Sun 6 Oct 2024
2 games into the season and so far, so good for our U18 girls. On Sunday 22nd September 2024 we started the season against a very strong Bristol North side at WRFC.
Being the first game of the season this was always going to be a nervous event for the Coaching and management staff, even more so as a lot of our girls were now playing college rugby in the week. It wasn’t possible to get them all to training on Wednesdays, and also some had picked up injuries preventing them from playing for us. So, it was into the unknown in terms of how this squad of girls were going to perform together.
Needless to say, the mix of girls absolutely showed the coaching staff that they didn’t need to worry about things and once they crossed that white wash they acted as a team, fought as a team and played what was in front of them without thinking they had to stick to practice plays.
Worcester raced into a 14-point lead thanks for some individual brilliance and support. For a change there wasn’t the usual first 20 minute let's get into the game jinx which had dogged us for a few seasons. This time the girls came out firing……However the 20 jinx was to come and it happened midway through the game. The girls let Bristol North back into the game and this was partly down to the effort they had put in to go 2 tries up and because Bristol North to their credit started forcing errors and working hard in the forwards to win ball.
With 10 minutes to go Bristol had levelled the game at 14-14 and were continuing to push forward, however things suddenly clicked in the Worcester team and they then started forcing errors. With 5 minutes to go a big push was made by Worcester. Lead by the captain the team grew again and with some strong running lines and kick chases managed to get themselves back in front. The game finished 28-14 to Worcester, but it was a pleasure to watch the girls running out as an unknown unit and actually working for each other from start to end.
Moving forward Worcester (at home again) entertained Cheltenham North, who boast a squad of around 40 girls (excellent achievement and something Worcester age groups should aspire to). This was yet another test. This week was made even harder due to training being cancelled due to issues with floodlights which wasn’t sorted till late.
The girl arrived on Sunday buzzing from the last performance and games at college, or they had just had an awful lot of sweets and sugar (Who knows). The coaches really didn’t know what to expect this week due to no training but it was stressed on the girls that they needed to work as a unit, be strong in defence and around the rucks.
When the game started it was evident what had been said to the girl’s pre-game had sunk in. The first half was a joy to watch. The first try of the game was made from some brilliant strong running lines and the work from the forwards to contest the ruck.
The flow of pressure from our forwards didn’t stop and the pressure the girls put on CN was really pleasing to watch. They picked the right times to counter ruck, the right times to jackal and when to put real pressure on the CN attack and defence.
More tries followed from Worcester and to be honest for a time it was “All about the forwards”. Continuous pressure was put on by them and each forward was supporting the next. The timing of passes from pods was working and forwards were breaking the defensive line on numerous occasions. The support for each other was on point and the timing of tackles and then jackals resulted in several turn overs from the forwards.
When the forwards took time off the backs picked up where the forwards left off and again didn’t stick to stripe but played what was in front of them, something which the backs coaches had been asking them to do. Some lovely line breaks, dummy passes and tip passes were made by the backs who to say they haven’t played that much together this year was really nice to watch and the backs coaches must be happy to see it happening.
The decisions made when to run, when to pass and also when to kick into space were brilliant, and also from kicks the kick chases lead by the captain were putting pressure on the CN full back and other backs.
Its safe to say that Worcester didn’t have it all their own way. CN are a well-oiled unit and know how to break defences down. They produced some awesome pick and goes from rucks and also some strong running lines from pods, and when our forwards were stopping this they weren’t afraid to move the ball out wide and attack the width.
The game finished 50-24 to Worcester and the game was a credit to both teams. With another fixture this weekend against CN away it will be interesting to see how the girls react, and also how they react to playing away for the first time this year, and maybe playing against a completely different CN team.
However, on the whole its been a pleasing start to the season. Keep it going girls.
