OA U15s play on 1st team pitch for first time

U15 girls rugby: Junior Saints win against Wootton School 27-22

Wednesday evening at Old Albanains RFC saw the first ever evening match between the U15 girls and a school team, held at the club, and the girls played on the 1st team pitch!

All the senior women were there to cheer the girls on in a very competitive match.

Interestingly the school team had been coached by Emma Nichol, Captain of the Saints 2nd XV, while the junior Saints have been coached by the club's own Jane Everett, a former Saint and former England player. Jane also holds a winners medal from when the England women won the the Rugby World Cup in 1994.

The junior Saints were Captained by Hayley Everett who has also played for the Herts County team and is currently in the RFUW London & SE Divisional team. Hayley took up rugby when she was 11 years old. We wonder if her rugby talent is hereditary as her aunt Cath Everett is also a former Saint and used to play for England A team. Clearly a player to watch.

Captain Hayley Everett said, “ Both teams really enjoyed themselves because it was a very competitive match reflected in the close final score of 27-22 to the Saints. All the junior Saints played well and brought all the hours of training on the park to fruition. We are delighted that Wooton School would like to make this a regular fixture. .”

Regional Girls Schools Festival

U15 tournament:
All 4 semi finalists were from Hertfordshire - Hockerill, Presdales, Chauncy and Nobel.
Presdales beat Hockerill in a very close final.

U13 tournament:
3 out 4 semi finalists were from Hertfordshire – Beaumont, Presdales and Hitchin.
Beaumont won the final.

51 school teams took part with schools from London North (Herts, Essex, and Eastern Counties)

Girls Schools Festival, Friday

Hertfordshire is hosting the London North Girls Festival on Friday. Part of this competition (Tag+) will send the finalists to the Army v Navy Day at Twickenham where the girls will play showcase games on the pitch. We have also put in place a Lon North v Lon South Finals for U13 Contact and U15 Contact on the same day (although not playing on the pitch).

The Regional Finals on Friday is taking place at Jobbers Wood, The Bishops Stortford High School, Great Hadham Road, Much Hadham, SG10 6JE.

Matches start at 11am.

If anyone from any of the clubs is available to come and assist with some refereeing, we would be very grateful for some extra help, as 51 teams are expected!!!

Referees will need to arrive by 10am, and the event should be completed by 2:30pm.

If anyone is willing and able....! please let me know : clarecooper@Rfu.com

Hertfordshire's Michaela Staniford wins 50th cap

Hertfordshire's Michaela Staniford will win her 50th cap today when she plays for England v France in Paris.

Michaela, who was born over the border in High Wycombe but first played when 13 at Rickmansworth School. Michaela said: “We competed at Sevens and I then joined Fullerians, the local team in Watford.

“Lee Parkin, my teacher, introduced me to rugby and put so much time and effort into the team"

Details of the Girls Rugby Day at Royston on 25th March

Venue    Royston RFC
             The Heath
             Baldock Road 
             Royston

Sunday 25th March     11.00am   - 1.00pm

11.00am  -  12noon   Coaching

proposed to have coaching stations that the girls move round 

At the moment confirmed as helping  are Mel , Adrian and myself
therefore 

Contact and Tackling   - Adrian
Open play, Use of space, lines of running, passing and positional play    - Mel
Scrummaging    - Kevin

the more volunteer coaches we have means the more we can break these  down in to more specific areas

12noon  -  1pm  Matches

Either mini tournament or single matches dependant upon the number of girls we have 
I assume the coaches will allso be OK to help out refereeing these matches

Unfortunately I dont seem to have a comprehensive contact list therfore could I ask that you forward this to any club that you think might be interested 
So far I have had confirmation of attendance from Royston  u13 & u15, Hitchin u13 , Welwyn u 13 & u15 and Hertford u13 & u15
Hemel wont be coming as they have a fixture with Harlow on the 25th

Peter Mccullough

Divisional news

England flanker Maggie Alphonsi will be hoping for double success on Sunday afternoon with her Six Nations match against France in Paris to be followed by the latest match for London & South East in the RFUW Women’s Divisional Programme.

Development of players is the principal aim in the divisional programme, which runs at three age levels – seniors, Under 18s and Under 15s – with the London & South East seniors kicking off against the North in Sheffield an hour or so after Alphonsi and her team get started in their international Test at Stade Charlety.

Alphonsi is the Talent Identification Officer in London & South East, and so is overseeing the region’s female players hoping to progress from club rugby to representing their county, their division and their country through the programme that forms an integral part of the RFUW Player Pathway.

Having kicked off their three-match fixture list with a 17-5 win over the South West at Newbury on February 26, London & South East seniors have made nine changes to the starting line-up to take on the North, who were 24-14 winners over the Midlands.

