New team manager for adult county team

Message from Charlie White:

I just wanted to introduce myself. Next season i will be talking on Jo's old role as the Hert's Womens Rugby Team manager.


I know we have talented players who are currently playing in many of the women's team across Hertfordshire, this season i want to give the Hertfordshire Women's team all the support they need to compete at a decent level and show the other counties all the talent we have.


The first thing i am doing is looking for commitment coaches and setting up the date and venue for the County Trials.


As i'm new to this role any help is more than appreciated.


Hope to hear from you all soon


Thanks


Charlie

Herts Girls 7's Tring RFC Sun 16th May Results

TringRugby Club hosted the 2010 Herts Girls 7's tournament on Sunday 16th May at there grounds in Cow Lane,Tring. 40 teams from Herts, Beds, Bucks, Surrey, Kent, Oxford, Leices and Worces Clubs and Schools attended. After competing in Leagues the U18 and U15 Semi Finals and Finals were keenly competed with some attractive and flowing Rugby being played,, the U12's played in a round robin league format to decide the champions.

The tournament was possibly the largest Girls 7's competition held in the UK ,TringRugbys premier league partner club, Wasps provided 1st team players from their men's and women sides for the presentations along with the club mascot "Sting". The results are as follows:

U18 Section

Cup: Winners - Worcester; Runner up - Welwyn Saints
Plate: Winners - Ealing; Runner up - Reading
Bowl: Winners - Paviors; Runner up - Letchworth Saracens
Shield: Winners - Oxfordshire; Runner up - Aylestone St James


U15 Section

Cup: Winners - London Irish; Runner up - Paviors
Plate: Joint Winners - Rochford and Berkshire Ba Baa's
Bowl: Winners - Bucks Jesters; Runner up - Letchworth Saracens
Shield: Winners - Guildford; Runner up - Oxfordshire B
Egg Cup: Winners - Hertford; Runner up - Old Albanians

U12 Section

Cup Winners: Hertfordshire Ba Baa's.

Girls National Cup Litchfield Sat 8 May + Sun 9 May Results

Under 18 Tournament:

Cup: Winners - London Irish; Runners up - Reading Baa baas (Semi Finalists: Welwyn and Worcester, but no 3rd / 4th play-off game took place).

Plate: Winners - AGT Jaguars; Runners up - Paviors.

Bowl: Winners - West Park Leeds; Runners up - North Dorset.

Under 15 Tournament:

Cup: Winners - Paviors; Runners up - London Irish (Semi Finalists: Welwyn and Berks Baa baas, and Welwyn won in 3rd / 4th play-off game).

Plate: Winners - Worcester; Runners up - Burfield.

Bowl: Winners - Morpeth; Runners up - Hertford.

Herts Sevens 2010: Fixtures and match times (REVISED)

Tring have now published the FINAL fixtures and match times for Herts 7s on 16th May. Click here for details. You are requested to bring a copy of this with you to the tournament.

Further information from Tring:

LEAGUE FORMAT:

1)WIN =  2 POINTS , DRAW = 1 POINT, LOSE = 0 POINTS.

2) NO conversions in the league stages.

3) EQUAL POINTS AT THE END OF THE LEAGUE FORMAT = winners of the match between the teams on level point / try's scored / try's conceded / toss of the coin.

SEMI FINAL FORMAT:

1) Conversions will apply.

2) If at full time teams are equal on points = Team with most trys scored / most conversions / toss of a coin.

FINAL FORMAT: 

1) Conversions will apply.

2) If equal at full time = Team with most trys scored / most conversions / if all equal then teams will share the trophy.

---

What happens next?

1) Let Mark Firth at Tring (mf@taplowconsulting.com) know if you are coming by coach, we need to reserve spots to park them.

2) All teams need to fill in there squad sheets and HAND THEM IN TO THE TANNOY UPON ARRIVAL

3) PLEASE NOTE - NO DOGS ALLOWED ON SITE

4) PARKING IS FREE - NO PARKING ALONG COW LANE WHICH WILL HAVE CONES ALL ALONG IT.

5) Presentations - will follow completion of ALL FINALS by the Tannoy area, Medals for both teams competing in the final and trophy for the winners.

Try women's tag rugby this summer

Try Tag Rugby - a London based company - are developing the sport of adult Tag Rugby which is extremely popular in Ireland, Australia and NZ firstly in London and then hopefully the UK.

They are currently running six mixed gender leagues and one men’s league in London and were planning on running a women’s only league at Finsbury Park on Thursday nights, but are currently struggling for numbers of interested players. Hampstead ladies Rugby Union club entering a team and a few further individuals signed up. However we were hopeful of running a 4 team league.

Interested players should visit www.trytagrugby.com or email info@trytagrugby.com or call Alistair Davis on 07780880893.

Herts Sevens 2010: the draw

Tring RFC, hosts of this years' Herts Sevens, have now made the draw for the tournament. Organiser Mark Firth reports:

Ladies and Gents,

The Draw (details below)
Last Night at OA's clubhouse the Herts 7's tournament draw took place, with celebrities and TV companies grounded due to Icelandic ash , our good friends from Herts RFU drew the teams whilst marching bands and the Chippendales danced in the spotlights.

We have 22 teams for the U15 section and 22 teams for the U18's participating in the tournament. We devised a "seeding" system that took into account last years finalists and tried to keep teams from the same counties apart from each other in the "league" stages,although some Hert's teams will play each other at that stage due to the number of teams entering from the area.

U18's - Late entrants Wisbech are in group 1, We have put a Ba Baa's side in group 3, Hertford have 3 ladies for the Ba Baa's but if other teams have "extra" players, please let me know, so we can confirm this Ba Baa's side. Groups 1 and 3 have 6 teams, so the 2 teams that finish bottom from those groups will play in a "wooden spoon" final.

U15's - Groups 1 and 3 have 6 teams, so the 2 teams that finish bottom in those groups will play in a  "wooden spoon" final.

U12's - We only had 2 teams enter, we are trying to get others involved and are talking to the 2 teams concerned, we do want to have an U12's section to this tournament.

What happens next?
1) In the coming 2 weeks ,we will announce the fixture schedule, Due to the number of teams we intend to kick off the tournament at 10:00am on the 16th May.

2) Once the league matches have produced a table, Group 1 winners will play Group 3 in the semi's, Group 2 winners will play Group 4 winners in the semi's for the cup,we will also have plate, Bowl, Shield and golden spoon semis and finals depending on where teams finish in the leagues, this should ensure all teams make a semi final.

3) We will issue details about parking etc at the same time as the fixtures. I NEED TO KNOW IF ANY TEAMS ARE COMING BY COACH SO I CAN MAKE PARKING ARRANGEMENTS.

Pre Tournament Entertainment
In Tring the largest company is Grass Roots PLC, they support a number of the towns sports clubs including the rugby club, to celebrate the companies 30th anniversary, they are holding a "SPIRIT OF TRING" night on Saturday 15th May at the football club next door to us, 6000 people are expected and Tring Rugby is helping organise food and drink for the event.

We cannot give any "group" discount" as this is a local fund raising event, BUT TRING RUGBY WILL SPONSOR A MEAL AND DRINK TICKET PER PERSON IN YOUR PARTY THAT BOOKS (please advise me once you have completed the online booking for yourself or group).

Any teams that are looking to travel up to the area the night before and want entertaining, the details are:
Doors open at 6m and the show will conclude around 10.30pm, TICKETS ARE: ADULT £20/ U16 £15 per person.

The fabulously talented and well known local band Soul Fish will kick the event off in style with their unique brand of high energy Soul and Rhythm & Blues.

They will be followed by The Music of Queen – A Rock & Symphonic Spectacular, which features a full rock band and songs from the West End smash hit musical We Will Rock You, combined with an orchestra, performing epic arrangements of Queen's huge hits.

The event will conclude with a stunning Proms Symphony Orchestra playing the full range of memorable classics.

There will be food,drink available and a fabulous fireworks finale.

FURTHER INFORMATION AND  TICKET PURCHASES CAN BE FOUND AT - www.spirit-of-tring.com

U15 DRAW

Group 1
London Irish
Aylestone St James
Oxfordshire A
Letchworth Saracens
Oakmeadians
OA's

Group 2
Welwyn Garden City
Rochford 100
Ealing Middx leapords
Guildford
Old Northampton

Group 3
Worcester
Berkshire Ba Baa's
Stevenage
Camberley
Oxfordshire B
Royston

Group 4
Paviors
Bucks Jesters
Hertford
Newquay
Bishop Stortford

U18 DRAW

Group 1
London Irish
Bucks Jesters
Oakmeadians
Oxfordshire
Royston
Wisbech


Group 2
Worcester
Paviors
Ealing Middx Leapords
Bishop Stortford
Welwyn Garden City Sinners

Group 3
Welwyn Garden City Saints
Reading
Newquay
Richard Hale School
Aylestone St James B
Hertford BA BAA'S

Group 4
Rochford 100
Letchworth Saracens
Aylestone St James A
Thomas Becket School
Old Northampton

Kind Regards

Mark Firth,TringRugby

Gloucester 10's Hartpury College 17-18 April

Under 18 Tournament:

Cup: Winners - Worcester; Runners up - Welwyn.

