On what proved to be a rather Warm Sunday afternoon Stockwood Ladies entertained Hitchin on the first home league game of the season , with none of the local teams having Ladies Rugby Hitchin is pretty well a local Derby ..
We have never beaten Hitchin as over the years they have had an established Ladies team and good numbers and good coaching .. we are in the second year of our Journey with a New Coach and we are learning with every game ..

With some of our more established squad away or indisposed it was a chance for some of the younger members of the squad to put their hands up …and put their hands up they did…

We had talked about last week’s rustiness and that the second half was ok but this week we couldn’t afford a slow start .. especially as Hitchin hammered last year’s runners up by 50 pts the previous week.
We talked about asserting ourselves individually and therefore collectively taking responsibility for our own performance and not coming off the field at the end feeling .” I could have done better”

We started very well , on the front foot and Hitchin couldn’t get out of their half .. the forwards were retaining the ball well and even when we lost possession Amy and Abbie ( the terrible twosome) would stop Hitchin and often turn the ball back over. With Hannah Thomas belying her tender age of 17/18 with her real intensity and the returning Kristie having a real impact , Hitchin were put on the back foot … The game was becoming a real tussle but both teams were trying to play rugby and get the backs involved whenever they could … Stockwoods New backline of Tracey , Cat ,Pariese and Ellen on one wing Chloe on the other ..were up fast and making their tackles .. I don’t think there was a clear line break by either side in the first half which shows how evenly matched the teams were .. the last fifteen of the half where some changes had been made by both sides due to the sheer physical intensity of the game , was played more in Stockwoods half but the defensive structure was awesome with the girls working for each other and defending on the front foot and when Hitchin did finally break the line out wide .. Annie was there to crash their winger into touch as she was about to score … Hitchin have a big second row and she is very adept at keeping herself moving .. we had been double teaming her and stopping her in her tracks .. when she finally did get some momentum and crashed over Amy had made sure she was underneath her and held her up …
Finally turning the ball over Tracey cleared to touch and relieved the pressure .. and the half was up .. 0-0 and a very entertaining game played in a great spirit and with 2 focussed teams not letting up … Dara (Yorkshiiiire ) Cath ,Kristie, Leeanne, Amy, Hannah, Ally , Daisy and Abbie had been a magnificent unit and with Tracey , Cat and the rest of the backs looking good also … Katie making loads of tackles leading from the front as a Captain should .. it was really a very good half of Rugby

Second half was always going to be difficult with the effort that had been put in but the rotation and squad numbers always allowed for a bit of a breather .. not forgetting Hitchin who had worked hard also … however they pounced on an early mistake to put some pressure on us but like in the first half were met generally with a brick wall , the big second row finally managed to get a small break and although she was tackled managed to stretch and get the ball down … with the conversion missed the way the game was going this might have been the only score .. swapping a few things around again due to some minor injuries that need attending Hitchin took advantage of this and scored again this time the conversion was made …. With about ten minutes to go clearly Hitchin were starting to flag and after a great tackle at the stand in fullback Catherine .. we started to create some gaps with Pariese breaking through and driving into Hitchens half we looked like we might have time to get back into this .. with 5 mins to go Pariese again made a clean break and was through with only yds. to go she was caught .. but if she had dived forward I am sure she would have scored … but maintained possession and set it back for the support that was there only for Hitchin to dive over the ball .. ref allowed it unfortunately which gave them chance to clear .. we were knocking on the door now and with Daisy and Katie and most of the others going for it …couldn’t quite open it .. we moved the ball wide and with the overlap it looked sure Ellen would score but the pass was high and she had to stretch a bit which unfortunately meant she couldn’t gather it and with that the whistle blew for the end ….

We always look for indicators for improvement and Hitchin are a good barometer as the last scores have been 90-0 55-0 25-0 and now 12-0 and we should have scored at least once shows how far we have come as a side .. with 30+ signed on and some friendlies being booked Ladies Rugby at Stockwood is in a good place … now it’s starting to be good on the field as well ….. Abbie was my player of the match ..simply everywhere and Pariese and Sophie have shown us a glimpse of the future … and wow its exciting ….
Finally I can’t let the game go without a mention for Cathy Edmonds .. one of our older members but you wouldn’t know it the effort she puts in .. always gives 100% or more she truly is a terrific role model and we would really miss her is she is not around … look at Cath girls ..do half of what she does and we will be in a great position ….

