Calling all students and past players!

Not played rugby since the U18s? Or back from university, but without a club? Then there is special festival for you!

19th December is normally the date for the boys students festival, for players who've gone off to Uni and are back for Christmas. However for the first time a senior ladies match has been organised - if there are enough people interested in playing! 

If you are interested contact philipkearns@rfu.com - by 16th November. It takes some planning so please please let him know if you are interested.

Sasha completes Legendary bike ride

For those who have not been following it, Sasha Acheson and Poppy Cleall have just completed an amazing charity cycle ride from Land's End to John O'Groats... and back!

One month, over 1700 miles, and over £2000 raised (more than twice their target).

Congratulations girls!

Letchworth girls reunion - 4th August

In case you've not yet had an invite, Carla is calling for everyone with a previous connection with Letchworth Girls' rugby teams to meet up at the club on 4th August, when Letchworth are hosting the (men's) Herts 7s.

More info on the Facebook page,

More on our legendary "pro" rugby star

A quick update on our most successful ever former Legend - Rosie "Randy" Randfield - who is now literally touring the world with The Army rugby team, here pictured on their way to Australia where their tour started at the end of May.

Randy has also played rugby league for the army, and even cricket. How much army-related stuff she does that is not sport related is unclear - presumably not much as she can hardly have the time!

Golden Gregson

More glory for former legend Sydney Gregson, now with Welwyn, who won gold at last weekend's School Games when she played for London & SE's 7s team.

Syd still has a couple more years with the U18 regional team, so more medals and trophies can be expected, and then...?

Apparently Rio will be the place to be in 2016...

Legend stars in rugby promo video

There is a familiar face in the latest (very, very good, by the way) promotional video for girls' rugby - take a look at around 1:24.... (and 3:00 as well!)


(The really odd thing about this, frankly, brilliant video is that it was made over a year ago... but hardly anyone has watched it (barely 500 views in the first six months - the Letchworth Girls video did better than that!). Its been hidden away. Why? It is the emphasis on clubs as the way into the game, maybe? Strange...

Support-a-legend - Sasha's charity cycle ride

Sasha says....

"Rigggghhht friends!!! :):) So, in a nutshell, I am doing an insane bike ride for Macmillan Cancer Relief...its 1748miles...and it's basically got to be done in under a month. Its just myself and Poppy doing it...good cause...crazy idea...it can be done!! 


We've figured out we need to cycle at least around 80miles a day to reach our ideal optimum finish date, which is one hell of a trek every day, but totally worth it!! 


We shall be starting this awesome adventure on the 26th of June, and really want to finish by the 20th July. It's not a random route either...we're cycling from Lands End (bottom of Cornwall), to John O'Groats (top of Scotland) AND BACK, completely back to back!! 


So please can you all dig deep; attached to is our just giving page, and any donations automatically go straight to Macmillan, we have nothing to do with it at all in that respect. Please give as little or as much as you'd like, it all helps and makes every muscle and bum ache well worth it!! 


Spread the word too please :)"

Twickenham triumph for Legend

Congrats to Sasha Acheson, who was part of the UWI Cardiff team that lifted the British University rugby title at Twickenham last weekend.

Unusually modest, and hiding under the name "Alexandra", Sasha set up the second Cardiff try on their way to a 30-5 win over Leeds Met.

Sounds like a typical Sasha run too - to quote the South Wales Echo

"Tight-head Alexandra Acheson broke from outside the Leeds 22, shook off three tackles and offloaded to Owens who powered over."

Well done to Sasha - and her team-mates.

And in local news...

Congratulations to Sydney Gregson for being selected again for the U18 divisional squad (see Herts Blog for full set of names).

No great surprise, because she is brilliant, but I think it is still worth saying as getting into the Divisional team - especially for London & South East - is always pretty impressive. And - although she now wears a different club shirt - once a Legend, always a Legend!

• And while on the subject of successful former Legends, its worth recording - for those who did not know - that apparently ex-Legend Jess Robinson is now captain of Loughborough University, even though she is only in her second year. I suspect many people may have know it already, but I didn't - and I think that its an achievement worth recording. Well done Jess!

Legend in the desert

One former legend had a few days away from the growing cold of winter when she became the first ex-Letchworth Girl to play in the Dubai Sevens.

Jess played for (I think correct me if I am wrong) "RSA Ex-Pat Old Girls" (a team of English students, with some familiar names like India Harvey, while other familiar faces - like Poppy Cleall - also played for other teams) in the third tier Women's Open, and reached the Plate Final (a familiar outcome for a legend in a sevens tournament).

Apparently playing and training in 35 degrees made the return to Loughborough's balmy -5 all the more bracing.

The great trans-European hitchhike

Okay, for once this is not a directly rugby posting, but normal service will be resumed shortly on that score. However it is sort of relevant as it is the tale of an ex-Legend, and  does involve a carload of Australian rugby players.

Suffice to say Nichola (ex-second row, currently based in Utrecht) and a friend recently hitchhiked from the Netherlands to San Sebastian in Spain, mainly to do some surfing. Her adventures are currently appearing on this blog and apparently they'd like comments. Enjoy.

(And if there are any has any other Legendary Tales of Ex-Legends, let me know). 

Catching up with our "pro"

Just a quick update about the ex-Legend who is now as near as dammit to being a "professional" rugby player - Rosie Randfield.