Shield: Winners - Reading; Runners up - Thornbury.

Plate: Winners - Burfield; Runners up - Newport.

Under 15 Tournament:

Cup: Winners - Worcester; Runners up - Welwyn.

Bowl: Winners - Ellingham and Ringwood; Runners up - Newport.

Plate: Winners - Exeter; Runners up - Reading.


Results involving Herts Team:

U15 Tournament:

Group stage:

Welwyn 17 Burfield 0
Welwyn 12 Drybrook 0
Welwyn 26 Cleve 0

Cup Quarter Final:

Welwyn 22 Newport 5

Cup Semi Final:

Welwyn 10 Cardiff 5

Cup Final:

Welwyn 0 Worcester 12

U18 Tournament:

Group stage:

Welwyn 5 Burfield 0
Welwyn 10 Reading 7


Cup Quarter Final:

Welwyn 19 Thornbury 14

Cup Semi Final:

Welwyn 12 Cardiff 7

Cup Final:

Welwyn 0 Worcester 17

Regional Festival Results Litchfield RFC 10 + 11 April 2010

Under 15s

Group 3:

East 17 Yorkshire 0
East 0 Scarletts 7

Plate (5th-8th):
West Midlands 7 East 5

7th/8th:
East 17 North West 7 (East U15 finished 7th)

Under 18s

Group 1:

North West 0 East 10
Scarletts 7 East 7

Cup (1st-4th):

East 12 South West South 5
South 12 South West North 7

Cup Final: East 0 South 0 (East U18 finished as joint winners)

A strong East U18 Squad went to the Regional Festival, with Herts. girls playing a substantial role. The Draw saw East yet again with the Welsh Regional Winners in their Group, a strong Scarlets team containing an number of their U18 players who played last week for Wales. First up for the East was a North West Team who had battled hard to hold the Scarlets to a draw. East knew a win was necessary and started well applying pressure from the kick off. North West tackled and defended well again but the East were too strong and won 10:0. Next up were the Scarlets and East were all up for this tough encounter. Unfortunately an early mistake in the backs saw the Scarlets intercept the ball and run in a Try under the posts. East came right back at the Scarlets and the rest of the game saw the East pressing the Scarlets line in wave after wave of attack and stout defending of the line by the Scarlets keeping them out. With two minutes left Chloe Bake made a break down the right but was tackled into touch just short of the line. The pressure on the Scarlets lineout saw them throw not straight. The Scrum to East was won cleanly and the ball was passed down the line to Alex Grant who was driven over under the posts. Emily Scott kicked the conversion to see East draw and progress to the Cup Semi-Final.

Here they came up against a resurgent South West South. From the kick off East attacked SWS. This paid off with a score in the first minute easing their nerves. SWS came back but the East defence was strong and kept the pressure on SWS preventing them from building momentum. In the second half built up the pressure on the SWS constantly attacking the line and were rewarded with another Try by India giving a 12:0 lead. SWS came back from the kick off and got their reward with an unconverted try in the corner, but the East defence held out for the final two minutes.

This set up a rematch of last year’s Final against the South. This was a Final everyone knew would be decided on by the narrowest of margins, a mistake or unlucky bounce of the ball. Every Player gave 110%, ferocious tackling stopped every break and neither team could get the ascendancy. Injuries abounded by the nature of the contest making it a stop start game. The East finally got the break with a long range Penalty but in the windy conditions it drifted narrowly wide and the game finished 0:0. In sudden death for 5 minutes, neither team making a mistake or giving an inch. Again East got a Penalty, this time out wide by the Touchline and again the ball drifted just wide in the wind. At the end both teams fought each other to a standstill and the Trophy for the last ever Girls Regional Festival was shared, with the East U18 being undefeated for the past two years, having won the Cup Final in 2009.

Presdales School win regional girls' title - again!

Presdales School are the regional girls' champions for the second year running. The county competition took place two weeks ago at Woollams Playing fields and Nobel, Hockerill Presdales, Queens, Turnford and St Mary's were entered, though Turnford had to drop out. Presdales and Hockerill went on to represent Herts at the London North competition on Friday last, at Jobbers Wood.

This year at the regional we had 11 schools enter- Thomas Deacon, Presdales, Waldergrave, Grey Court, William Edwards, Hockerill, King Edward, Barking Abbey, Fakenham, Whitton, Cambridge.

The schools were put into two pools, round robin type of competition,  the overall winners from each playing off . These were Presdales and Hockerill, ( both unbeaten in the round robin games) - the runners up from both pools ( Barking Abbey and William Edwards) played off for 3rd and 4th place.

Presdales won 15-5 and the rain, which had held off all day, poured down during the very exciting final! Barking Abbey beat William Edwards.

It was a good fun day and true sportsmanship was shown by all the teams in the pool with King Edward. King Edward had arrived without any subs.-  two minutes into the very first game, one of their players dislocated her knee, and had to go to hospital. This left the team with only 11 players. All the girls from the other teams, when asked, willingly and happily dropped a player so that the teams played 11 a-side, some teams even offering to lend a player to their opponents!

There is no National competition this year, unfortunately, so we don't know if Presdlaes would have been crowned Natinal Chmaps for a 2nd year running.

The referees were Skip, and Dean Cutting ( an Essex CRC) and Dave and Arrun from BSHS, who they did an excellent job.

RFU President's XV Awards 2010: Young Volunteers vRugby Category Winner

Winner: Welwyn RFC

The creation of Hertfordshire's Rugby Awareness Week by two 15-year-old Rugby playing Girls, Oren Blindell and Rachel McCullough, from Welwyn RFC proved an outstanding initiative which grew into a major boost fo the game in their area. They were successful in applying for just under £10,000 of funding from The Big Spend (Youth Opportunities Fund) and with support from Amanda Bate, Herts RFU Volunteer Co-ordinator, the Hertfordshire RDO Peter Engledow, the idea became reality when Hertfordshire Rugby Awareness Week took place between 16-20 November 2009.

The Category Winners Award plus prize cheque for £500 will be presented by a Panel Judge, Jason Leonard (England's most capped Player) at the Welwyn Girls Rugby Presentation Evening on Friday 4th June.

East Region Girls Results Sleaford RFC Sun 21st March 2010

Under 18:

East 65 (Tash Berbank Tx1, Alex Grant Tx3, Claire Shutler Herts Tx3 + Cx2, Francis Dawson Herts Tx1, Jess Robinson Herts Tx2, Yaz Pemberton Tx1, Georgia Peedle Cx3) North East 0.

Under 15:

East 24 (Sydney Gregson Herts Tx1, Sidnie Nurthen Herts Tx1, Lotte Clapp Herts Tx2, Abbie Maxwell Herts Cx2) North East 12.

Report on the U18 game from Simon Shutler:

A depleted East region squad went to Sleaford to take on the North East, the result showing the depth of talent in the squad. Tash opened the scoring after a good break by Ellie. A break by Alex to score was then converted by Georgia. Good pressure by East on a 5m NE defensive scrum saw Frankie intercept a pass to score. East dominated the scrum all afternoon winning some very good ball to set up attacks and starving the NE of possession. From another 5m scrum a No. 8 pickup and pass allowed Claire to score and Georgia convert. Jess then broke twice in quick succession to 2 tries before half time, with Claire converting one.

At the start of the second half a NE scrum on the East 10m line was taken against the head again and a good back row move put Claire away to score and convert. Excellent handling and some slick passing then saw Yaz score and Georgia convert. Alex then made a 70m break but the final pass didn’t go to hand. East took the 5m scrum against the head and Alex crashed over. She then got her hat trick again going over from close range. A lineout take and drive by Ellie into the NE defence saw her pass to Claire to beat the full back and score under the posts, Georgia converting.  

Herts 7s: U15 Team from India would like to take part!

Mark Firth, the Organiser of this Seasons Herts Girls 7’s Tournament at Tring RFC, was contacted last Wednesday about this, and the facts as we understand them are:

• A Girls Team from India have heard of the Herts Girls 7’s (they are 10 Girls + Coaches).
• They have asked if they could take part in this years Tournament.
• Their Air Fares would potentially be paid by Touraid, a Christian Charity that helps Sports Club Tours for Children from disadvantaged parts of the World.
• They have asked if we could find 5 "host families" to put up the Girls up for a week (around the time of the Tournament) whilst they are here.

Can any of you help? If so please contact:
Andy Berry
CEO, Touraid
164, Portsmouth Road
Cobham KT11 1HS
www.touraid.org
UK 07980-042358
UK 01932-863388

East Region Girls Results Old Albanians Sun 21st Feb 2010

Under 18:

East 23 (Chloe Baker Herts Tx2, Claire Shutler Herts Tx1, Georgia Peedle Herts Tx1, Emily Scott Herts Px1) South East 10.

