adults"? Its all a bit strange - though (potentially) fun...
The whole calendar can be seen here
LEAGUES
- These carry on, needless to say, pretty much as before.
- There is some slight hints about maybe future tightening of entry requirements - lines like "if you have struggled for any reason as a club consider if it may be better for you to play friendlies" would seem to suggest some concerns based on the number of walkovers this season, for example.
- The closing date for applications is 20th May, with fixtures published on 1st July
- The U15 league will be for up to 10-a-side teams (minimum 7), U18 games for up to 15-a-side (minimum 12)
- 11 Sundays listed between 2nd October and 15th April... which also implies leagues no larger than six clubs (several this season had eight).
COUNTY RUGBY
Much as this season - one training/selection/development day (25th September), two matches (16th October and 6th November), and a County Festival (or festivals?) on 20th November.
DIVISIONAL RUGBY
As above. Trials will be 22nd January. U15s get a match (19th February), two training sessions (12th February and 25th March), plus a festival (1st April). U18s also train on 12th February, then play three games on 19th February, 18th March and 1st April.
NATIONAL SEVENS
Returns to a reasonable date (it was originally planned that this year's 7s would have been next weekend!), and two weekend are set aside for "local tournaments" in the lead in. Which is good - RFUW have clearly learnt that there are some rather successful independent events (like Herts 7s) that need preserving.
REGIONAL CLUB FESTIVAL
This is new (or maybe not, actually). Basically on 22nd April 2012 there will be "five festivals held across the country - clubs can choose which they want to attend. This festivals will be split for developed club and developing clubs". No indication yet whether these will be for 15s, 13s or 10s or what - but what is striking is that this sounds very like the good old National 10s which were also based on "festivals held across the country" where clubs could "choose which they want to attend".
One might ask "why five??" (when we have four divisions), but the main matters to watch for will be how sensitive the RFUW will be to existing 10s festivals played at this time - like Worcester and Worthing. If they have any sense (and sensitivity) they will bring these into the structure - the trouble is that words like "sensitivity" have not really been associated with Twickenham decision making in the past...
However, that quibble aside, this is a great idea. It'd be nice if there were more, spread across the season, as everyone loves a festival, but its a start. And if they work maybe they will be extended!
U20 FESTIVAL
And finally, you never saw this coming. Truly this is from way left-field and opens stacks of questions (and cans of worms), but could be great.
Trouble is that - apart from being planned for the "Easter holidays" - there are no other details, least of all who could play in such a non-standard age group competition. In theory it might allow some of the Former Legends (including the likes of Nikki and Natalie) to pull on the Black and Amber again, but how far wide will the age grouping go? Could 17 year olds play, even though they are technically still "juniors" playing alongside "adults"? Its all a bit strange - though (potentially) fun...
The whole calendar can be seen here
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Herts newsletter girls' rugby special
The latest edition of "About Herts" - the quarterly county rugby newsletter - features a massive five page section devoted to the success of girls' and women's rugby in the county. Much of it has appeared on Herts blog, but there are previously unpublished match reports from the first round of county games, plus other articles about the success of the game in the county.
Copies will have been sent to the club and may be lying around the clubhouse, but failing that a PDF can be downloaded from here.
Copies will have been sent to the club and may be lying around the clubhouse, but failing that a PDF can be downloaded from here.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
County round-up
Results from a few games are still to come in, but there was one clear winner this weekend - the weather.
Hertfordshire game v Kent, which should have been played at Thetford, was moved to Saracens (Eastern Counties did not travel) - but other counties were not so lucky. Other U15 and U18 games in Devon (v Dorset), Hampshire (v Surrey), Lancashire (v Cumbria), North Midlands (v NLD) and Northumberland (v Cheshire) were all cancelled - which is going to make selections for the Divisional trials a bit of a challenge as they will have to be based on a single match last month.
At U15 level, Sussex - another of the counties that have benefited from unsanctioned fixtures - used that extra experience to win a three-way fixture, blowing away Middlesex 43-0 before slipping past Berkshire 24-20. Berkshire recovered to beat Middlesex 17-5.
In the only other result so far published Leicestershire recovered from their mauling by Hertfordshire last month to beat Essex 49-5.
