Herts players contribute to a London & SE double

Players from the county were at the heart of a unique London & SE Divisional double over North Division at Luton RFC on Sunday.

A strong L&SE team containing five Hertfordshire girls - Alice Nee (Saracens), Sam Voyle (Welwyn), Claire Shutler (Saracens), Shira Kilgallon (Welwyn), Georgia Peedle (Welwyn) - were picked for their match. The L&SE team looked really up for the match from the kick off running the ball back strongly at the North, with Sam Voyle heavily involved. And it wasn’t long before the pressure saw the North defence sucked in and L&SE being able to spin the ball wide to score.

The L&SE tactics were to use the large mobile back row to take the ball up before spinning the ball down the backs. They were playing some good rugby moving the ball from touchline to touchline and having dominance in the scrums. Applying the pressure and dominating possession it wasn’t long before the L&SE again scored this time through the forwards and their captain. The North continued to tackle hard and started to test the L&SE defence with some good runs, but strong competition at the breakdown and good cover defence stopped any breakthrough. An interception by Claire Shutler in her own 22m saw her caught deep in the North half and although she didn’t score from that move excellent forward pressure saw her dive over from close range for a 15-0 half time lead.

The second half continued much the same as the first although both teams used their benches. L&SE were still dominating territory and possession and Shira was getting better ball in the second half to help herself to two tries and then Nina topped off the performance with a great solo try under the posts for a 32-0 full time score.

This impressive performance was more than matched by the senior Divisional With six Hertfordshire players in their squad - Hannah Casey (Tabard), Kat Brinsley (Old Albanians), Sasha Acheson (Saracens), Sonia Green (Saracens), Hannah Gallagher (Saracens), Simone Shepard (Old Albanians) - the Division completed their own "Grand Slam", beating North by 33-13 to complete a 100% record and lift the first ever women's divisional title.

The final table for the senior divisional championship looked like this:

P W D L F A Pts London & South East 3 3 0 0 67 30 6 North 3 1 0 2 66 75 2 Midlands 3 1 0 2 46 57 2 South West 3 1 0 2 46 63 2

The U18s are also unbeaten and will be favourites to lift their title at the Divisional Festival next month.

London & SE U15s win opening game

News has come through that London & South East U15s beat the South West at Newbury today by 27 points to 10, so the  new Division remains unbeaten at all age bands.

A match report (from the South West point if view) has now been published by the RFU (see here), but nothing has been published so far by the London & SE camp.

Herts player a hat-trick hero as England U20s destroy Scotland

Saracens and Hertfordshire's Hannah Gallagher came off the bench for England U20s to take Scotland apart in the first ever international between the two sides. Hannah scored a hat-trick as England romped home to a 77-0 triumph at Gosforth on Saturday evening.

Hannah came on mid-way through the first half, with England already 12-0 ahead. She was soon on the scoreboard for her first two tries touching down on 28 and 32 minutes respectively, before scrum half Keane rounded off the first half proceedings for England. With Scott adding two further conversions England led 43-0 going into the break.

The one way traffic continued after the restart with Gallagher again taking the spoils, this time after some good continuity work by the forwards. After Hertfordshire's Geri Thomas joined Hannah on the field after 51 minutes four more tries soon followed from other members of the England team to give the home side a resounding win.

The U20s now go on to play Wales next month, before preparing to defend the Nations Cup in the USA during the summer.

Divisional U15s prepare for first ever match

Two Hertfordshire girls are included by Maggie Alphonsi in London & South East's Under 15 team to face the South West at Newbury RFC on Sunday (March 13, 2pm) in the new regional team’s first competitive match ahead of the RFUW Divisional Festival next month.

The Festival at Hartpury College near Gloucester on April 16 and 17 will see players continue in their bids to stake a claim for places in national squads.

The London & South East U15 team will be coached by Simon Burgess and James Cooper.