East 24 (Chloe Baker Herts Tx1, Claire Shutler Herts Tx1, Scarlett Cooper-Wall Herts Tx1, Alex Grant Tx1, Georgia Peedle Herts Cx1, Emily Scott Herts Cx1) Thames Valley 0.

Under 15:

East 34 (Sydney Gregson Herts Tx2, Faye Smale Tx1, Abbie Graham Tx1, Mollie Ames Tx1, Lotte Clapp Herts Tx1, Abbie Maxwell Herts Cx2) Thames Valley 22.

East 22 (Emily Danielson Tx1, Maddie Lockwood Tx1, Abbie Graham Tx1, Lotte Clapp Herts Tx1, Abbie Maxwell Herts Cx1) South East 17.

OA Saints U18 "Open Evening"

A reminder that OA Saints are hosting their annual Under 18 training session for players who are moving up to senior rugby next season on WEDNESDAY 24th FEBRUARY, 7.15pm to 9pm at OA Rugby Club on Harpenden Road, St. Albans. Parents and coaches are very welcome. Any questions to...

Tasha Saint-Smith
OA Saints Chairwoman
Tel: 07971 849290

East Region Girls Trial 31st January

After the recent Regional Trial, the following Hertfordshire County Girls have been selected for East Region this Season:

Under 18

Courtney Arberry
Chloe Baker
Harriet Bullock
Scarlett Cooper-Wall
Francis Dawson
Charlie Faloona
Alice Finn
Shira Kilgallon
Alice Nee
Georgia Peedle
Jess Robinson
Emily Scott
Claire Shutler
Sam Voyle


Under 15

CJ Carpenter
Lotte Clapp
Stevie Farrow
Melissa Gargaro
Penny Gilbert
Sydney Gregson
Nancy Harrison
Ellie Hurer
Amber King
Abbie Maxwell
Sidney Nurthen
Bryony Pomfret

RFUW Director recruitment

The RFUW is currently looking to increase the number of Directors on the Board and is looking for at least 2 exceptional individuals who share the vision to create and support an environment that promotes, develops and sustains opportunities for woman and girls to participate and achieve their potential in rugby.

We are looking for individuals who are currently involved in women’s rugby, who are passionate about the sport and who really want to make a difference. It is key that these individuals have demonstrated leadership, trust, integrity, team work, accountability, inclusiveness and dedication within a rugby environment.

The position is voluntary and Directors are required to attend five or six Board meetings a year held in Twickenham on Saturdays. Expenses will be paid.

We would welcome individuals from any background – if possible we would like to have representation from the North of England. The key is that the individual is committed to making a difference and can bring fresh ideas and thoughts to the Board.

Please register your interest or send applications to Susan Allen, RFUW, Rugby House, Twickenham Stadium, 200 Whitton Road, Twickenham, TW2 7BA or to susanallen@rfu.com.

OA Saints "Open Evenings" for U18s

As last year, the OA Saints are going to host another couple of training sessions for the local Hertfordshire under 18 players who are moving up to Senior Rugby in September. This worked very well last year and allowed them to introduce themselves and train together to give the girls an informed choice about where they wish to play their senior rugby.

The dates for our sessions are as follows:

Wednesday 24th February, 7.15 - 9pm at OA's Rugby Club

Monday 15th March, 7,15 - 9pm at OA's Rugby Club

Naturally, parents and coaches are very welcome and there will be plenty of beer in the bar afterwards!

Should you have any questions or queries, do please contact Tasha, OA Saints Chairwoman, on 07971 849290

Regional trials postponed

From Clare Cooper (National Programme Lead):

After taking into consideration the current weather situation the RFUW has made the decision to POSTPONE ALL Youth Trials and the re-arranged Senior Trials this weekend 16th and 17th January 2010. In addition to the current weather across the country, we are also concerned that players have not been able to train for a long period of time due to the frozen ground, and it would be unwise for them to go straight into a trial situation.

Youth Trials will take place on Sunday 31st January as stated in the contingency calendar sent out last week. Regional Programme Managers will decide locally when Senior re-arranged Trials are to take place. Further information on dates and times will be released on http://www.regionalrugby.com and will be available through the Regional Programme Managers.

This decision has not been taken lightly and we believe that it has been made with the best interests of all Regional Programme participants in mind.

The "international" between Nomads and Wales at Saracens has already been cancelled due to a waterlogged pitch.

Herts Girls Newsletter issued

A newsletter has been issued. Articles include the county girls team triumph in the NLD tournament, the Herts U15 league, the development of girls' rugby in the county's schools, and the new Royston girls team.

Click here to see a copy.

Women's international this weekend - at Saracens

Weather permitting, Saracens RFC in Southgate are due to host an "international" this Saturday between 2009 triple crown winners Wales, and Nomads - the women's equivalent of the Barbarians.

Kick-off will be at 1pm.

President's XV award: Last chance to enter

Letchworth Girls and Welwyn Girls have been successful in the past - can you make it a Hertfordshire hat-trick?

With only three weeks left before this season’s President’s XV Awards close, there is still time to put your club/rugby organisation forward for this year’s awards.

Ability on the pitch does not govern who will win the 15 categories for which the £10,500 in prize money will be awarded - clever ideas, big or small, from any quarter which promote and support the game will be recognised and celebrated. With £500 prize money for the 15 winners and £100 for each of the 30 runners up, the PXV Panel is keen to hear about your imaginative ideas and good practice that continue developing our grassroots game.

The RFU recently launched the promotion of its CORE Values, with the focus on Teamwork, Respect, Enjoyment, Discipline and Sportsmanship and to highlight this, the first of this season’s 15 awards will go to the organisation with an initiative which best promotes these values. All categories embrace the key areas which together contribute to a successful, vibrant club and help to deliver opportunities in all areas of the game; from fundraising and improving facilities, to increasing member numbers and linking with the local community:

1. This Is Rugby
2. More Volunteers
3. More Referees
4. More Coaches
5. Better Facilities
6. Girl Power
7. Social Inclusion
8. Community Links
9. School's Development
10. Play On
11. Veterans
12. Technology
13. Fundraising
14. Young Volunteers (vRugby)
15. Seal of Approval Club of the Year

“The brilliant ideas and schemes that organisations come up never cease to amaze me.” says RFU President John Owen: “Entries for this competition have previously underlined not only the quality of the work being done, but also the extraordinary level of creativity and imagination which is being applied.

“The President’s XV Awards give organisations the opportunity to showcase their good ideas, earn recognition for these ideas and, more importantly, help deliver those benefits to a wider audience.”

The judging panel will be:

• RFU President John Owen
• Immediate Past President Brian Williams
• Senior Vice President Richard Appleby
• Junior Vice President Willie Wildash
• Rugby Football Union for Women President Gill Burns
• England’s most-capped player Jason Leonard
• Paul Morgan, editor of Rugby World magazine.

For full details on the President’s XV schemeand the online nomination form, visit www.rfu.com/presidentsxv. Closing date for this season’s awards is February 2, 2010.

NLD Girls Tournament Results Sleaford RFC Sun 6th Dec

Under 18

U18 Group Stage:

Herts U18 Girls Rugby Team completed the County Season in the Notts, Lincs and Derby (NLD) Tournament against seven other Counties. Herts got away to a confident start in the Group Stage against East Midlands winning 31-0 with 5 Tries from Charlie Faloona, Claire Shutler (x2), Jess Robinson and Chloe Baker, and Three Conversions from Emily Scott.

In the second Group Game however, the team stuttered in the face of some excellent and dogged play from the Staffordshire girls and it was 0-0 at Half Time. Captain Frankie Dawson came to the fore and Courtney Arberry grabbed 2 Tries, plus a Conversion from Emily Scott gave Herts a 12-0 win.

The third Group Game was a straightforward 41-0 win against the NLD ‘B’ side with Tries from Hannah Winfield, Emily Scott (who added 3 Conversions), Shira Kilgallon, Alice Nee and a great hat trick from the flying Wing Alice Finn.

The final Group Game was against an impressive looking, unbeaten Yorkshire side. The big Yorkshire Forwards tried to dominate but the Herts Girls exerted great pressure as the game went on and came away as winners by 17-0 with tries by Alice Finn, Claire Shuttler and Courtney Arberry. Emily Scott Converted once.



Herts 31 East Midlands 0
Tries: Charlie Faloona, Claire Shutler (x2), Jess Robinson, Chloe Baker
Conversions: Emily Scott (x3)

Herts 12 Staffordshire 0
Tries: Courtney Arberry (x2)
Conversion: Emily Scott

Herts 41 Notts, Lincs and Derbyshire (B) 0
Tries: Alice Finn (x3), Hannah Winfield, Alice Nee, Shira Kilgallon, Emily Scott
Conversions: Emily Scott (x3)

Herts 17 Yorkshire 0
Tries: Alice Finn, Claire Shutler, Courtney Arberry
Conversion: Emily Scott

U18 Final:

This set up the Final against the other Group Winners NLD ‘A’. The sides were very well matched and after normal playing time there was no score thanks to some Try saving tackles by the Herts Full Back Emma Wilson. The Game went into sudden death Extra-Time and an early infringement by the NLD side gave Herts a Penalty within kicking range. Emily Scott’s kick hit the upright but the ball bounced over to cap a brilliant running display by the Outside Half. The Referee ended the game and Hertfordshire were NLD Under 18 Tournament Winners for the first time.