At U18 level Berkshire seem to have come out on top in the same triangular with a 19-10 win over Sussex, who in turn beat Middlesex 27-0. However the result of the day was Hertfordshire 60-0 trashing of Kent.
A couple of results are still awaited, but the main conclusion from this weekend is again how amazingly good our county's girls are. If the London & SE Divisional squads are not packed with Herts girls in the New Year then something will be very wrong!
Hertfordshire game v Kent, which should have been played at Thetford, was moved to Saracens (Eastern Counties did not travel) - but other counties were not so lucky. Other U15 and U18 games in Devon (v Dorset), Hampshire (v Surrey), Lancashire (v Cumbria), North Midlands (v NLD) and Northumberland (v Cheshire) were all cancelled - which is going to make selections for the Divisional trials a bit of a challenge as they will have to be based on a single match last month.
At U15 level, Sussex - another of the counties that have benefited from unsanctioned fixtures - used that extra experience to win a three-way fixture, blowing away Middlesex 43-0 before slipping past Berkshire 24-20. Berkshire recovered to beat Middlesex 17-5.
In the only other result so far published Leicestershire recovered from their mauling by Hertfordshire last month to beat Essex 49-5.
At U18 level Berkshire seem to have come out on top in the same triangular with a 19-10 win over Sussex, who in turn beat Middlesex 27-0. However the result of the day was Hertfordshire 60-0 trashing of Kent.
A couple of results are still awaited, but the main conclusion from this weekend is again how amazingly good our county's girls are. If the London & SE Divisional squads are not packed with Herts girls in the New Year then something will be very wrong!
"Brilliant" Syd try defeats Kent
News from Herts U15 game with Kent where a try from Syd ensured the defeat of Kent today.
A long period of forward play had just resulted in Hertfordshire's first try, when Sydney caught the resulting restart. From there, to quote one spectator, Syd went on a "brilliant ... run down the line from Kent, evading and handing off several to score under the post".
The resulting conversion put Herts 12-7 ahead, which was to be the final score - a truly impressive win over a county that has been playing a series of extra unsanctioned matches in recent weeks. We shall now wait to see who gets to go to the Divisional trials - but at least one Letchworth girls looks a pretty safe bet!
A long period of forward play had just resulted in Hertfordshire's first try, when Sydney caught the resulting restart. From there, to quote one spectator, Syd went on a "brilliant ... run down the line from Kent, evading and handing off several to score under the post".
The resulting conversion put Herts 12-7 ahead, which was to be the final score - a truly impressive win over a county that has been playing a series of extra unsanctioned matches in recent weeks. We shall now wait to see who gets to go to the Divisional trials - but at least one Letchworth girls looks a pretty safe bet!
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
New season, new structure, new controversy
Well, its not taken long...
Only a few weeks into the new-style girls' season and it has been discovered that some counties are playing fast-and-loose with the new rules, which is resulting in angry letters to RFUW.
What is the problem? Well, you will know that this season RFUW have taken over the management and structure of the county programme, organising all games and dictating when and how many training session there should be. In some areas this was unpopular as the new programme was much shorter than many counties had had in the past, and some counties asked RFUW is they could organise some extra games and training sessions.
The answer was clear - no.
Trouble is that other counties seem to have managed to get around this rule by, basically, ignoring it. So - for example - when Hertfordshire next play on 12th December it will be their second fixture, after two or three training sessions. It will be the same for Eastern Counties, who will be their hosts. However for the third team in the triangular - Kent - it will (according to their own website) be their fourth fixture, after at least four training sessions. They - like Surrey (if their website is correct) - have been playing extra fixtures on their "training" weekends, and organising additional midweek training sessions.
In the past such initiative might have been applauded - but for counties following RFUW's rules this will seem a bit unfair (to put it mildly). And with places in the new divisional squad trials being dependent on county performances... well, having had twice as many games and training sessions is hardly going to be a disadvantage to the players involved.
Clearly this would not have been a problem if RFUW had based their new season on the best county programmes - keeping the popular tournaments that had developed - as the demand for extra fixtures would not have happened, but having made the rules they did it is up to them to enforce them, especially when the breaches are so blatant. After all, if they do nothing (or just issue a weak "tut, tut") next season could be interesting... not to say chaotic...
