Middlesex Rugby
Middlesex Girls U15
U 15 Girls come third at Essex Festival
Third place for Middlesex U15 Girls at Essex Festival
On a bitterly cold day at Harlow the Middlesex U15 Girls competed in a six team inter county tournament in which they finished third.. The Girls defeated teams representing Eastern Counties, Leicestershire and Oxfordshire during the day. Whilst hard fought games against both Essex and the overall winners Hertfordshire ended in defeat. The Middlesex team comprised girls from Ealing, Grasshoppers, Harlequins and Northolt Rugby clubs..
The opening game saw Middlesex up against Oxfordshire, after an initial period where neither side dominated, Tara O’Brien broke through several Oxfordshire defenders to score and then convert her own try from near the touchline. From the restart a period of scrappy play developed with Oxfordshire in the ascendancy moving towards the Middlesex line. The ball came to Siobhan Longdon-Hughes nearly on the Middlesex line from where she ran the length of the pitch to score under the Oxfordshire posts for a try that went unconverted for Middlesex to lead 12-0 at half time. The second half saw Oxfordshire threaten the Middlesex line through their Backs but they were unable to break through during a period of no further scoring for either side.
Middlesex 12 Oxfordshire 0
In the second game Essex kicked off and Middlesex allowed the ball to bounce, the ball fell kindly for Essex who gathered and ran through scoring an unconverted try which put Middlesex immediately on the back foot. From the restart, Essex took the ball and slick handling resulted in a second unconverted try for Essex within 2 minutes of the start. Middlesex through a series of Scrums and loose play then began to gain some possession for the first time in the game. Eventually, from a Scrum the ball came to Hannah Wyatt-Brooks who scored in the corner, the try went unconverted and Middlesex trailed 10-5 at half time. From the restart Middlesex kicked deep, Essex however managed to work the ball through a combination of Back & Forward play to score their third unconverted try. The remainder of the game saw Essex continuing to pressure but the Middlesex line held firm.
Middlesex 5 Essex 15
Next against Eastern Counties, Middlesex took the early initiative from a scrum when Tara O’Brien ran half the pitch to score under the posts, Cathy Bell subsequently converted. The restart failed to go ten yards allowing Middlesex to again take the initiative from the resulting scrum, running strongly at the Eastern Counties defence until Hananh Marr broke through to score an unconverted try. Middlesex continued to dominate with Marisa Lowe next braking through several defenders to score a third Middlesex try for a 17-0 half time lead. Eastern Counties rallied for the second half making strong runs at the Middlesex defence, several attacks were held up before Eastern Counties scored an unconverted try. From the restart Eastern Counties ran straight back at Middlesex and good combined Forward and Back play resulted in their second converted try. As the game moved towards an end Eastern Counties continued to pressurise but Middlesex held on for victory.
Middlesex 17 Eastern Counties 12
Leicestershire took the early initiative running back from deep the Middlesex kick off for an unconverted try. From the restart, Middlesex kicked long and the ball bounced into touch on the Leicestershire 10 yard line. The resulting lineout was not straight which meant Middlesex were awarded a scrum from which Marrisa Lowe broke with the ball to score, Tara O’Brien converted. Middlesex gathered the restart and worked the ball to Siobhan Longdon-Hughes who went on a long run to score a try which Tara O’Brien again converted. A period of loose play then followed with Middlesex moving forward, before Siobhan Longdon-Hughes stepped through several defenders to score a try which Tara O’Brien converted for a 21-5 halftime lead. Middlesex again pushed forward from the restart but Leicestershire rallied strongly driving Middlesex back and scored an unconverted try. Middlesex tackled strongly for the remainder of the game but this was not enough to prevent a further Leicestershire try.
Middlesex 21 Leicestershire 15
A final game win for Middlesex against Hertfordshire would have meant 3 teams on equal points overall with one defeat each. From the Hertfordshire kick off, Middlesex tried to take the initiative but this was quickly reversed by strong tacking, driving and running by Hertfordshire. Eventually this proved too much for Middlesex to withstand and Hertfordshire scored an unconverted try. From the restart Hertfordshire dominance continued but they were unable to breach the Middlesex defence and led just 5-0 at half time. From the Middlesex restart Hertfordshire again took control with particularly strong back play which finally resulted in a second unconverted try. Middlesex continued offering a stiff defence holding up a number of strong Hertfordshire attacks but eventually the Middlesex line was again breached.
Middlesex 0 Hertfordshire 15
Squad: Catherine Bell (Harlequins), Jessamy Bloom (Ealing Emeralds), Yasmin Boudijama (Harlequins), Gaby Browne (Grasshoppers), Lucy Chesson (Northolt), Francesca Formby (Grasshoppers), Katy Fretwell (Ealing Emeralds), Karendeep Gill (Grasshoppers), Soman Kaurkakkar (Grasshoppers), Thulani Kimbugwe (Grasshoppers), Kerry Lamont (Harlequins), Siobhan Longdon-Hughes (Grasshoppers), Marissa Lowe (Ealing Emeralds), Hannah Marr (Ealing Emeralds), Tara O’Brien (Harlequins) Rosie Parr (Harlequins), Olivia Sibthorp (Harlequins), Hannah Wells (Northolt), Avril Wildridge (Ealing Emeralds), Hannah Wyatt-Brooks (Ealing Emeralds), Lauren Yerby (Harlequins), Helen Young (Ealing Emeralds).