Herts 3 NLD(A) 0 Sudden death in extra time
Penalty: Emily Scott


Under 15

U15 Group Stage:

Herts 5 Yorkshire 0
Try: Lotte Clapp.

Herts 24 Eastern Counties 0
Tries: Lotte Clapp (x2), Sidney Nurthen, Chloe-Jean Carpenter.
Conversions: Abbie Maxwell, Stevie Farrow.

Herts 17 Cheshire 0
Tries: Sydney Gregson (x2), Lotte Clapp.
Conversion: Abbie Maxwell.

U15 Final:

Herts 7 v NLD (A) 17
Try: Chloe-Jean Carpenter.
Conversion: Abbie Maxwell

Herts Rugby Awareness Week: video

The video used as part of Herts Rugby Awareness Week is now available:

Recommendations from the Competition Review Group on the RFUW Pathway for Implementation 2010-11

These recommendations have been published by the RFUW.

A Player Pathway Feedback Form has been issued with a return date before 25 January 2010, which is also the date that the London N and S and South Evening Roadshow is taking place at Twickenham, hosted by Rosie Williams, Nicky Ponsford and David Rose. The purpose of the Roadshow is to discuss the document, and examine any local issues which may need to be addressed to ensure the success of the programme.

Herts Womens and Girls Rugby Development Group Meeting Mon 11th Jan

The next meeting of the HWGRDG is taking place on Mon 11th Jan at Hertford RFC starting at 7.30. If you have not previously attended these meetings (usually 3-4 times a year) this group works together to plan Tournaments, run the County Teams, exchange Best Practice and advice, and to try and help each other develop Womens and Girls Rugby in Herts. If your club does not send a rep to the group and would like to do so, or if you are a regular attendee who has a specific Agenda item, then please e-mail me on peter.mccullough@ntlworld.com

England Women Under 20 Squad 2009-2010

The England Women’s Under 20's Squad for this Season has been announced and contains 4 Players who play for Herts Womens and Girls Clubs:

Milly Fuggles: OA Saints*

Hannah Gallagher: Welwyn Under 18's*

Emily Scott: Welwyn Under 18's*

Geraldine Thomas: OA Saints*

* Indicated new Under 20's squad member

England Women’s U20s playing schedule:

France U20s v England U20s, March 21, KO 1pm, Sainte Nazaire

England U20s v Wales U20s, April 7, venue and KO TBC

Wales U20s v England U20s, May (weekend of May 8/9), venue and KO TBC

Herts Girls 7's 16th May 2010: Tring RFC

Hertfordshire Womens and Girls Rugby are pleased to announce that we have a new host for this Seasons Herts Girls 7’s on 16th May 2010. Tring have confirmed that they will have 4 Pitches available (2 x U15 and 2 x U18) plus an area for the U12 Section and it is another great opportunity for Girls Rugby to be showcased in a different part of the County.

Click here for the invitation letter and entry form.

RFUW Development Squad v. Combined Services November 11th

A Game between RFUW Development Squad and Combined Services is taking place at Aldershot RFC on Rememberance Day on 11th November at 3.30. It is the Curtain raiser for the Men's Combined Services versus Barbarians Game taking pace at 7.30.

The RFUW Development Squad comprises of England Under 20 Players, and Players who are on the fringes of the England Women's Elite 44 Squad.

Three OA Saints Players are in the RFUW Development Squad:

• Sarah McKenna (13)
• Millie Fuggles (17)
• Geri Thomas (19)

Gloucestershire v. Somerset v. Herts Girls 8th November 2009 Gordon League RFC results

Under 18:

Glos U18 5 Herts U18 12 (Alice Finn Welwyn Tx1, Courtney Arberry Welwyn Tx1, Hannah Gallagher Welwyn C x1).

Glos made an impressive start to the game and displayed excellent forward skills, dominating the scrum, rucks and mauls. Herts defended well playing up the slope, but with the game being played well inside the Herts half, the Gloucester forwards eventually broke through from close range to score the first try of the game. Herts made a number of breaks deep into Gloucestershire territory, but just could not find the final pass to score. The half-time team talk and the introduction of Frankie Dawson resulted in much more aggressive forward play from Herts with the scrum being more evenly matched. Herts were now enjoying more possession and territory and the backs began to test the Gloucester defence with good runs from Chloe Baker and Georgia Peedle. Mid-way through the second half, Gloucester attacked from defence but trademark stealing of the ball by Sam Voyle at the breakdown enabled the back line to put Alice Finn in space. She showed good pace to get to the corner and level the scores at 5 points all. Herts piled on the pressure in the final quarter of the game and it was Gloucester’s turn to hang on in defence. The back-row were now leading the way with charges by Frankie Dawson, but it was Courtney Arberry who drove over from close quarters to put Herts into the lead. Hannah Gallagher converted and Herts won with a scoreline of 12-5.

Somerset U18 0 Herts U18 10 (Hannah Gallagher Welwyn Tx1, Alice Finn Welwyn T x1).

This game looked like another forward battle with the Herts new shape front row and back row to the fore. Herts lineout was also functioning well with Jess Robinson in good form all afternoon. But the game was dramatically changed by a brilliant individual run by Hannah Gallagher who beat numerous players in a run from the half way line to score the opening try. The second try came shortly afterwards as a result of good team pressure on the Somerset back line. From a Somerset mistake the ball was passed to Alice Finn who again showed good pace to score the second try and make the score 10-0. It looked like Herts might run away with the game but great credit to Somerset who battled hard. Several final attacks by Herts were foiled by good defence and the final scoreline remained at 10-0.

Under 15:

Glos U15 15 Herts U15 0.

Somerset 19 Herts U15 10 (Lotte Clapp Welwyn Tx2).

Hertfordshire Locality Budget Scheme

Is your club looking for a small funding boost to help support - perhaps - coach training, new equipment, or a community project? If so, a new (and little publicised) scheme launched by Hertfordshire County Council could be useful.

Each elected member of the council has £10,000 to spend on "worthwhile community projects" in their area through "locality budgets" and applicants are encouraged to discuss their proposal with their local member before completing your application.

If they are in agreement, you then complete a simple online application and - once submitted- this is reviewed by your local member who then recommends whether the grant should be awarded. A formal decision will then be made by the council’s chief legal officer, but assuming everything is okay you should receive the agreed funding within 2-3 months.

For more information see these documents on the HCC website.

Herts Sports Partnership: Service to Sport Awards 2009

For the 4th year in a row Herts Womens and Girls Rugby Clubs won accolades at the Annual Herts Sports Partnership Service to Sports Awards:

Coach of the Year (Male)

2nd: Greg Maxwell (Welwyn Warriors).
3rd: Ed Knighton (OA Saints).

Community Club of the Year:

Winners: OA Saints.
3rd: Welwyn Warriors.

Herts Coaching Handbook and County Yearbook

Electronic copies of the complete Herts Coaching Handbook and Herts RFU Yearbook can now be viewed and downloaded from the Herts RFU website. This is the first time that electronic copies of either publication has been made available, complete and free.

The Coaching Handbook contains valuable information for all coaches in the county, or for anyone thinking of becoming a coach. It includes information about courses (for both coaches and referees), expected player standards, tips on effective coaching, and a who's who of the county's coaching team.

The Yearbook is an invaluable source of information about all clubs across the county, including women's clubs and teams.

Rugby Awareness Week, 16-20 November

HERTS RUGBY AWARENESS WEEK

What is it?
An idea of 2 young ladies aged 15, Oren Blindell and Rachel Mccullough,who play for Welwyn, which will benefit boys and girls rugby across the county.

When?
A week in November, Monday 16th November to Friday 20th November.

Where?
In schools across the county, all 70 senior schools we hope.

What will happen?
At least 1 boy and 1 girl who play club rugby, will talk in each school, during assembly, to tell other young people about-

• the fun
• the friendship
• the respect, good sportsmanship, discipline, within the game
• where to play rugby in Herts
• to ask their school (if relevant) to develop both girls and boys rugby teams
• keeping healthy and active through training as well as matches

Myself and the CRC's will be asking for permission for the young speakers to be able to wear their rugby shirt in school that day.

Rachel and Oren are going to produce, posters, leaflets and newsletter, to go out that week too. They are also hoping to make a DVD of Herts Youth Rugby, for every school to show during that week, which will be distributed to the young players who will be doing the assembly.

The young players who would like to speak in the assemblies, will be given help and guidance about what to say.

