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)

East Region Girls Trial Sun 11th Jan 2009

Following the Trial that took place last weekend at Upminster, the following Herts County Girls have been Selected to represent the East Region this Season:

Under 18

• Milly Fuggles
• Alice Nee
• Frankie Dawson
• Jess Robinson
• Geri Thomas
• Claire Shutler
• Hannah Gallagher
• Sam Voyle
• Alex Robertson
• Georgia Peedle
• Megan Williams

Under 15

• Abbie Maxwell
• Charlie Faloona
• Scarlett Cooper-Wall
• Sydnie Grace
• Courtney Arberry
• Bryony Pomfret
• Shira Kilgallon
• Lotte Clapp
• Sidney Nurthen
• Rachel Mccullough
• Melissa Gargaro
• Amber King

Congratulations to all of them and we wish them the best of luck in the Regional Programme which culminates in the National Festival on the weekend of 14-15 March 2009.

London & South East coaching conference

At Imber Court Sports Club, Saturday 17th January, 10am - 4.30pm

The content of the day: 

The day will be split into two sections. For coaches holding an RFU level 1 qualification or above the day will consist of a scrummage, lineout and continuity session. For coaches who do not hold any RFU coaching qualification but aspire to do more coaching then the day will consist of a ‘Rugby Ready course’ and a continuity session to conclude.

Who for: 

This conference is for all as it meets the needs of all levels of qualifications

Day schedule:

10am – 4.30pm – Scrummage, Lineout, and Continuity session (for coaches with an RFU level 1 qualification and above)

OR

10am – 4.30pm – Rugby Ready course and Continuity session (for coaches who do not hold any RFU coaching qualifications)

Please complete the registration form and return to Holly Hart hollyhart@rfu.com. Send cheques to Holly Hart, RFUW, Rugby House, Rugby Road, Twickenham, TW1 1DS; and can you make cheques payable to the ‘RFUW’. CLOSING DATE: Forms and payment to reach RFUW by 13th January

For further enquires regarding the conference please contact Margaret Alphonsi margaretalphonsi@rfu.com

Venue:

Imber Court Sports Club, 

Ember Lane, 

East Molesey, 

Surrey,

KT8 OBT

Directions:

www.imbercourtsportsclub.co.uk

Cost £20 for the day

Herts Womens and Girls Rugby Development Group Meeting Mon 19th Jan 2009

The next meeting of the HWGRDG is taking place on Mon 19th Jan at Welwyn 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

Old Albanians send invitation to all U18s

OA's are due to hold an U18 taster session for all U18 players in the County who are due to move up to senior level next season. The first session is tomorrow night (Wednesday 17th) at 7.15pm.

In order to fully cater for these sessions OAs need to know the likely numbers that maybe attending - so please contact email Tasha Saint-Smith. Parents and coaches are very welcome to come along and meet the team.

 

OAs also plan to send a "Saint" to any interested clubs to introduce themselves prior to these sessions, which will be on the following dates:

 

Weds 28th January, 7.15pm (OA's training pitch)

Weds 11th March, 7.15pm (OA's training pitch)

 

If you have any questions or queries, please contact Tasha.

NLD Festival Under 15's

The Under 18 Section, scheduled to take place at Mellish RFC, was unfortunately cancelled due to waterlogged pitches.

The Under 15 Section, however, did take place at Paviors RFC. 8 Teams took part in two Groups of 4.

The hosts NLD 'A' won their Group of 4 defeating Staffordshire, East Midlands (Northants and Beds) and Yorkshire.

Herts Won their Group (see results below) and played NLD 'A' in a repeat of last Seasons Final. This time NLD 'A' deservadly won the Trophy in another close match.

Herts U15 results:

Group stage -

Herts 10 (Abbie Maxwell TX1, Lotte Clapp TX1) Eastern Counties 0
Herts 19 (Lotte Clapp Tx2, Shira Kilgallon Tx1, Abbie Maxwell Cx2) NLD 'B' 0
Herts 15 (Rachel Mccullough Tx1, Becky Dawson Tx1, Charlie Faloona Tx1) Leicestershire 0

Final -

Herts 0 NLD 'A' 7

This is the end of this Season's County Programme, as between January and Easter is when the Regional Programme takes place, but Herts are planning to repeat last Seasons successful County Development Fixtures during this period. If other Counties are interested in playing the Herts Development side this Season please contact peter.mccullough@ntlworld.com

U12 training and U18 tournament tomorrow (14th December) CANCELLED

... due to waterlogged pitches at Hitchin and Mellish

Apologies for late notice. Please pass this information on to anyone you may know who might have been coming along.