In theory Rosie is in the army, but her actual soldiering seems to be pretty minimal these days as she tours the country (and the odd neighbouring country) playing both 15s and 7s rugby union.

And when there is no rugby union to be had, Rosie switches code to play league - most recently last weekend when she turned out for the Combined Services against England Students. The only report I could find is a Navy report so no-one who is not in the Navy gets a mention, but going by the pictures Randy had a pretty good game, with her team winning 28-18.

Going to Loughborough next year? The women's rugby club needs YOU!!

Message from former Legend Jess Robinson.

If you are going to Loughborough University next year the women's rugby team are inviting all freshers to pre-season training, which starts on 19th September. A Facebook group  has been set up for freshers - so if you can make training, or just want to ask about the team ahead of Freshers week, please join the group.

Another ex-Legend flies the flag

Chloe (left) and her team-mates

News from northern France where ex-Legend Chloe Baker has been playing for Leeds Met in the European Universities Rugby Sevens championship.

Its a bit grand a title for what is, in essence, an invitational sevens for universities mainly from England, France and Germany (plus one from Portugal) - but what is very clear from the limited news and results from weekend is that a) its huge fun and anyone who gets a chance to go in the future should not miss out, and b) English teams are well off the pace when it comes to Sevens!

It's a tough game when your opponent is 7'3!

As Chloe reports "My team did really badly but it was a great tournament. The French, German and Portuguese sides were all really strong and the tournament was really well organised."

Chloe's team were not alone in "doing badly". Ten universities took part - four from England, three from France, two from Germany, and one from Portugal. And it was the Sevens specialists from Portugal - the University of Coimbra - who took the title, while France's three entries finished 2nd, 3rd and 4th. The English and German entries disputed the minor places, with Chloe's Leeds Met team - national champions (at 15s anyway) - finishing 8th.

Randy takes on England

A nice picture here of ex-Legend Rosie Randfield taking on yet another international opponent in her career with the British Army team - in this case England at the Newquay Sevens.

Unfortunately the game did not go well for Rosie's team, who lost 44-0 - and England went on to win the tournament, in their last warm-up before they travel to Moscow for the European Championships later this month.

Belated congratulations...

Rosie counter attacks

... to ex-Legend Rosie Randfield who, I've just discovered, was awarded the ‘Player of the Match’ Trophy at the final of last month's Army Inter-Corps Trophy. Rosie, playing at full back, was described as "enterprising and skilful" in the official match report. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to enable her team, REME, to retain their trophy as they lost 20-10 to the Royal Logistic Corps.

Javascript and Flash are required to run this functionality

A short highlights video has appeared (above) - see if you can spot Rosie...

Twickenham glory for ex-Legend

Chloe lines up before the game

Former Legend Chloe Baker tasted glory at the Home of Rugby on Wednesday when Leeds Metropolitan University's women's rugby team secured the BUCS Championship trophy at Twickenham.

Her team (without her) had only managed runners up in the past two finals, but with Chloe on the team they defeated Exeter 34-5 in a thrilling encounter at a sunny Twickenham Stadium - full report here.

Three ex-Legends had made the semi-finals, but Jess Robinson's freak injury before she was due to play Chloe's team, and Sasha Acheson's Cardiff's shock defeat to Exeter ensured that only Chloe would be the only Legend to play on the Twickenham turf.

Not quite Invictus...

Even so, one ex-Legend has just made her directorial debut. Guess who (answer at the end)

Go see a Legend this weekend!

A great chance this weekend to go along and support the former legend who is currently playing at a higher level than any other.

Cfn Rosie Randfield (REME) is now an integral part of the British Army's Women's Rugby team, a team whose fixture list includes Premiership clubs and international teams.

Rosie has already played against Scotland A this season, and is due to play both the Netherlands and Sweden before the season is out (after which she is likely to have a full Sevens programme).

However, this weekend her five month tour of England and northern Europe brings her (nearly) home as she and her Army colleagues take on Old Albanians at St Albans on Saturday (not sure about the kick-off time yet - will add it here when I know).

I'm sure she'd appreciate some of her former team-mates supporting her from the touchline, so get down there if you can!

Cambridge make it four in a row

The annual Oxford v. Cambridge Varsity matches played at the Grange Road grounds in Cambridge yesterday marked a fourth consecutive double victory for the light blues with both the 2nd XV 'Tigers' team and the 1st 'Blues' team securing well deserved wins.

First on were the Tigers featuring last year's Letchworth U18s captain, Nikki, in her familiar fly-half position. As the only 1st year in the starting line-up, her programe billing "... Nikki certainly hasn't forgotten how to put in the big hits and skilled passes that will make an impression today" sounded a rather tall order but one that, happily, she was able to live up to with the Tigers running out winners 15-0.








After lunch, attention turned to the main event - the 2011 Varsity match - in which Nikki was the only first year to be selected for the match squad albeit, having been given the 21 shirt, she was not in the starting XV. Again it was a very tight match in which the Cambridge pulled out a lead and gradually increased it throughout in the face of fierce and spirited attacks from Oxford. In the end, Nikki did not get onto the pitch during the game (which may be just as well as she was already carrying a knock from the first match) so she is now looking to next year's fixture in Oxford!

Final score : Cambridge 22 v. 0 Oxford