What do we, the clubs have to do?
I or the CRC's will be in touch with you to find out which players might be interested in speaking in their school assembly. We want every club which has youth rugby, involved. So please talk to your players and find out who is keen to participate. The RDO and CRC's already have some young people lined up- the CSLA students, but we will need at least 70 boys and girls.

What will be the benefit to clubs?
Hopefully it will raise awareness of rugby, and clubs will see new youth members coming along to training sessions. We also hope that with this and other parts of the project, more schools will develop girls rugby, and more schools will enter teams into the schools leagues and into the Emerging Schools competitions, or similar.

What do we need to do now?
Please e-mail me with the names of players willing to speak in their school, with the school name and which club they are from.

Amanda Bate

07523 119436
amanda.bate@hotmail.com
www.sportsupport.vpweb.co.uk

U15 Hertfordshire Girls' League

The new Hertfordshire Girls' U15 development league begins this weekend. Fixtures arranged to date appear below:

International women's rugby website launches

Scrum Queens - the first independent website dedicated to women's rugby worldwide - has been launched. Edited by former Irish Women's RFU's press officer Alison Donnelly it includes contributions from across the rugby world and will aim to cover all international women's rugby.

The growing team of writers come from all parts of the world, not just major nations such as England or the USA, but growing nations such as Singapore and Kenya as well, and will aim to cover the women's game from a independent viewpoint.

The site also makes full use of the latest internet technology with feeds on Twitter and Facebook.

Herts Women push Middlesex all the way

Middlesex 20, Hertfordshire 15 (HT: 20-0)

Hertfordshire ladies started their 2009 county rugby championship off with a combative performance away to favourites Middlesex.

Playing at Grasshoppers rugby club in London, the facilities were excellent and the pitch, though firm, was very well kept. The side were lacking some cohesion after having had only one training session prior to the game, and that with a depleted squad. However, Herts showed no lack endeavour against a strong Middlesex side that were very used to playing with one another.

In the first half, Herts started well and managed to build periods of pressure that, unfortunately, were not turned into points on the board. Simple errors cost Herts both points and possession. Middlesex capitalised on these mistakes and were able to run in 4 tries which flattered them on the scoreboard.

During the half time team talk, Captain Nadia Brannon gave a rousing team talk with coach Gareth Lewis giving the team areas to improve upon.

In the second half, Herts kept control on the ball much better and started to put Middx under pressure. Herts nearly scored after some brilliant support play, only to be stopped, illegally, just short. Captain Nadia took a quick tap penalty, span out of the attempted tackle and dived in to score a good individual effort to cap off some brilliant team play.

Perhaps sensing that Herts were back in the match and putting them under intense pressure, the Middlesex players started to drop like flies. At virtually every stoppage there were one or two Middx players down injured. This disrupted the flow of the game and Herts did well to maintain their focus. One injury was very real though and a Middx player had to go to hospital for an x-ray after one particularly crunching Herts tackle. She was accompanied by Hertfordshire winger Helena, who was suffering breathing difficulties after a crushed chest.

After this enforced break in play, Herts picked up where they had left off. Fullback replacement Megan making a good break, feeding winger Mihi who in turn offloaded to back row forward Geri in support to run in a stunning support play try.

Back in the game, Herts threw everything at Middx and were rewarded with another score from winger Mihi before the end but couldn’t quite catch up the lead they had given up in the 1st half. A Jekyll and Hyde performance in many respects, small errors giving up points but great team work, defence and attacking play, Herts can be proud of their performance and take many positives into their next game at home versus Kent.

Hampshire Girls v. Herts Girls 27th September 2009 Petersfield RFC results

Under 18:

Hampshire U18 27 Herts U18 10 (Shira Kilgannon Welwyn Tx1, Hannah Gallagher Welwyn Tx1).

Under 15:

Hampshire U15 20 Herts U15 10 (Lotte Clapp Welwyn Tx1, Sydney Gregson Letchworth Tx1).

Herts Girls Under 18 Squad 2009-10

Following the Herts U18 Girls County Trial that took place last Sunday the Squad selected is as follows:

Courtney Arberry
Chloe Baker
Laura Barnard
Harriet Bullock
Megan Childs
Scarlett Cooper-Wall
Francis Dawson
Charlie Faloona
Alice Finn
Hannah Gallagher
Sydnie Grace
Laura Haddon
Shira Kilgallon
Sarah Lambsdon
Abi Lee
Alice LLeliot
Alice Nee
Georgia Peedle
Jess Robinson
Emily Scott
Kate Sellars
Claire Shuttler
Natalie Threlfall
Sam Voyle
Emma Wilson
Hannah Winfield

A large squad has been selected to give as many players as possible the opportunity to play at County level.

Every player will take part in at least one game / Tournament but, with a squad of this size, it will not be possible for every player to take part in every game/tournament.

On September 27th, a game against Hampshire U18s (and an equivalent Game at U15) has been arranged in place of the Sussex tournament which has been cancelled. The game will take place at Petersfield RFC. Kick-off (for both Games) is 2pm. The coaches and managers will be in contact with the squad to let them know of selection for the game and confirm the Transport plan.

The provisional plan for transportation of Players selected in both U15 and U18 Squads is a Coach from Reg’s Coaches has been booked with timings as follows:

• 10.45: Coach to leave outside entrance to main campus Herts University Hatfield AL10 9AB.
• @12.45: arrive at Petersfield RFC, Penns Place, Petersfield, Hampshire, GU31 4EP (Directions for those travelling independently- M25 then A3 southbound on entering Petersfield follow signs for the East Hampshire District Council offices, the ground is next door).
• @4.30: Leave Petersfield.
• @6.30: arrive back at Herts University.

Seniors confirm training and first fixture

The first women's county training session will now be on 23rd September at St Albans RFC, starting at 7pm (AL4 0HL - close to St Albans City centre, near Smallford). This will be preparation for the first county fixtures which it has been confirmed will take place on the following Sunday (27th) in Middlesex.

U15s v Hampshire, 27th September - and other U15 news

Message from Adrian, the U15 coach:

We have heard that the organisers of the Sussex Festival, planned for the 27th September, have not been able to get enough referees so have had to cancel it. Hampshire have offered a match for us against their U15s, which we have accepted. This unfortunately means we can only take an 'A' team and not a development team as well.

The following girls have been selected to represent Herts U15 girls on the 27th September:

• Abbie Maxwell (Welwyn)
• Chloe-Jean Carpenter (Saracens)
• Olivia Lee (Welwyn)
• Melissa Gargaro (Saracens)
• Nancy Harrison (OAs)
• Amber King (Welwyn)
• Rachel Selwood (Welwyn)
• Bryony Pomfret (Welwyn)
• Lotte Clapp (Welwyn)
• Penny Gilbert (Saracens)
• Sidney Nurthern (Welwyn)
• Beth Summerfield (Welwyn)
• Kate Summerfield (Welwyn)
• Ellie Huhrer (Welwyn)
• Phoenix Page (Hertford)
• Ellah Hughes (Letchworth)
• Stevie Farrow (Welwyn)
• Sydney Gregson (Letchworth)

Please could the above girls e-mail me to let me know whether you are available or not, so we can make any changes to the team as soon as possible.

A coach has been booked to pick us from the Sports Village at Hatfield University, I will let you know the details nearer the time.

For those girls who have not been selected on this occassion, we look forward to you coming along to the next training session in October, as you are all valuable members of the Herts U15 squad.

Peter McCullough adds...

If you have not been selected for the Herts Under 15 ‘A’ Squad on this occasion please continue to come to the County Training Afternoons scheduled throughout the Season, as I am in the process of organising Herts Under 15 ‘Development’ fixtures against other County’s ‘Development’ Teams.

I have already organised for one of these to take place in Hertfordshire on Sun 6th Dec (when the Herts Under 15 ‘A’ Team are playing in a Tournament in Nottinghamshire) against Sussex Under 15 ‘Development’ Team. Everyone coming to the Herts U15 County Training Afternoons will be given the opportunity to represent Hertfordshire in these Games (others will be organised throughout the Season).

Herts Womens and Girls Rugby Development Group Meeting Mon 21st Sept 09

The next meeting of the HWGRDG is taking place on Mon 21st Sept at Welwyn RFC in the Committee Room starting at 7.30. If you have not previously attended these meetings (usually 3 times a year) this group works together to plan Tournaments, run the County Teams, exchange Best Practice and advice, and to try and help each other develop Womens and Girls Rugby in Herts. If your club does not send a rep to the group and would like to do so please e-mail me on peter.mccullough@ntlworld.com

Hertfordshire senior trials and fixtures

Jo Feakes from Tabard is running the Hertfordshire Women's County Team this year. This is the second season the senior county team has been running and they are looking to build on the work from last year. Head coach will be Gareth Lewis who also coached the team last year. Jo and Gareth would like to see members from all Women's Hertfordshire teams and any Girls that are now eligible to play (ie. aged 18 or more on the date of any of the games listed below).

