Reports from National Cup Finals

Last weekend saw some terrific games of Rugby at all levels being played at Litchfield.

The Basford/Welwyn cup final against Worcester went right to the wire and the London Irish v Thornbury final at U15's was also a close run affair despite the final score.

Match reports below courtesy of Dave Marques @Welwyn and Les Simpson at London Irish

U18'S
Welwyn/Basford v Worcester


It was National Cup Final heartache for the Welwyn-Basford U18 girls' side on Sunday.
They narrowly lost out to Worcester after being five minutes from lifting the trophy.
The combined Welwyn-Basford team were leading 15-10 with just minutes left on the clock.

However, an exceptional converted Worcester try denied the girls glory.
it was a truly pulsating National Cup clash at Lichfield on Sunday.
Worcester roared into an early 5-0 lead and then went very close again two minutes later.
Welwyn-Basford fought back and their forwards drove upfield steadily until Worcester finally cracked.

Skipper Natalie McClarnon scored to make it 5-5.
Back came Worcester for 10-5 and that was how it stayed until half-time.

The Welwyn-Basford coaches encouraged the girls for a second half display that was exceptional.
The tide was all flowing one way and another great forward drive saw Hannah Marques, playing the game of her life, score in the corner, making it 10-10.

Still the maroon hoops kept coming and Worcester were pinned in their own half for long periods.
Another great bout of forward pressure saw Springbok Frankie Dawson race clear to give the Herts and Essex team a crucial 15-10 lead with 15 minutes to play.

Worcester raised their game but the Welwyn defence held out until five minutes to go.

Worcester's exceptional centre then scored the match-winning try and snatched away the cup that was so tantalisingly close to the maroon hoops' grasp.

It was a try worthy of winning any match - a 50-yard run past several missed tackles and put down under the posts.

An easy conversion made the score 17-15.

The final whistle blew and the dream was over but in the years to come all the Welwyn-Basford players can look at their medal and remember with pride the match they took part in.

Team manager Dave Marques knew it was a case of so near, yet so far.

He said: "You know, for a while there I thought we'd actually done it.

"I think had we been playing any other team we would have, but Worcester have such a classy back division, you know one slip and they'll make you pay.

"That try was beautiful to watch though, as well as being painful."

Coach Clive Cramphorn said: "There's still plenty to sort out in the next few weeks, but it was a real pleasure to be involved in a game like that.

"The true spirit of rugby shone through like a beacon and after the week we've just had, that was a real boost.
Congratulations also go to the Basford management and coaching staff, Paula Bates, Gavin Scott and Tony McClarnon for their part getting the girls to the final.


U15's
London Irish v Thornbury

London Irish Girls Lift The Cup

RFUW U15 Girls National Cup Final at Lichfield RFC, 13th April 2008

London Irish 29 – Thornbury 7


In a week that saw London Irish Girls secure the Surrey League title, the girls travelled to Lichfield, Staffordshire, to contest the final of the RFUW National Cup against the Gloucestershire side Thornbury, the defending champions.

Research indicated that Thornbury had a very big, well-drilled pack and played exclusively to that strength. Preparation for the match was to practice quick ball away from the forwards and avoid a mauling game. This approach was borne out when, during their warm up for the game, the Thornbury backs always brought the ball back inside. The girls went into the game confident in their tactics.

The starting line-up:
Morgan Simpson (C)
Nancy Tarrant
Sereena Peppard
Emma Pinchin
Niquita Patel Subs: Nicolle Roberts
Colette Bloome Rachel Still
Serena Carter Gemma Jablonska
Harriet Connor
Laura Schultze
Alex Matthews
Alice Flynn
Rochelle Smith
Robyn Harwood-Lewis

Thornbury kicked off and London Irish attacked up the left flank through Alice Flynn. When she was eventually brought down, the pack were immediately in support and secured the ball quickly. The ball went along the line to the right wing Laura Schulze who was clear to score near the corner. Harriet Connor kicked a difficult conversion to take Irish 7 points ahead.

The score settled the LI nerves but also stirred Thornbury into action. The following 10 minutes saw the game ebb and flow between the teams. London Irish almost scored a second try but lost the ball crossing the line and Thornbury put together a concerted forward attack on the Irish line only to be thwarted by Laura Schultze, who managed to get under the ball to stop them grounding it.

Slowly the London Irish pack began to dictate the forward exchanges by arriving in numbers and recycling the ball quickly, avoiding a toe-to-toe battle.

With half time approaching, Nancy Tarrant took a quick lineout throw inside the Thornbury 22, which was taken at the front by Morgan Simpson, who drove a few yards before going to ground. The supporting forwards secured the ball, which was sent along the threes. Alex Matthews and Alice Flynn executed a well-rehearsed inside dummy, which opened up the Thornbury defence for Alex to score under the posts. Harriet again converted taking Irish into a 14-point half time lead.

The second half continued in the same way with London Irish dictating the game but excellent Thornbury tackling keeping them at bay.

The pressure eventually told when Alex Matthews stripped the ball in a tackle 5m from the Thornbury line before popping it to Sereena Peppard who went over to score in the corner. This time the try was unconverted, 19 – 0.

Thornbury again came back strongly and put Irish under pressure before putting in a box kick, which caught the LI defence napping. A fortunate bounce in goal saw Thornbury get to it first to make their first score. A good conversion brought the score to 19 – 7.

LI went on the offensive and pinned Thornbury in their own half for several minutes before they were awarded a penalty on the 22 for handling on the ground. Harriet elected to kick and scored a simple 3 points.

Thornbury heads went down and they didn’t threaten the Irish defences again.

The final score came from a box kick by Harriet, which was gathered by Alex. Alex drew a tackle before releasing the ball to Laura on the right wing. Laura cut inside, between two defenders to score. Harriet converted to bring the score to 29 – 7.

A few minutes later the referee brought the game to a close.

An awesome game by the pack, some magnificent running and tackling by the backs and a dominant team performance overall gave the London Irish U15 Girls a well-deserved victory.

WELL DONE TO ALL FOUR TEAMS FOR WHAT WAS A GREAT DAYS RUGBY.

A big congratulations to all the basford girls who this season have done themselves, the club,county and regional sides proud.