WKD girls u15 win again against a strong OA Saints. Now five from five

On a day that did not start to well with a no show by the official referee and a few late arrivals,( thanks for getting there Dave and Ella, you have mastered the art of being politely late) all did end well, thanks to a great team effort, once more and all controlled by an EXCELLENT stand in referee.

As is the way with the girls, much of the chatter before the game was, they look big and are we playing them. There were also girls like Fiona and Morgan who with the coaches reminded the girls that their structure and skill level will always win out provided first up tackles are made and there is 100% commitment straight from the off.

Ceri, Captaining the side, elected to play against the wind first half, a good choice.

Straight from the off WKD looked to move the ball through the hand, but despite their best efforts, they made little head way against a committed and structured opponent. In the first 15 minutes, several passes went astray, due to the wet and windy conditions but also as a result of the pressure being applied by the Old Albanians girls. It was anything but one way traffic, as the girls fought for territory and advantage each counter attacking wherever possible.

At the scrums the teams were relatively even. However the WKD delivery by Erin was superior. She successfully harried the opposition scrum ½, as much as possible, only being caught once off side as she tested the limits.

With regards to the committed tackling, we for once must credit the opposition. Luana was the recipient of a huge tackle delivered by the OA Saints Prop, who cover the ground very quickly to crush Luana into touch. It was to her great credit (and several coaches relief), that she brushed of the tackle and bounced back. That was immense and I am sure that inspired her team mates to increase their efforts.

Our guests had arrived, with 11 players, which meant a revised formation of 5 forwards, 6 backs. The starting line up was Olivia, Francesca, Hannah, Fiona and Ella as forwards, with Erin, Ceri, Morgan, Alice, Luana and Megan forming the back line. At the Start of the game, the coaches gave the instruction to the team, that Morgan, Ella and Fiona should all play as loose forwards, a new tactic, which in better weather would have resulted in several tries, but despite several occasions where Ella and Fiona found them selves joining the back line out wide, the cover defence by Old Saints always seemed to be there. This tactic put an huge amount of pressure on the front row, of Olivia, Francesca and Hannah, who charged from ruck to ruck, winning ball all over the park. Not only that, but Olivia was extremely unlucky, not to open the scoring, when she rolled of the side of a maul and charged down the touch line, failing to score by a few millimetres.

Just before ½ time, Luana was substituted by Sophie Hodges, who started on the wing, and later moved to the centre. Whenever she got the ball, she ran hard, making severl line breaks but like the others could not break through the excellent cover defence.

Despite more than 50% share of the possession progress towards the OA Saints try line was thwarted by either committed tackles, lack of precision, and some small bits of lack of discipline. Having said that as the first half closed, the coaches felt the momentum was with the Team. At half time the coaches asked for a little more precision, reducing pass distance and not to pass if the pass was not an option and to continue with the same level of passion and intensity. Also to use the wind and Kick for position at the required time. I am delighted to say the girls followed the instructions perfectly and some more, as detailed below. On occasion it is some time better not to pass and I feel we must all recognise now that we must trust the players to make the right decision.

The second half, commenced with a deep kick off and from then constant pressure and stalemate continued for several minutes, with only occasional break outs, which were ruthless stubbed out, by swarming defence. Then the dead lock was broken. From a scrum near the 22 the backs were set left side. Ceri time her run left, to collect from Erin in full flow. On this occasion there was no intention to pass, only to beat the cover defence and cross the line to open the scoring, a huge moment in the game.

From the Kick Off, the ball was collect by Morgan, who carried forward over 20m, beating several players. The ball was won quickly by the forwards. Erin and Ceri shipped the ball quickly to Alice, who ran a great line between OA Saints defenders. There was still 50m to go, but she still managed to out pace the 3 cover defenders for a great try under the posts which was converted with ease by Morgan. A lead of 12 points was great reward.

The next Kick Off was directly to Ceri, who caught the ball and returned it with interest. Back on the Old Saints 22, WKD continued to press.

During one of these movements, the ball was swept wide to Megan the WKD speedster, but even she could not beat the cover defence, which showed the speed their girls had. Megan was shaken by the tackle, allowing Shauna to joined the fray.

The third try came in exactly the same way as the first. The opposition probably knew what was coming but Ceri was not going to be denied.

The game was played at a huge intensity, commensurate with the top of the table clash, and midway through the second half Francesca, was forced to leave the field. Morgan moved to hooker,

West Kent Divas were now pressing hard, but it was from a delicate cross field kick deep into the opposition 22 that OA Saints Struck. Unfortunately the wing was patrolled by tall power full player, who once she collected the ball, broke through the first line of defence and scorched down the wing, running away from the WKD cover defence. If a warning was needed, this was it. St Albans could score from anywhere, if WKD girls were not on their guard.

The change in formation / positions, seemed to work well for WKD. In the poor weather ceri was now taking the ball forward in to contact, providing a target for the forward who would win the ball for Morgan to then taking it on, before the ball would be passed along the backs. It was from one such movement that Morgan extending the scoring further, on this occasion charging over without the need to pass to the supporting players.

As a game, this was a credit to the girls game and one everyone who took part in should be proud of. Everyone performed fantastically. On this occasion the coaches choice player of the match, goes to Ceri Edwards, for a captains performance, distributing well, kicking for position when required and providing much go forward, for everyone to follow.

Final Score, 22 – 7 a fantastic game and congratulation to OA Saints for their part in the match. We look forward to the return.

As head coaches I would like to thank all the girls for there efforts over the first half of the season, which has seen excellent attendance at training and an unbeaten record so far. The girls are improving with every game and I am sure I speak for the other coaches, when we say it is a pleasure to coach the girls. But I must say the second half of the season will be harder as I am sure we will have to cope with injuries and an opposition, who now know our style of game. I am sure they will be plotting how to challenge us, so we must raise the bar further and improve also.

Merry Christmas everyone
Gwyn Edwards