*** Trials/Training will be held Sunday 13th September at Stevenage RFC at 1.30pm ***

Stevenage Rugby Club - SG1 4BB. Jo will publish the timings and any other details shortly.

London and South East County Tournament details also appear below. This involves three weeks of games at different venues. These dates may be subject to change due to the first games showing as 27th Sept - for many teams this had been the 1st training session. If it is kept as it is, we will discuss and arrange a training date before this.

Dates -

• 13th Sept - Trials at Stevenage RFC
• 27th Sept - L&SE fixtures v Middlesex and Sussex (Middlesex - TBC)
• 14th Oct - Scheduled as Training - location TBC
• 18th Oct - L&SE fixtures v Essex and Bucks (Hertfordshire - TBC)
• 15th Nov - L&SE finals (one game) (Essex - TBC)
• Further Training to be scheduled.

Please pass this information on to all members of your teams or to the relevant people- and let Jo know the days and times that you train so she can organise training sessions with the least amount of disruption.

The county are also looking to do a tour in March / April with games against Cornwall and Devon. Dates and locations for this will be confirmed. Contact Jo if you have any questions.

RFUW survey: U18 to Senior Rugby

The RFUW want to hear from as many former U18 girls who are moving into adult rugby this year (or even if they are no longer playing). Please take time to complete the very short survey. A press release issued by RFUW explains why this is important:

"At the RFUW we are keen to support our players through the player pathway, and to ensure that they are making informed choices about their rugby development.

Many of you will be heading off to university soon and will be looking to continue your rugby journey at this important time in your life. You will have loads to think about, and rugby may not be something you have considered yet.

It isn’t our decision where you play rugby, and we would never try to make that choice for you. However, below are some questions that you should be asking yourself when thinking about your options. Remember though that these are only a few suggestions; there are many more aspects to consider:

• Will you playing regular rugby, at a level that is right for you?
• Will you have access to high quality coaching, that is matched to your skill level and ability?
• Will you have to travel long distances to get to training?
• Does the club have a good off field set up, i.e. are there good people behind the scenes to help you out in your transition to senior rugby?

At the RFUW we have excellent staff members and volunteers who can help you with this step up to senior rugby. If you would like to receive some information from us, or you just want to let us know where you’re off to, please click on the link below to complete a short and simple survey telling us just that. We can then use this to put you in touch with the right people.

http://www.rfu.com/SelectSurveyNET/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=m2MLll2"

Herts County Girls Trial Sun 13th September Welwyn RFC

On Sun 13th September Herts County Girls Training and Trials are taking place at Welwyn RFC.

All 9-17 Age Players, regardless of level of experience, are invited to attend, but must bring a signed Parental Consent Form, available from their Club Coach / Manager, with them on the day to give to the County Age Group Team Managers on arrival.

In addition attendees should also bring: Clothing suitable for playing Rugby in either Hot or Cold Weather (depending on conditions on the day); Trainers or Boots (dependent on the Ground conditions); Mouthguard: plenty of Liquid; Energy Bars.

All Players are asked to arrive by 12.45 and they will be split into the 3 Age Groups: Under 12 (School Years 5,6,7), Under 15 (School Years 8,9,10) and Under 18 (School Years 11, 12, 13) by the respective County Coaches. Each Age Group will have a separate Pitch and Training / Trial will start after 1.00.

The number of Players attending will dictate whether Herts Girls will be able to field an 'A' and 'Development' side at each Age Group in the 2009-10 Season.

Hertfordshire senior trials

The new contact for the county senior team is Jo Feakes of Tabard.

A full programme of county rugby is planned for what will be Hertfordshire's senior team's second season. Coaches are currently being organised and it is anticipated that trials will be on 6th or 13th September.

More information will appear in the next few weeks.

Grants from district councils for county and regional players

North Herts District Council have announced that the next round of grants for elite sports people om the district is now open - but applications need to be in by 19th June. Nearly £8000 is available for distribution to any regional players aged 19-23, and also to any coaches working with regional athletes.

The North Herts scheme is only open to people living in the district - but it is just one example of the grants available available to "elite athletes" from most district councils in Hertfordshire.

The terms and size of awards will vary, as will the application process. Some - like the North Herts scheme - will be limited to regional players, but some will be available to county representatives. Some will be based on an annual bidding competition, some every six months, some will be available throughout the year.

But the main thing is that these awards are there - and it is well worth your while applying for them. Remember that the awards will be almost certainly based on where you live - not where your club or school is - so if (for example) you played for Welwyn but lived in Sawbridgeworth you would need to apply to East Hertfordshire District Council for grants, not Welwyn and Hatfield.

National Girls 7's 2009 Results Harpenden RFC 23rd May

U15's:

Cup: Winners - Worcester; R/U - Welwyn.

Plate: Winners - H3; R/U - Exeter Saracens.

U18's:

Cup: Winners - Reading; R/U - Welwyn.

Plate: Winners - Letchworth; R/U - H3.

Herts Girls 7's 2009 Results Old Albanians RFC 17th May

U12's:

Cup: Winners - Hertford; R/U - Stevenage.
U15's:

Cup: Winners - Paviors; R/U - Worcester.
Plate: Winners - Hertford; R/U - Bucks Cluster.
Bowl: Winners - Saracens; R/U - West Oxon
Shield: Winners - Oakmedians; R/U - Old Northamptians.
Egg Cup: Winners - Old Albanians; R/U - Letchworth

U18's:Cup: Winners - Welwyn; R/U - Reading.
Plate: Winners - Burfield; R/U - West Oxon.
Bowl: Winners - Suffolk Sabres; R/U - Bucks Cluster.
Shield: Winners - Plymouth; R/U - Saracens.

Girls National Cup Finals Lichfield RFC 10th May

National Under 18 Cup Final:

Worcester 8 Reading 24

National Under 15 Cup Final:

Paviors 3 Welwyn 5

Worthing 10's Girls Festival Results

U12's:

Cup: Winners - Kent.

Plate: Winners - Worthing.

U15's:

Cup: Winners - Paviors; R/U - Welwyn.

Plate: Winners - Cardiff HSOB; R/U - Folkstone.

Shield: Winners - Worcester; R/U - South Sussex

U18's:

Cup: Winners - Ellingham and Wimborne; R/U - Reading.

Plate: Winners - Oakmedians; R/U - Letchworth.

Girls National Emerging Schools Competition

Presdales School from Ware in Herts won the National Final for the Girls Emerging Schools (School Year 7) Competition played at Twickenham in front of the Crowd who were attending the Annual Army v. Navy Game.

There were 2 previous Rounds that they had won through:

• Semi-Final stage at Staines RFC on the Morning of the Final.
• London North stage where they had played against Barking Abbey (Essex), Queens (Bushey Herts), Nobel (Stevenage Herts) and Waldergrave (Middlesex).

For a full report see the RFU website

Draw for Herts 7s 2009

The draw for Herts 7s, to be held at Old Albanians on 17th May, was made at Welwyn yesterday evening. This will be the largest ever Herts 7s and will feature 20 U15 and 16 U18 teams, as well as a U12 competition. 

U15s :

• Group A : Worcester, Berks Barbarians, Norfolk Nomads, Old Northamptonians, Letchworth
  
• Group B : London Irish, Bucks Jesters, West Oxon, Ealing, OAs
  
• Group C : Paviors, Oakmedians, Saracens, Hertford, Wasps
  
• Group D : Welwyn, Aylestone St. James, Plymouth Albion, Camberley, Stevenage
  

U18s :

• Group A : Paviors, Suffolk Sabres, Saracens, West Oxon
  
• Group B : Reading, Aylestone St. James, Thomas Beckett, Hertford
  
• Group C : Letchworth, Oakmedians A, Ealing, Old Northamptonians
  
• Group D : Welwyn, Bucks Jesters, Plymouth Albion, Oakmedians B
  

The draw for the U12 competition will be made on the day.

RFUW National Cup results 26th April

National Cup U18 Southern Final Group Reading RFC

Reading qualify and play Worcester in the Final at Litchfield RFC on 10th May

National Cup U15 Southern Final Group Reading RFC:

• North Dorset 0 Welwyn 17
• Thornbury 0 Welwyn 26
• London Irish 5 Welwyn 19

Welwyn qualify and play Paviors in the Final at Litchfield RFC on 10th May

Canadian U18 tourists need summer fixtures

If you are interested in playing a touring U18 team of 25 players from Manitoba, Canada between August 24th to September 3rd please post here or email Lisa by 1st May 2009. 

Successful teams will then be notified. Four matches are being sought in over 10 days alongside sight seeing opportunities across the country. 

Gloucester City 10's Hartpury College 18 + 19 April Results

Under 18 Tournament:

Cup: Winners - Drybrook+Hucclecote; Runners up - Worcester.

Bowl: Winners - Exeter; Runners up - Letchworth.

Plate: Winners - Welwyn; Runners up - Newquay+Colhumpton.

Under 15 Tournament:

Cup: Winners - Welwyn; Runners up - Worcester.

