Last weekend saw the 2nd Annual Festival played at Harlow RFC.
A special Thanks is to go to Alan Brooking,Chris McFerren, Alan Webb and all the staff at Harlow Rugby Club for organising a terrific days rugby.
Kelly and the ladies section for a superb job as pitch marshalls despite suffering frostbite.
Linda and the girls in the Kitchens for the food and hot drinks throughout the day.
Alex Fleming the overworked Physio,
Ken & Callem Potter for getting up early to set up the pitches and marshalling points.
Last but not least Tony McClarnon, Paula Bates and Tina Turner whos tireless work in getting the thing off the ground didnt go unnoticed.
And all the coaches, girls and parents who braved the weather to ensure the day was a success.
U15's
The Essex girls started the day full of confidence following the back to back wins against Kent and Berkshire in the previous county fixtures.
The day started well with a 19-0 victory against Eastern Counties who put up a stirling display for what was a relatively new squad of players.
Scorers: Tries Alex (2) Abbie (1) Cons: Yasmin (2)
The 2nd Game against Middlesex saw the girls come up against a team with some pace out on the wings and only some resulute defending in the opening exchanges stopped Middlesex from opening up a lead.The forwards soon started to control the game and it wasnt long before the 1st try came from Yas. This spured on the girls who soon opened up a 15-0 lead.However a momentary lapse out on the wing, allowed a middlesex player to race through and touch down.
Final Score 15-5
Tries Yasmin, Lucie, Abbie.
The 3rd game was against unknown Leicestershire, however the girls quickly settled into their stride and with the forwards dominating at scrums and the breakdown, it wasnt long before Alex opened the scoring with the first of her two tries. Not to be out done, Abbie and Anna both grabbed a brace each before Lucie and Jessica added one apiece.
Final Score 44-0
Tries: Alex (2), Abbie(2), Anna(2) Lucie and JessicaCons Yasmin (2).
Going into the 4th Game, Essex and Herts both had maximum points and the winner would almost be certain to lift the trophy .Both sets of girls know each other well from club and regional rugby, and the game started at a terrific pace.
Both sets of forwards refused to give an inch and the game at half time was finely balanced.Towards the end of the 1st half, an Essex penalty on the Herts 5m line looked like it would be the opening score, but some excellent defense from the Herts girls withheld the onslaught and cleared the danger.
The game swung Herts way when a clever dummy from Claire gave her an opening to go outside the defense and go over in the corner 0-5.Again both teams were evenly matched and as the minutes ticked away, another break from Herts gave them their 2nd try of the game.
Final Score 0-10.
The last game for the girls saw them up against Oxford and having to win and hoping Herts slipped up against middlesex.
Although cold,tired and understrength due to injuries in the previous game, the girls were too strong for the Oxford girls and two well worked tries gave them a 10-0 victory.
Thanks to Herts for the loan of the 3 girls who played as our front row following the loss of 4 players in the previous game due to injury.
It was a terrific days rugby all round, and Herts were worthy champions for the 2nd year running.
The respect and friendship that has grown between Essex and Herts can only serve to make East a formidable force to be reckoned with in the coming Regional programme.
Here's to next year when we want our trophy back.Congratulations to all the girls who played some excellent rugby and did themselves, their coaches, clubs and county proud.
Essex County Festival U15's Champions Hertfordshire
Runners Up Essex
Basford Girls Frances Jess Alice Megan Lucie Alex Layla Yasmin Jessica Abbie Olivia Madeleine Emma (Mouse)
U18's
Before starting with the match reports, huge congratulations must be given to all the organisers and volunteers, who through their un-stinting efforts made the festival an extremely enjoyable and successful day.
Without their efforts, these events would not take place, and I know that all the girls, from all the County sides, want to say a massive thank you.
The day started cold – and remained that way(!), but at least forecast rain/sleet/snow held off until the last game of the day, leading to some excellent rugby being played.
