Written : Thursday 2nd Oct 25After many of the squad had been to The Twickenham Allianz Stadium to watch the Red Roses claim their world championship crown, The "Gertrudes" (self titled name for the U14 Girls Squad) excitedly took to the pitch for their first festival of the season at Cobham. The U14's had a new look this season, having been joined by 4 from last year's U12 players as well as two brand new players. Even the seasoned U14 players needed to show a great deal of flexibility as we were playing 10 a side rather than the usual 15. A good thing too as we only had 11 players throughout the day. That meant many were playing out of position and in unfamiliar roles.
We were also drawn in a pool with four other very good teams in last season's top tier of the Surrey Cup.
Alas, the changes to playing positions, the long gap between competitive matches and the relative inexperience told as the Gertrudes got off to a slow start, allowing Ironsides to quickly build a significant lead. Once the Gertrudes regrouped and reorganised, they began to show what they could do and were very much able to match the Ironsides team. If we'd have played the full match the way we finished, the score line would have been much closer.
On to the next match with Havant. This was a far more competitive game. Our powerful runners in Holly M, Eva J and Maka F really showed their skills with Hannah B really effective from scrum half bringing all the energy! We also managed to score a mauling try via winger turned Fly-half for the day, Lara F-S. Our new players, Izzy G and Bree A also made massive strides forward, getting involved with tackles, strong carries, good support in attack and also great efforts getting back to help defend.
Our third match was against Barnes who we know very well as an exceptional side in this age group. Able to field two extremely strong teams, the Gertrudes were anticipating a tough match. That's exactly what we got, but not in the way we expected. The Gertrudes were getting better throughout their performances and for long periods in the game were very much equal to their opponents. Some errors in decision making or handling at the wrong times meant that tries were conceded but overall this was an improved performance once again.
The final match was against our old friends, Reigations. By this time, the volume of rugby with lack of substitutes was catching up with us. Finishing with arguably the form team of our pool was not the way we would've chosen to. As ever, Reigations played with a brilliant spirit, demonstrating their structure of play and skills in attack and defence. The Gertrudes really emptied the tanks, showing great heart and when they committed to their tasks, they did themselves proud. Some great rucking and strong carries meant we managed a number of tries, mainly through Eva J's fluid and evasive running, effortlessly accelerating into space on the few occasions it was available to out pace the defence and score.
All in all, the Gertrudes will have learnt a lot from this outing. The new recruits have got four games under their belts, the new U14s understand more about the pace of the game in this age band and the existing U14's have learnt more about their adaptability. They played with passion and heart, never once getting frustrated or disheartened.
I have no doubt all the girls would have slept well on Sunday evening as they were all clearly tired from their exploits. Time now to recover properly, let the bruises and knocks settle and prepare properly for their next outing at our very own Guildfordians Home Girls festival on 12th October.
Regards,
Simon Persin