Bowl: Winners - Newquay; Runners up - Burfield.

Plate: Winners - Gloucester; Runners up - Old Northamptonians

Free entry for U12 teams at Herts 7s!

Herts 7s is close to fully booked with 14 U18 and 18 U15 teams signed up - but the first attempt to run a U12 competition is a little low on entries, so the organisers are now offering free entry to all U12 teams!

This is already exciting interest - so if you are interested please contact Tasha Saint-Smith as quickly as you can.

Free funding advice for all clubs

Calling all sports clubs, coaches, teachers, volunteers and those working in the Community Sports sector. The Herts Sports Partnership are delighted to invite you to the:

2009 Herts Community Sports Summit

at 

The Fielder Centre, Hatfield Business Park,Hatfield,Herts

 on

Monday 20th April 2009 - starting at 6.30pm

This year's Community Sports Summit is FREE to all those involved in delivering sport and physical activity in schools and the community. The summit provides an opportunity for delegates to be brought up to speed on a number of topical issues and the changing landscape for the delivery of sport in England.

The programme includes workshops that will cover areas as diverse as safeguarding and child protection; sports volunteering; the government's Physical Education and Sports Strategy for Young People (PESSYP); Sport England's new grant scheme; Community Sports Networks (CSNs); and a session by one of the country's leading funding advisers, Svend Elkjaer of Sports Marketing Network, intriguingly entitled ‘From Doggy Walks to Direct Debits - 42 ways your club can grow its income'.

To find out more information and to book your place go to:

http://www.sportinherts.org.uk/deliveringsport/summit2009/default.asp

RFUW National Cup results affecting Herts Clubs 5th April

National Cup U18 Southern Final Group Reading RFC Part 1 (Part 2 on 26th April):

Thornbury U18 0 Welwyn U18 22
Reading U18 12 Welwyn U18 0

U18 Southern Winners will be decided on 26th April

National Cup U15 South / South East / East Round London Irish RFC:

London Irish U15 0 Welwyn U15 38
Ellingham U15 12 Welwyn U15 19

London Irish U15 and Welwyn U15 progress to the Southern Final Group Stage on 26th April

Under 18 Regional Festival Litchfield RFC

A hugely successful weekend for East Region Girls Rugby was capped with the Under 18's winning the Regional Festival at Litchfield RFC on Sunday.

The East U18 Squad of 22 included 11 Herts Players who their first National Regional Title since 2004.

East U18 finished top of their Group by beating Osprey's, the Wales Regional Representatives, 7-0 (scorers: Hannah Gallagher Herts Tx1; Emily Scott Essex Cx1) and South East 7 - 0 (scorers: Francesca Jordon Essex Tx1; Hannah Gallagher Herts Cx1).

In the Semi-Final South West South were beaten on 19-5 (scorers: Emily Scott Essex Tx1, Cx2; Alex Robertson Herts Tx1; Georgia Peedle Herts Tx1).

In the Final against South, East won a fierce game 15-3 (scorers: Megan Williams Herts Tx1; Alex Robertson Herts Tx1; Emily Scott Essex Cx1; Px1).

Under 15 Regional Festival Litchfield RFC

On Saturday, East Under 15 took a squad of 20, including 12 Herts Players, to the Regional Festival at Litchfield RFC. They matched their best ever performance, in 2006, by finishing Runners-up out of 12 Teams.

East U15 finished top of their Group by beating South West South 10 - 7 (scorers: Abbie Cook Essex Tx1; Amber King Herts Tx1), and North East 27 - 0 (scorers: Lotte Clapp Herts Tx2; Charlie Fallona Herts Tx1; Maddy Lockwood Essex Tx1; Sidney Nurthern Herts Tx1; Lucie Wood Essex Cx1).

In the Semi-Final South West North were beaten on 31-0 (scorers: Lotte Clapp Herts Tx2; Courtney Arberry Herts Tx1; Abbie Cook Essex Tx2; Abbie Maxwell Herts Cx3).

In the Final against Wales Regional Winners Cardiff Blues, East were 0-10 down within 5 minutes, but clawed back to level at 10-10 with Tries from Amber King Herts and Courtney Arberry Herts before conceding a converted try in the last minute.

National 7s returns to Hertfordshire

After two years away in Bedfordshire, the National Sevens will be returning "home" to Harpenden RFC this season.

The tournament will include U18 and U15 Sevens on Saturday 23rd May, followed by a senior sevens the following day. The return to Harpenden also mean a return of the popular senior camp and party on Sunday evening.

Entries are restricted to 16 for each junior event, and 32 for the seniors - first come, first served. Closing date for entries is 8th April.

Click here for the entry form.

Women's team included in new rugby TV show

A new TV programme - The Big Tackle - starts this month on ITV that will feature Austin Healey "trying to help amateur rugby clubs to fulfill their potential" - and one of the five teams it will feature will be a women's club. 

The programme will be shown on ITV4 on Sundays from 15th March at 7.15pm, and will be repeated midweek on ITV1. The producers have circulated the above preview, which gives some idea about what the six programme series will cover.

RFU Activate newsletter looks at girls' rugby

Counties Lead the Way West Mids has played host to the same county sides every year as far as girls U15s and U18s has been concerned. However, this year, thanks to the work of the North Mids W & G forum, both Shropshire and Greater Birmingham have managed to ensure that youth activity has provided them with players for county activity. Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Warwickshire, Gtr Birmingham and Shropshire all put girls forward for the tournament that took place on 14th December 08 at Southam RFC. The tournament was the result of the hard work of volunteer Nadine Attwell (Warwickshire female ref) and Matt Smith from Southam RFC who organised everything about the day. All girls and volunteers found the day to be a huge success – if a little cold and wet and are already looking forward to the next event in Dec 09. Seniors Follow in Youth Team Footsteps With the success of the youth CB work led by Ken James (Paviors) and Mick Kemp (North Hykeham), Claire McGinley (Derby) decided to pull together the first ever NLD senior Ladies side. Thanks to support from the W & G forum and from the NLD CBRDP, Claire enlisted the support of coach Simon Jones (Staffs) and they both managed and coached a squad of 30+ senior players from the NLD area to their first triangular tournament, where they drew with Staffs seniors and beat Leicestershire seniors. This programme – thanks to Claire and Simon’s hard work – is set to continue again from September ’09. This electronic Community Rugby newsletter is produced by the Rugby Volunteerimg Department at the Rugby Football Union. The purpose is to give information to all Rugby Volunteers recorded on RFU RugbyFirst System about developments within the four themes of the Community game "More People, Better Places, Access for All and Enjoyment"t"

Youngsters secure funding for Oxfordshire Girls Rugby Players from the U18 Oxfordshire Girls Cluster team have made a successful application to the Youth Opportunities Fund (YOF). Girls rugby in Oxfordshire has been on a rapid rise in terms of the numbers of girls playing the game, the number of matches being arranged and the number of clubs offering rugby for girls. Much of this is down to the hard work of the club volunteers who work closely together to make sure there are regular fixtures for the girls at club or County level. The U18 players decided it was time to do some work themselves and held a meeting to work on a project plan to access funding from YOF. The announcement the England will host the 2010 Women’s Rugby World Cup has generated much excitement and the girls saw this as the perfect target to work towards. Knowing that the profile of the World Cup will raise interest in the game, the girls have planned for meeting the demand for Girls Rugby in season 2010-2011. The plan includes providing kit and equipment to run effective sessions, putting more people on coaching courses, ensuring volunteers are trained in First Aid, and accessing other courses such as Business or Management Skills. Oxfordshire County Council was on hand at Witney RFC to present a cheque for £3,000 to fund the project. Wasps and England A Captain, Claire Purdy was invited to attend and she congratulated the girls on their achievement and wished them success with the project. Claire then offered some coaching guidance to the players before watching the two cluster matches RFUW Toolkit Success In 2008 the RFUW made £7,500 available for clubs through the Club Development Toolkit Fund. 60 clubs applied for the funding and the RFUW was delighted to award 8 clubs with £500 each and 14 with £250 each. The successful clubs have been working hard to put their money to good use and many projects have now been completed. Newquay RFC was awarded £500 to increase the numbers of U15 girls at the club by introducing girls to U12’s rugby initially. They have been running mini’s training sessions on Friday nights with 2 coaches, a first aider and a manager present. They have been training with the U11 boys and have just begun playing matches with them. They were going to set up their own team, but have become such an integral part of the boys’ side that they didn’t want to let them go! The girls will be introduced to U15s training at the end of this season to prepare them for the step up the following season. This project has also been taken out into local schools, with the lead coach doing sessions to prepare them for the Emerging Schools competition. Hampstead RFC was given an award of £250 to improve the recruitment and retention of Senior players. The 15 new players they have recruited surpassed their aim of 10 in their original application. They have been innovative in their approach; they have created their own website, ensured weekly emails are sent out and have used some of the Toolkit Fund to produce fliers advertising their club. Their new recruits have commented on the new resources and feel that this had enhanced the approachability of the club. They have also employed a new coach for one of their weekly training sessions and paid for a fitness coach to work with the players in pre-season. This obviously paid off as they are currently sitting 2nd in their league, following their promotion last season! Awards Galore! The RFUW was pleased to award the first annual Sue Garnett Volunteer of the Year award in October to Peter McCullough from Herts and Welwyn Girls. Peter won his award for his outstanding contribution to improving the standards and levels of participation in women and girls sport. Peter received his award from RFU President Brian Williams at the RFU Constituent Body Leaders Conference. The contribution of 2 further volunteers was also recognised as Paula Brotherhood (Leicestershire) and Steve Lumb (Barnsley) were presented with Outstanding Volunteer awards. Clubs have also been getting in on the action with Paviors U15 girls being named the Junior Club Team of the Year at the Gelding Borough Sports Awards. The girls only started playing together in the 2007/08 season and played 13 matches with ten wins and one draw. They entered the RFUW National Competition and won the Midlands section. This season has also started well for them winning all five games played so far, with three wins out of three in the Notts, Lincs & Derby Cluster League and also two wins in two friendly matches. Youth Cluster League off to a Flying Start! Due to the hard work of the club volunteers in the Notts, Lincs and Derby area, the Women and Girls forum decided that it would be beneficial for the clubs with girls youth sections in the area to participate in a friendly merit table. In this way, the teams could guarantee fixtures for many of their match weekends and a small trophy could be played for. Thanks to the commitment of volunteers such as Ken James (Paviors), Claire McGinley (Chair of W & G committee and Derby player) and Melvyn Ashton (NLD RFU youth volunteer and member of W & G forum), the friendly league is now 3 matches in with 4 to play. All club volunteers work hard to ensure the fixtures are honoured and Melvyn Ashton keeps a record of the results. 7 teams at both age-groups from across the Midlands East region are benefiting from these fixtures and enjoying the experience.