The first game for the Essex girls was against Eastern Counties, with the girls from Suffolk/Norfolk/Cambridgeshire kicking off into a stiff breeze. From the start, the Essex girls took the initiative and pressed forward, with the impressive Essex pack leading the way. The Eastern Counties side put up some stout defence, but Essex were pressing the attack at all opportunities. The scoring was opened when Kes received the ball in her own half, gave a couple of steps and turned on the pace to sprint fully 55m to score near the corner 5 – 0.
Following the kick off, and a couple of passes, Danni also showed her pace to score virtually from the restart with another blistering run 10 - 0
Essex kept up the pressure, and the Eastern Counties girls were gradually driven back towards their line, with Essex knocking on 5m out.
From the resulting scrum, the Essex forwards again showed their strength, winning the ball against the head, and Scotty (scrum half) ran in to score the third Essex try 15 – 0.
Half time came and went with Essex still taking the game to their opponents – the forwards were now dominating the scrums, and providing a fantastic platform for the backs to work off. This allowed India to be on the receiving end of a good passing move, and she duly obliged by scoring with ease. 20 – 0.
The Eastern Counties girls rallied, but Essex were in no mood to ship any points and their defence was as good as their attacking play, with all the girls covering any move made by the opposition.Late in the game, Danni was again the beneficiary of a great passing move and went over to score her second try to bring the game to a close 25 – 0.
Final score: Essex 25 Eastern Counties 0
Next up for Essex were Leicestershire – an unknown quantity as the Counties had not met in recent history – and they proved to be a tight, well drilled, physical side.
Again Essex dominated territory from the start and applied the pressure through the whole team. The Leicestershire girls put in some excellent defensive play, but India managed to score after a period of sustained Essex pressure 5 – 0.
Play resumed with Essex attacking, and Leicestershire defending. The Essex pack were starting to have their way in the scrum, and the backs always looked dangerous. After a couple of scrums, Natalie managed to power over the line for the second Essex try 10 – 0 at half time.
The second half continued in the same vein as the first, with Leicestershire making some big defensive tackles to keep the Essex girls at bay, but following a tap penalty 10m from the Leicestershire line, Natalie again powered over the line for her second of the match 15 – 0.
The score line didn’t reflect the excellent effort that the Leicestershire girls put into the game – well done – and it would be nice for the two counties to meet each other on another opportunity. Final score: Essex 15 Leicestershire 0
The final game of the day for the Essex girls was a ‘winner takes all’ match up with their rivals from neighbouring Hertfordshire. The girls play a lot of club rugby against each other, and then form a large portion of the East Region representative side, so they know each other very well, and everyone was looking forward to a great match – and we weren’t disappointed.
From the outset, both teams played some excellent attacking rugby, combined with some excellent defensive rugby, culminating in a game mainly centred between the two 20m lines. As Essex tried to find a way through, the Hertfordshire girls shut the door firmly in their faces, and the Essex girls put in some great tackles whenever Hertfordshire looked like finding the telling pass. It was going to take something special to break the deadlock – and Essex found the move late on in the first half. Kes managed to step her marker and made a break out of her own half. Wonderful supporting play from the Essex girls resulted in Natalie offloading the ball from contact to Frenchie, who ran a great line to score from 10m out. 5 – 0 at half time.
With a game as tight as this, the Essex girls showed some maturity by playing for territory during the second half. With a great display of kicking for touch, combined with not giving an inch when Hertfordshire attacked, the Essex girls ran down the clock to successfully defend their title.Congratulations and commiserations must be given to the Hertfordshire girls who gave Essex a run throughout the whole game – lets hope the Essex and Hertfordshire girls, combined with the Eastern Counties girls combine after Christmas into an awesome East Region side.Final score: Essex 5 Hertfordshire 0
Essex County Festival U18 Champions Essex
Runners-up Hertfordshire
And finally, a message of thanks for all the players, from all the Counties, who made the day worthwhile with excellent displays of rugby – the future looks very bright indeed!!
Phil French Ace Reporter Daily Bugle