In the meanwhile if this season's London Divisional squad is dominated by girls from Surrey, Kent and other counties who have organised unsanctioned fixtures, don't be too surprised.
Only a few weeks into the new-style girls' season and it has been discovered that some counties are playing fast-and-loose with the new rules, which is resulting in angry letters to RFUW.
What is the problem? Well, you will know that this season RFUW have taken over the management and structure of the county programme, organising all games and dictating when and how many training session there should be. In some areas this was unpopular as the new programme was much shorter than many counties had had in the past, and some counties asked RFUW is they could organise some extra games and training sessions.
The answer was clear - no.
Trouble is that other counties seem to have managed to get around this rule by, basically, ignoring it. So - for example - when Hertfordshire next play on 12th December it will be their second fixture, after two or three training sessions. It will be the same for Eastern Counties, who will be their hosts. However for the third team in the triangular - Kent - it will (according to their own website) be their fourth fixture, after at least four training sessions. They - like Surrey (if their website is correct) - have been playing extra fixtures on their "training" weekends, and organising additional midweek training sessions.
In the past such initiative might have been applauded - but for counties following RFUW's rules this will seem a bit unfair (to put it mildly). And with places in the new divisional squad trials being dependent on county performances... well, having had twice as many games and training sessions is hardly going to be a disadvantage to the players involved.
Clearly this would not have been a problem if RFUW had based their new season on the best county programmes - keeping the popular tournaments that had developed - as the demand for extra fixtures would not have happened, but having made the rules they did it is up to them to enforce them, especially when the breaches are so blatant. After all, if they do nothing (or just issue a weak "tut, tut") next season could be interesting... not to say chaotic...
In the meanwhile if this season's London Divisional squad is dominated by girls from Surrey, Kent and other counties who have organised unsanctioned fixtures, don't be too surprised.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
OAs cancel tomorrow's county training session
OAs have announced that, due to frozen pitches, tomorrow's (28th November) joint training session for girls' clubs has had to be cancelled.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
County weekend round-up
All of the weekend's county results have now been published - and some even more remarkable scores are included.
Seniors
First, congratulations for Hertfordshire - the senior women's team - who completed a clean sweep for the county with a 30-7 win over Leicestershire. Only Essex did better with a 32-5 win over Sussex, and that with a side packed with familiar names from the days of the great U18 rivalry between the counties - India Harvey and Emily Scott were both among the Essex try scorers. Pity the two counties are not due to meet - would be great to watch.
In other games Lancashire also followed on from their juniors with a 30-7 win over Yorkshire to complete the hat-trick for the red rose - clearly Yorkshire's old U18 girls have not made it into the senior ranks in the same way that those in Herts and Essex have. Devon's women also completed a clean sweep over their Cornish rivals, 27-19. And Hampshire will be very disappointed by their 20-0 defeat to Kent - especially when they could not score even when had a two-player advantage near the end of the game. But the less happy news is that, just like their U15s, Warwickshire could not raise a women's team to play East Midlands.
Elsewhere..
Results unpublished on Sunday now reveal that...
U15s
The headline result with the U15s is the amazing 99-0 win for North Midlands over Cheshire - though the fact that Cheshire would appeared to have only fielded 10 players may have been an important factor. Dorset & Wilts were almost as impressive in their 52-0 win over Somerset.
Elsewhere...
Seniors
First, congratulations for Hertfordshire - the senior women's team - who completed a clean sweep for the county with a 30-7 win over Leicestershire. Only Essex did better with a 32-5 win over Sussex, and that with a side packed with familiar names from the days of the great U18 rivalry between the counties - India Harvey and Emily Scott were both among the Essex try scorers. Pity the two counties are not due to meet - would be great to watch.
In other games Lancashire also followed on from their juniors with a 30-7 win over Yorkshire to complete the hat-trick for the red rose - clearly Yorkshire's old U18 girls have not made it into the senior ranks in the same way that those in Herts and Essex have. Devon's women also completed a clean sweep over their Cornish rivals, 27-19. And Hampshire will be very disappointed by their 20-0 defeat to Kent - especially when they could not score even when had a two-player advantage near the end of the game. But the less happy news is that, just like their U15s, Warwickshire could not raise a women's team to play East Midlands.