Girls Regional Games 22nd February Sleaford RFC

Under 18:

Yorkshire U18 12 East U18 51 (Emily Scott Essex Tx1, Hannah Gallagher Herts Tx2 Cx7, Alex Robertson Herts Tx1, India Harvey Essex Tx1, Sacha Acheson Eastern Counties Tx1, Georgia Peedle Herts Tx3).

Under 15:

Yorkshire U15 12 East U15 35 (Amber King Herts Tx1, Sidnie Nurthen Herts Tx1, Lotte Clapp Herts Tx3, Yas Pemberton Essex Tx1, Rachel Mccullough Herts Tx1).

East versus Thames Valley U18 Girls: Match report

Thames Valley kicked off and for the first 10 minutes camped themselves in East 22. Thames Valley won a seriesof penalties and ran the ball on each occasion but the East tackling was powerful and they were unable to score.

Thames Valley then won a line out but the up-and-under from the outside-half (who kicked well all game) went sidewards and East began to move up the pitch. Thames Valley knocked-on giving East a scrum on the half-way line. The East scrum was under pressure all first half but good picking up and breaks by Sasha allowed East to get into Thames Valley territory for the first time. Now it was East’s turn to attack and Thames Valley had to kick to relieve pressure on several occasions allowing East backs to charge back. 

East backs began to look dangerous with Hannah Gallagher a constant threat at outside half. The first East try came from a ruck, the ball was sent down the back line and Megan Williams burst into the line and side stepped the full back to score under the posts. Hannah Gallagher converted. East maintained the pressure after the restart and Hannah Gallagher broke through to score the second try. The first half finished at East 12 Thames Valley 0. 

East kicked off and immediately put TV under pressure as they tried to run from defence -- big hits coming in particularly from Frankie Dawson. Thames Valley were now struggling to relieve their lines with the East back row putting the scrum half and outside half under pressure. From a ruck just inside TV half Emma Burgess burst forward and then set the backs flowing with India putting Hannah Gallagher in the clear. A great cover tackle by the TV girls stopping the try.  East were now dominating the scrums allowing good ball for the backs. An inside pass from Emily Scott allowed Hannah Gallagher to slice through the defence and get over the try line to score. Hannah converted to make the score 19-0. 

Thames Valley now fought back into the game and a cross field kick put pressure on East backline and the resulting scrum went to TV on East’s 5 metre line.  Pressure was maintained for 5 minutes but East tackling was superb. The East forwards then took a scrum against the head and cleared their lines. Great line out catching by number 18 helped East move up the field and then in a replay of the earlier move Emma Burgess charged forward and then set the backs going. The ball moved smoothly through the entire backline and Frenchie spun through the tackle to score in the corner.  

East were now showing all kinds of tricks with Emily Scott juggling the ball and carrying it on the back of her neck for 5 meters. East continued with flowing back line attacks and Hannah Gallagher broke through again to score a hat-trick. Emily Scott hit the posts in attempting the conversion. The final minutes saw another charge by Sasha. The ball was recycled and Sam Voyle made good ground before sending India over the final try.

Final scoreline was East 34 Thames Valley 0

IMPORTANT: County games this Sunday

There is a turn-up-and-play "county" game in Kent this Sunday for girls not in the regional squads - but both Herts and Kent need to know if you are going to play. The game is at Gravesend RFC, kick off at 1.30. If you can play please let Peter McCullough know, copying in Jedda - the Kent Secretary who is organising the day. Jedda can also be reached at 07903 682154.

Both U15s and U18s are invited, and the games are open to ANYONE - you do not need to have been members of the any of this season's county teams or squads.

Details from Kent RFU:

Dear All,

 

Please may I remind everyone that there will be the opportunity of a friendly game this Sunday 22nd February for U15s and U18s at:

 

Gravesend Rugby Club,

Donald Biggs Drive,

Gravesend,

Kent DA12 2LT

Tel: 01474 534840

www.gravesend-gremlins.org.uk

 

This is an open invite for all players not involved in the regional games on Sunday. It's been a while since many of the girls have played and this is an ideal opportunity for a friendly, fun game! There will be food available afterwards and a physio in attendance. I will be there and will look after any players/parents travelling without their club coach.

 

Herts players have been invited and some will be attending. We would also like to extend this invite to any Sussex and Essex players and hope some of you can make it!

 

KO at 1:30pm. - Please arrive after 12:30 p.m.

  

Directions are:

From the A2 you take the exit signposted Gravesend/Meopham and follow the A227 towards Gravesend.  At the first set of traffic lights turn right into Cross Lane, follow the road over the crossroads until you arrive at a roundabout, you need to take the 3rd exit into Old Road East, continue on this road through a set of traffic lights until you arrive at a roundabout.  Take the first exit into Milton Road.  Keep going on this road for about 1 mile, you will go past a couple of shopping parades on your right. As you come past Milton Church and G&M Motors on your right you will see GRFC on your left.

If you get lost please call the clubhouse on 01474 534840

Girls Regional Games 15th February St Albans School Ground

The Girls Regional Games postponed from last Sunday were played in near perfect Pitch conditions at St Albans School today. The results in the first round this Season were:

Under 18:

• East U18 34 (Rachel French Essex TX1, Hannah Gallagher Herts Tx3 Cx2, Megan Williams Herts TX1, India Harvey Essex TX1) Thames Valley U18 0.
• South East U18 12 East Midlands U18 53.

Under 15:

• South East U15 0 East Midalnds U15 10.
• East U15 20 (Amber King Herts Tx1, Sydnie Grace Herts Tx1, Charlie Faloona Herts Tx1, Yas Pemberton Essex Tx1 )Thames Valley U15 33

Herts Sevens 2009: Entries now open

Entries are now open for the 2009 Herts Girls' Sevens tournament - the county's sixth annual girls rugby festival.  All participants from last season’s successful tournament held at Tabard RFC have been sent invitations today, but any clubs are also welcome to enter.

In keeping with tradition the venue changes each year, so it is the turn of the OA Saints at OA Rugby to host this prestigious event on Sunday 17th May 2009. Clubs may enter U12, U15 and U18 teams in each age group. 

The tournament has grown to become one of the biggest girls rugby events in the country - in terms of entries it is normally second only to the National Sevens - attracting teams from across the East, East Midlands, West Midlands, and Thames Valley - and, as well as being a great event in its own right, it is the ideal warm-up for the national competition. 

The key objective remains the same as last year which is to provide a festival where as many girls can take part as possible, so entries from combined teams from more than one club will be allowed, and a “Barbarian” side at each age group will also be organised if needed.

Please note however that places are limited and will be allocated on a first come first served basis. Once 16 teams have applied at each age group, entries will be closed. Clubs wishing to take part are urged to get their entries in early.

For entry forms and more information please follow this link.

Opening Round of Regional Matches Postponed

Severe weather warnings have been issued across the country.  In the interests of everyone’s safety we have decided to postpone ALL regional games scheduled for this weekend.

 

Old Albanians RFC – East v Thames Valley and South East v East Midlands is POSTPONED. To be played: Youth on 15th Feb / Senior 22nd Feb (venues tbc)