This weekend's internationals

NLD Festival Sunday 14th December 2008

The final Herts County Girls Games of the Season are at the NLD (Notts, Lincs and Derby) County Tournament on Sun 14/12, where 8 Counties are taking part:

· The U15's will be at Paviors RFC, The Ron Rossin Ground, Burntstump Hill, Nottinghamshire , NG5 8PQ .

· The U18's will be at Mellish RFC, War Memorial Ground, Mapperley Plains, Nottingham, Notts , NG3 5RX .

The plan is to drop the U15's off at Paviors RFC as it is hard to park a Coach there, and take the U18's up to Mellish RFC (3 miles away) where the Coach can be parked. K.O. will be about the same time, and afterwards Paviors RFC will look after the U15 Girls until the U18's have finished.

The Herts U18 Squad that has been selected for this Tournament is:
1 – Milly Fuggles
2 – Hannah Marques
3 – Alice Nee
4 – Megan Childs
5 – Laura Watson
6 – Frankie Dawson
7 – Jess Robinson
8 – Geri Thomas
9 – Claire Shutler
10 – Hannah Gallagher
11 - Alice Finn
12 – Sam Voyle
13 – Alex Robertson
14 - Georgia Peedle
15 – Megan Williams
16 – Harriet Bullock
17 – Hannah Winfield
18 – Olivia Payne
19 – Nikki Alcock
20 – Vicky Moxom
21 – Emily Tarling
22 - Mica Gooding

The Herts U15 Squad that has been selected for this Tournament is:
1 – Abbie Maxwell
2 – Oren Blindell
3 – Charlie Faloona
4 – Scarlett Cooper-Wall
5 – Sydnie Grace
6 – Courtney Arberry - Captain
7 – Bryony Pomfret
8 – Shira Kilgallon
9 – Lotte Clapp
10 – Sidney Nurthen
11 - Becky Dawson
12 – Nathalie Gooch
13 – Rachel Mccullough
14 - Sophie Mccormack
15 – Melissa Gargaro
16 – Amber King
17 – Rachel Selwood
18 – Alice Llelliott
19 – Stevie Farrow
20 – Olivia Lee
21 – Ellie Hurer

A 53 Seat Coach to take the Herts U15 Girls Squad and Herts U18 Girls Squad to this Tournament. It has again been hired from Reg’s Coaches (which will be printed on the side of the Coach) and will be leaving from outside the University of Hertfordshire, de Havilland Campus, Hatfield Business Park, Hatfield, Herts, AL10 9EU at 09.00 sharp (where the Coach dropped us off last Sunday).

Please confirm if you require a Seat on the Coach to peter.mcculough@ntlworld.com It will be busy there that day so please leave plenty of time to get to the meeting point on time. Unfortunately with the number of Players in both Squads, plus Managers / Coaches there are very few free seats to take Relatives.

Itinerary for the day:

12noon: - Meet and Register

1215pm - Changing rooms should be available (please come ready to play)

1230pm - Warm Up and move to pitch allocation

1.00pm - First Games of the POOL STAGES to start

3.45pm - Pool games to have finished and FINALS to start between Pool winners

4.30pm - Presentation of the Cup to the winners and medals for both winners and runners up.

U12s: Time to start thinking about Herts Youth Games

Herts Youth Games will be taking place again next year in May, probably in Hatfield, and - asin past years - the Games should include an U11 girls rugby tournament. If your daughter is in Year 6 (or you know anyone with a rugby playing daughter in Year 5) you really should try to get involved. Though it is tag, its still a great day out, a good way of recruiting new players to your club and the game in general - and is entirely free!

How different councils react or plan for Youth Games seems to vary quite a lot. Some start planning (including selecting squads) very early - in January or February sometimes - so if you daughter is in Year 6 it is probably not too early for you to make enquiries about who will be running the team and when selection will be. Also not all councils enter a team in the girls tournament, so early enquiries might just show the more reluctant councils that there is potential to enter a team (or at least force them to come up with a damn good excuse for not doing so!).

How selection is done will also vary significantly from area to area. Most will have a tag tournament at which the best girls will be picked - and these may start to take place next term. However not every school enters such events, and your daughter may not be available that particular day anyway, so that is another reason why it is important to let your council (and whoever is running your girls team) know your interest.

The rules are that you can represent any council area where you either live, attend school, or play for a club - so many of you may be in a position to choose who you want to play for!