Elsewhere..
- Cheshire 15, North Midlands 22
- Cumbria 17, Northumberland 7
- NLD 21, Staffordshire 24
Results unpublished on Sunday now reveal that...
- Gloucestershire were the winners in a three cornered set of fixtures involving Berkshire and Oxfordshire - moreover without conceding a try with a 27-0 win over Berkshire, and a 37-0 win over Oxon.
- Cheshire beat North Midlands 32-12
U15s
The headline result with the U15s is the amazing 99-0 win for North Midlands over Cheshire - though the fact that Cheshire would appeared to have only fielded 10 players may have been an important factor. Dorset & Wilts were almost as impressive in their 52-0 win over Somerset.
Elsewhere...
- Berkshire were winners of a triangular also involving Gloucestershire and and Oxfordshire
- Kent completed a disappointing weekend for Hampshire with a 26-0 win
- Northumberland beat Cumbria 20-14.
Monday, November 08, 2010
Sydney scores two as Hertfordshire sweep opposition aside
Hertfordshire were overwhelmingly dominant in their county games, at both age groups, yesterday. The U18s destroyed hosts Leicestershire 78-0, scoring 14 tries in the 70 minute game (see the Herts blog for details), while the U15s swept to a convincing win in a three-way tournament beating Leicestershire 32-5 (six tries, two for Syd, one for Florrie) and then Notts, Lincs and Derbys 20-5 (these games were "only" 35 minutes, so the scoring was almost as one sided as in the U18 game).
Results of (most) of the county games are now appearing on the Rugby Roundup website (look under "Competitions" and then "Under 15" or "Under 18") - which is a great breakthrough, presumably coming from the merger with the RFU. Though the website suffers from some seriously annoying pop-up adverts, once you have waded through it all you will find full team lists and scorer information for most of the games.
Looking through these results a few highlights stand out. Lancashire U15s - not historically the strongest of counties - destroyed Yorkshire 61-0... in Yorkshire, a truly astonishing result considering that Yorkshire was a Region on its own until this season, though maybe we saw a foretaste of this with the significant improvement by Lancashire teams at the National 7s back in May.
Elsewhere in the U15s Surrey thrashed Sussex 44-0, and Devon were almost as dominant in Cornwall, wining 48-12. but other games were closer. Its good to see former East Region colleagues Essex rebuilding as they beat Middlesex 19-10, and the same applies to Eastern Counties - in deep trouble last season - who ran East Midlands close losing only 20-12. On the other hand it is worrying to see that the Staffordshire/ Warwickshire CB were unable to raise a side - not an area that you normally think of as being weak.
In the U18s (in the games were results have been published) East Midlands almost matched Herts with a 70-0 win over Eastern Counties, and Dorset and Wilts blew Somerset away by 78-5. Other games were rather closer, but Devons U18s achieved the double with a 26-10 win over Cornwall, as did Lancashire with a 17-10 win over Yorkshire. Joe Randall's old county - Gloucestershire - had few problems beating Oxfordshire 37-0, Hampshire sneaked home 12-7 against Kent. Staffs & Warwicks did get an U18 side out, but they lost 26-20 to NLD, and finally (and perhaps a surprise result) Oxfordshire beat Berkshire 21-5.
One thing you may notice is how counties with strong U15 team also tend to have strong U18 teams, which presumably reflects the strength of the game at club level in each county (okay, county coaches may help - but even the most brilliant of coaches would be hard pressed to make silk purses out of sows ears in only two or three training sessions!). When you think about where the big clubs are - the Lancashire U15 and Oxfordshire U18 results aside (surely Berkshire is is mainly Reading, for heaven's sake!) - there are no huge surprises. We know its good in Devon (Exeter Saracens, to name but one excellent club down there), and that the (unfortunately former) Gloucester Girls Rugby Trust did amazing things in that county. Dorset will be drawing on Wimboune, amongst others, and Surrey will presumably have the likes of London Irish behind their success.