The team is as follows:

Amy Dickinson (Hampshire and Solent Sirens)
Sophie Sutherland (Surrey)
Rebecca Pritchard (Surrey and London Irish)
Emma Swords (Surrey and London Irish)
Eleanor Boatman (Surrey and London Irish)
Victoria Childs (Hampshire and Ellingham & Ringwood)
Bryony Pomfret (Hertfordshire and Welwyn)
Jessica Boyd (Surrey and London Irish)
Heather Clegg (Sussex and South Sussex Barbarians)
Natasha Mcaneny (Kent and Aylesford Bulls)
Laura Tolley (Kent and Aylesford Bulls)
Georgina Neary (Kent and Aylesford Bulls)
Sarah Bern (Surrey and London Irish).

Replacements:
Emily Hewitt (Hampshire and Ellingham & Ringwood)
Faye Smale (Essex and Rochford Hundred)
Ella Levey (Kent and Old Alleynians)
Elena Mackay (Surrey and London Irish)
Rebecca Wadhams (Kent and Aylesford Bulls)
Caitlin Flower (Sussex and South Sussex Barbarians)
Lily Dibb-Fuller (Sussex and South Sussex Barbarians)
Hannah West (Hampshire and Solent Sirens)
Sydney Gregson (Hertfordshire and Letchworth).

• London and South East's senior XV won their second match (v Midlands, 19-12) in the first ever women's divisional championship, and now lead the tournament with one match to go.

P W D L F A Pts London & South East 2 2 0 0 34 17 4 North 2 1 0 1 53 42 2 Midlands 2 1 0 1 32 38 2 South West 2 0 0 2 27 39 0

Two Herts women selected for England U20s

OA Saint's Geri Thomas joins Saracens' Hannah Gallagher in the 22 for the first ever U20 international between England and Scotland, to be played at Gosforth on Saturday (6pm kick-off).

England U20 coach Amanda Bennett has made 10 changes to the starting team that beat against France two weeks ago, taking the opportunity of the Scots game to give the rest of her squad game time. As a result Hannah drops to the bench where she is joined by Geri, who was unavailable for the first game.

The full team is:

15 Rachel Roberts (Gloucester, South West)
14 Katie Mason (Bristol, Somerset, South West)
13 Amy Wilson-Hardy (Bristol, Sussex, South West)
12 Ceri Large (Worcester, South West)
11 Lucy Demaine (Bristol, Devon, South West)
10 Emily Scott (Thurrock, Essex, London & South East)
9 Charlotte Keane (VC) (Worcester, South West)
1 Daniker Willmore (Bristol, South West)
2 Charlie Notman (Newquay Hornets (Queen Bees), Cornwall, South West)
3 SarahGeorge (Bristol, South West)
4 Abbie Scott (Keswick, Cumbria,North)
5 Fiona Fletcher (C) (Lichfield, Staffordshire, Midlands)
6 Kayleigh Callaway-Bawden (Newquay Hornets (Queen Bees), Cornwall, South West)
7 Megan Oaten(Bristol, Gloucestershire, South West)
8 Alexandra Matthews (London Irish, Surrey, London & South East)

Replacements:
16 Geri Thomas (OA Saints, Hertfordshire, London & SE)
17 Emily Kingston (Gloucester, Gloucestershire, South West)
18 Harriet Mills (Lichfield, Staffordshire, Midlands)
19 Hannah Gallagher (Saracens, Hertfordshire, London & South East)
20 Fiona Davidson (Richmond, Surrey, London & South East)
21 Natasha Jones (Lichfield, Staffordshire, Midlands)
22 Leanne Riley (Worcester, North Midlands, Midlands)

Five Herts players in latest London & SE squad

Five Hertfordshire players have been named in the London & South East squad for the division's next game against Midlands on Sunday. The match will be played at Banbury (KO 2.30), with the Division hoping to maintain its early lead in the divisional championship, following in its 15-5 triumph against South West last month.

P W D L F A Pts London & South East 1 1 0 0 15 5 2 Midlands 1 1 0 0 20 19 2 North 1 0 0 1 19 20 0 South West 1 0 0 1 5 15 0

Three Herts women are in the starting line up - props Sasha Acheson (Saracens) and Kat Brinsley (Old Albanians), and No. 8 Sonia Green (Saracens). In addition England U20 hero Hannah Gallagher (Saracens) and Hannah Casey (Tabard) will start on the bench.