National Cup - ERRFC u15 Girls 14 - Oakmedians 5

This Sunday saw ERRFC U15s v Oakmedians U15s playing in the heady heights of the National Cup at PBL.

With both teams showing up with over 20 players each, this was shaping up to be an epic game of 15 a side .

Captain Sophie Pidgley lost the toss resulting in ERRFC receiving the kick off. Oaks came out all guns blazing ,running hard at the ERRFC line which was a little slow to push up, Oaks attack was relentless resulting in the 1st score of the game but were unable to convert for the full 7 ,Score 0 v 5 .

After the restart ERRFC started to find their groove getting more possession and working hard to find the gaps, a thundering run from Lucy Wagland gained Ellingham a good 20 m which set the forwards loose on the gallop culminating in a majestic glide to the line from no8 Romilly Lewis, 2 more points from the tee by captain Pidgley , score 7 v 5.

Tails up ERRFC carried on with their attack only to be halted by a nasty wrist injury to the no9 Aoibh Baird who unfortunately couldn’t carry on . With a quick shuffle of positions Sophia Tomey took charge of the scrum half position and the game proceeded, Oaks came back with a few waves of attack of their own causing ERRFC to defend fiercely to protect their lead with play moving back into the favour of Ellingham they worked themselves up to the 5m line ending in a powerful close range try for Lula Rees ,burrowing in under the defence like she was diving under the Christmas tree on the morning of the 25th. Captain Pidgley was unfortunately off with a knee injury so kicking duties fell into the more than capable hands ( or feet ) of Zoe Hansen who slotted the kick for the extra 2 points . Score 14 v 5

Halftime.

The second half got under way with both teams throwing everything at each other , tit for tat , up and down , this match had promised to be a corker and it didn't disappoint. A big attacking run pushed Ellingham back into their 22 then back to their tryline , ferocious tackling and a no guts no glory attitude saw Ellingham regain possession and run the ball from behind their own tryline almost up to the oppositions 22 in what was some of the best rugby played that day. Possession changing hands again allowed Oaks to set up a barrelling run of their own only to be stopped by a very unfortunate bad fall in what became the final tackle of the game .

Match abandoned final score ERRFC 14 v 5 Oakmedians.

It was a sad end to an absolutely fantastic game of rugby played in great spirits by some very talented players.

We wish all the injured players ( in which there are a few ) a speedy full recovery and look forward to a rematch sometime in the near future.

I would also like to make a special mention to Alex Avoth who refereed the match and believe it or not this was her first game , she did absolutely brilliant and hope to have her ref more of our up and coming matches .