However, the overall message that comes from - admittedly only just the first round of results - is how amazingly strong the game in Hertfordshire is. So, if you trialled for the county squad but didn't get in, don't have hard feelings - you were trying to get into one of the best county squads in England!
Results of (most) of the county games are now appearing on the Rugby Roundup website (look under "Competitions" and then "Under 15" or "Under 18") - which is a great breakthrough, presumably coming from the merger with the RFU. Though the website suffers from some seriously annoying pop-up adverts, once you have waded through it all you will find full team lists and scorer information for most of the games.
Looking through these results a few highlights stand out. Lancashire U15s - not historically the strongest of counties - destroyed Yorkshire 61-0... in Yorkshire, a truly astonishing result considering that Yorkshire was a Region on its own until this season, though maybe we saw a foretaste of this with the significant improvement by Lancashire teams at the National 7s back in May.
Elsewhere in the U15s Surrey thrashed Sussex 44-0, and Devon were almost as dominant in Cornwall, wining 48-12. but other games were closer. Its good to see former East Region colleagues Essex rebuilding as they beat Middlesex 19-10, and the same applies to Eastern Counties - in deep trouble last season - who ran East Midlands close losing only 20-12. On the other hand it is worrying to see that the Staffordshire/ Warwickshire CB were unable to raise a side - not an area that you normally think of as being weak.
In the U18s (in the games were results have been published) East Midlands almost matched Herts with a 70-0 win over Eastern Counties, and Dorset and Wilts blew Somerset away by 78-5. Other games were rather closer, but Devons U18s achieved the double with a 26-10 win over Cornwall, as did Lancashire with a 17-10 win over Yorkshire. Joe Randall's old county - Gloucestershire - had few problems beating Oxfordshire 37-0, Hampshire sneaked home 12-7 against Kent. Staffs & Warwicks did get an U18 side out, but they lost 26-20 to NLD, and finally (and perhaps a surprise result) Oxfordshire beat Berkshire 21-5.
One thing you may notice is how counties with strong U15 team also tend to have strong U18 teams, which presumably reflects the strength of the game at club level in each county (okay, county coaches may help - but even the most brilliant of coaches would be hard pressed to make silk purses out of sows ears in only two or three training sessions!). When you think about where the big clubs are - the Lancashire U15 and Oxfordshire U18 results aside (surely Berkshire is is mainly Reading, for heaven's sake!) - there are no huge surprises. We know its good in Devon (Exeter Saracens, to name but one excellent club down there), and that the (unfortunately former) Gloucester Girls Rugby Trust did amazing things in that county. Dorset will be drawing on Wimboune, amongst others, and Surrey will presumably have the likes of London Irish behind their success.
However, the overall message that comes from - admittedly only just the first round of results - is how amazingly strong the game in Hertfordshire is. So, if you trialled for the county squad but didn't get in, don't have hard feelings - you were trying to get into one of the best county squads in England!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Four for the county
News reaches me that the county trials were well attended this year, and that competition for places in the squads was fierce (perhaps more than it has ever been, due to the new arrangements). Some very talented girls, including some with years of experience in mini/midi rugby, failed to get in - but four of our girls did!
So congratulations to Sydney, Ellah, Lily and Florrie who will all be pulling on the green of Hertfordshire this autumn. Good luck for the matches on 7th November (away to Leicestershire) and 12th December (three-way against Eastern Counties and Kent, in Eastern Counties) - and let's see if we can't get some of you into the Divisional squad in the New Year!
This also goes to show what a great core of strong players we have at Letchworth. With stars like these we'll have Letchworth Girls back in the national top 10 in no time!
So congratulations to Sydney, Ellah, Lily and Florrie who will all be pulling on the green of Hertfordshire this autumn. Good luck for the matches on 7th November (away to Leicestershire) and 12th December (three-way against Eastern Counties and Kent, in Eastern Counties) - and let's see if we can't get some of you into the Divisional squad in the New Year!
This also goes to show what a great core of strong players we have at Letchworth. With stars like these we'll have Letchworth Girls back in the national top 10 in no time!
- And well done to Jade too, who made the U18s (sorry about missing you out earlier - my "contact" failed to mention it)
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