U13 Girls continue strong start

Following on from their successful waterfall last week, the u13 girls travelled to Towcester for a 7’s tournament. The squad was led by Mimi and comprised Eva, Molly, Hollie, Bethany, Nancy, Evie and Freyja. We played 5 games, winning 3, drawing one and losing one.
In game 1 we played the hosts. Olney fell into old bad habits of sleeping at the start and were then under pressure in their own half. Although the coaches knew we were the stronger team, you have to build continuity to score. Once the girls got their offloading game going there was only going to be one winner. A couple of magic moments from Hollie unlocked the door for her eventual hat trick. Evie put in some powerful runs and dominated the ruck. Mimi showed her usual mix of skill and strength to grab a brace. Molly continued to grow into her role as a strike runner by crossing twice and Nancy showed the way for the younger players with a try and great tackling. Eva patrolled the full back berth and scored a classic step and go try. Freyja, in only her second day of rugby showed huge promise (and a better grasp of the rules than last week!). Final score 8-1 to Olney but fair play to Towcester for hanging in and scoring when the opportunity came.
We then had a longish break which meant that the girls went to sleep again in match 2. This was against our friends at Bletchley who had added some decent players over the summer. Our rucking was off the pace, perhaps as a result of coaches advising not to overcommit. Bethany returned from a rest and added grit on the outside. Once we pulled back into the game the tries were shared equally between Mimi, Hollie, Eva and Nancy, with Evie grabbing a double. Final score 6-4
Game 3 was against ONs, the only team to beat us last week. They had a double pronged attack with a very hard running forward and a lightning quick wing. Olney found both hard to handle, going behind quickly. Cometh the hour, cometh the skipper however. Mimi put on her game face and almost singlehandedly pulled her team back into the game. Four tries in a 6-5 loss is a decent return by anybody’s standards. Hollie added the fifth for Olney. ONs are a tough but fair outfit and Olney showed excellent game management in the second half.
Then came the low point of the day. Kettering are a strong team who expect to win. Olney matched them in pouring rain, however. Molly and Eva got onto the scoresheet in a 2-2 draw. The result was marred by a stoppage for dissent. Full credit to Olney for keeping their focus.
In our final game we came up against Buckingham. There’s a nice rivalry brewing here with another close game. The opposition have a very skilful and loud scrum half (aren’t they all) plus some decent backs. For a while it looked an even contest but Olney gradually exerted control. The girls showed great game management, support play and offloads. Freyja, identifiable by her orange bib, came into her own with some huge runs and narrowly missed her first try. Nancy crossed the line but was called back for a handoff. Bethany showed real drive to get her first of the day and Eva showed grace under pressure to add two more. Mimi and Hollie added the rest to hold off a Buckingham fight back to win 5-2.
A year ago we’d have settled for some narrow losses and a draw against this opposition. The girls now have a year in their legs and it shows, ably supported by new players. Winning isn’t everything of course, but it took until late October to win last year. This time we have 6 wins already.
The girls remain a pleasure to work with and when missing players return will be a formidable team in the 12-aside version.
Thanks to Will for helping out as assistant coach.