So after all the pre –season training the first League game arrives with a trip to Tabard ,a team historically well coached but a team we have never played ..
Once again the Stockwood Squad was strong and large with the full 22 and some watching … this in this league will always stand us in good stead due to the awarding of a point for a full squad even if you lose.
Whilst pre-season having not been perfect in as much as we couldn’t get any game time prior to today , everything else had been excellent so we arrived in good shape … and warmed up really well and appeared focused.

We had to lend Tabard 2 girls Lee-Anne and Pariese two of our newer recruits but important for them both to experience a game so this was a good opportunity.

The pitch was hard and wide .. but we had some gas out wide so hopefully we could use that to some good effect…
The game started with a hard hit from Hazel .. but in terms of aggression that was one of a few in the early stages of the game .. we looked rusty and a little slow , the scrum wasn’t functioning but the girls identified the issue themselves and after 15 mins or so had sorted that out …. The game was very even for this time but we were a little narrow and passive which I feel gave Tabard some confidence ,and it allowed them to play a bit .. they had a good no 12 who was very quick and after winning a ruck in the middle of our 22 they swung the ball wide we didn’t have enough defenders and she ran around us to score under the posts and convert….

This galvanized us a bit and we worked our way into their 22 and were starting to build some pressure when Debs appeared to twist her ankle and had to be swapped with Fresh… Wether this broke our concentration a bit I am not sure but we lost possession and Tabard got a couple of phases together from a ruck again to the right of the field we had managed to turn the ball over only for the girl to play it off the floor so they could maintain possession and with 12 running a great line coming from deep burst through at least 3 tackles and scored once again under the posts 14-0 with 10 minutes or so left in the half …

We were rusty and it was showing and needed to work a little harder … from the restart we managed to get some good field position and played with a bit more intensity Dara and Fresh had made an impact bringing the ball forward and with us keeping possession for the first time moved out to Fresh who using Eleanor and Chloe as decoys cut back inside to score under the posts … the first real time we went wide and benefitted from it and with Tracey converting it put us back in the game …..

With half time approaching we were starting to have a bit more possession , but the whistle came a bit early for us.

With Lisa swapping for Chloe who had , had a pretty good half albeit she hadn’t seen much of the ball Hannah on for Freya , Faye into the game as well pretty well everybody was getting a run out ….

We started much better in the second half but were guilty of not moving the ball wide .. and this arm wrestle often ended in a knock on or losing possession … we were not accurate at the breakdown and their no 8 was great at getting over the ball … .. from centre field the no 12 again was given too much room and sent up a kick across and into the corner ..Annie was covering well but the bounce of the ball was cruel on the hard ground and looped over her and with the Tabard no 9 up in support gathered and raced under the posts again …
This was unlucky but it was a good attempt that came off and at 21-7 we had some work to do ..

I think its probably fair to say that we started to get the upper hand now as clearly Tabard were tired and our forwards were getting more of the ball … we moved the ball nicely again and with Eleanor and Ellen combining this time Ellen scored in the corner with perhaps her first opportunity .. and at 21 -12 and ten minutes to go it was anybodies game.

Whoever scored next would probably win … and with our large squad Tabard were clearly tiring fast … however the best player on the pitch would have the final say .. and the no 12 stepped up again after some good hands and accelerated around onto a marginally forward pass and despite the best efforts scored again and with the conversion made at 28-12 5 mins left …

We tried manfully to get into the game again but were forced into touch on the 5 meter line and the ref blew for time ….
We needed the game it was clear .. and there are greater challenges to come .. but this is the start of our second season as a group and we are growing in numbers and experience but we are still young in many ways

I used the word disappointed after the game and perhaps that’s a sign of the development we have made .. we have played better and can but that’s sport right .. it was a close game and could have gone either way but Tabard had that fraction more quality when it was needed … this will come for us … chins up Ladies we go again …

Finally a Special mention for Eleanor Bull ..she is leaving us to go to Uni .. Eleanor has been here from the start and we will miss her not only for her tackling and ..she doesn’t miss many … but for her big smile and cheery attitude ..

Always a place for you here stay in touch and if your down let us know.

And to Pariese and Lee-anne thanks you for your attitudes at the weekend and your commitment on the field .. albeit against us it will stand us well in the future …..