Tina Lee, the captain, switches from fly half to scrum half, four players step up from the bench and five come into the XV from outside the previous match squad.

Alphonsi said: “The squad will be without our England U20 players Mica Evans, Ellie Gatlin, Hannah Edwards and Fiona Davidson as they will, like me, be away playing their first match against the French.

“London & South East will also be without England Sevens players Leanne Riley and Emily Scott as they prepare for their next tournament.

“I am very confident though that we have some fantastic players who have all been involved in the programme over the last few years. They are starting to gel well together and will relish the opportunity to play against the North.

“This fixture last year saw London & South East dominate and win the match. I feel the re-match on Sunday will be a good one as both teams will be coming off the back of too good wins.

“I’ve got my fingers crossed, knowing the team manager Helen Richardson will text the news through to me in France.

“But, at all times, the main purpose in this programme is for all the players to enjoy themselves while adding to their understanding and appreciation of the game.”

London & South East Women Seniors v North, away, at Sheffield RFC, March 11, 2012 (2pm):

15 Sophie Nicholas (Richmond and Surrey)
14 Holly Myers (Trojans and Hampshire)
13 Stacey White (Wasps and Middlesex)
12 Louise Meadows (Saracens and Middlesex)
11 Charlotte Barras (Saracens and Hertfordshire)
10 Jayne Goodliffe (Richmond and Surrey)
9 Tina Lee (Wasps and Surrey, capt)
1 Sasha Acheson (Saracens and Eastern Counties)
2 Katherine Evans (Saracens and Hertfordshire, vice capt)
3 Ellisha Dee (Old Albanians Saints and Hertfordshire)
4 Sara Anastasi (Richmond and Surrey)
5 Debbie McCormack (Medway and Kent)
6 Becky Roby (Saracens and Hertfordshire)
7 Libby Povey (Richmond and Surrey)
8 Nicola Hoole (Richmond and Surrey)

Replacements:
16 Laura Kapo (Richmond and Surrey)
17 Nat McClarnon (Saracens and Essex)
18 Hannah Field (Wasps and Middlesex)
19 Helena Potts (London Welsh and Middlesex)
20 Claire Phelps (Lakenham Hewett and Eastern Counties)
21 Sam McCarthy (Richmond and Surrey)
22 Elaine Jaxon (Blackheath and Kent)

Head Coach David Mobbs Smith, Assistant Coach James Cooper, Manager Helen Richardson, Physio Lara Ryan.

Women’s Seniors’ fixtures 2012:

February 26: North 24 Midlands 14, Blackwell Meadows Darlington; South West 5 London & South East 17, Newbury RFC.

March 11: Midlands v South West, Whitchurch RFC, 2pm; North v London & South East, Sheffield RFC, 2pm.

March 18: Midlands v London & South East, Five Ways OE, Worcester, 1pm; South West v North, Stroud RFC, 3pm.

RFUW looking to unearth new international Sevens talent

Following the success of last year’s England Women Open Sevens Trials, the Rugby Football Union for Women (RFUW) will once again host open trials in April in a bid to unearth some new rugby talent.

12 months ago, 85 players attended the open trials and eight players, who had never played rugby for England before, were selected into the Elite Player Squad. England then went on to compete in five tournaments last year, picking up a championship win in the European Sevens and reaching the final of the inaugural Women’s Sevens Challenge Cup in Dubai.

With Rugby Sevens now on the Olympic agenda, with the sport set to make its debut in 2016 at the Rio de Janeiro Games, Rugby Sevens is going from strength to strength. This season there will be two further Women’s Sevens Challenge Cup Series in Hong Kong (March 23-24) and London (May 12-13) and there are plans afoot to establish an IRB Women’s Sevens World Series in time for the start of the 2012/13 season.

The England Sevens trials will be held on April 21st at Surrey Sports Park in Guildford and the trials are completely OPEN. You don’t need a huge amount of Sevens experience and players can be selected from both inside and outside of the current RFUW Performance Pathways. Those attending trials will be tested on their fitness, rugby skills and game play.

Nicola Ponsford, the RFUW’s Head of Performance, said: “We think there are players outside of our current system with huge amounts of talent who we’ve never seen before. Some of these players may only just have started playing at University or College for example but have the potential to become fantastic players. We really want anyone who has a great level of fitness or rugby skills to come along and show us what they can do. This really is a chance to unearth new talent.”

If you’re selected into the Elite Player Squad or Sevens development pathway , you’ll receive strength and conditioning training, one-on-one coaching and the opportunity to train with England’s top sevens coaches. Plus, of course, represent your country in the England Sevens programme which this season will include the London Sevens, the European Women’s Sevens series and the 2013 WRWC Sevens Qualification tournament amongst other high profile championships.

To submit your application to attend the open trials go to https://secure.jotform.com/form/20522116373. Entries must be received by April 13th.