Bletchley mud lake for the girls

The u13 girls travelled to Bletchley for their final matches before Christmas, playing three games of 20 minutes in terrible conditions. Fair play to Bletchley for hosting and getting the games on.
We were short of three key players due to illness and social demands plus a late night party the night before for at least one other. The team was skipper Mimi, Freyja, Amelie, Hattie, Bethany, Evie, Hollie, Madeleine and Nancy. Olivia played in the u11s barbarians game and as usual stood out with her mature play.
We were asked to partner with Tring who were short of numbers and their 5 girls mixed and matched well with Olney.
Due to conditions space was restricted and the pitches very small. With teams combining most games were 12 a side which didn’t suit our offloading and wide game, plus we missed the outside speed of Eva. All the games were low scoring which reflected the mud slog.
In game 1 we played Ampthill, who’d beaten us by the odd try in October. This was a tight game initially with some brutal defence in the narrow channels. We now see girls playing as virtual flankers which leads to some really contested rucks and jackalling where no change is given. Olney/Tring kept it tight, using one out runners to draw in the opposition. There was also some clever kicking to pin the opposition back. As has become traditional Hattie opened the scoring with a powerful drive to the line. This was followed by Amelie, keeping up the family effort, making a mazy run that defied the crowded midfield but being denied just short of the line. This was a theme for the day, girls being held up just short or ripped with the line in sight. Her efforts were not in vain, a free kick was won and Hattie powered over from 8 metres out. Ampthill pegged one back but Mimi, reverting to fullback, swept through the middle to restore the lead. We were again pulled back via a run to the corner by the opposition centre, but Mimi led from the front and showed her gas, pursued to the line by a pack of chasers in vain. Hollie, rampaging round the park and breaking down the opposition’s structure, was then put into space and needed no second invitation. The match finished 5-2.
In the second game we played Buckingham in an absolute quagmire with a slope (why didn’t all the mud run downhill?). This was our third encounter with them in three weeks, W1 L1, all to play for. Olney/Tring played up the hill and struggled initially. Some excellent cover from the Buckingham skipper and a flying run down the wing from their new recruit saw us ship a try. Interestingly Olney seemed to be the only team without a very tall girl. Recruitment policy clearly amiss. Fortunately it’s not the size of the girl in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the girl and in this we are blessed. Two of our younger players, Freyja and Madeleine were livewires. Both tackled like demons and ran hard. Madeleine was held up in a maul by three opposition players in a similar style to carrying a roll of carpet, but she took the game to the opposition. Bethany saw more of the ball than normal and made a couple of good breaks and an excellent wrap tackle. This was a game where the Tring girls (on both sides!) played well in deep mud, showing excellent commitment. Jemima used the ball well and Bailey absolutely smashed it in the middle, leading to her opening the scoring for the combined team. The second half saw Olney playing downhill but unable to score. Buckingham returned a kick with interest to score. There then followed 5 intense minutes on the Buckingham line which saw Evie score. Another great game from her, acting as both scrum half and midfield yards maker. She and Nancy had to pair as scrum half and hooker which clocked after a couple of false starts. Nancy also covered acres of ground in both directions, again showing both flair and an excellent engine.
Our final game was against a combined Towcester/Aylesbury team who played very well. They had a kicker to match Mimi and very aggressive defence. Olney came close on a couple of occasions but a reluctance to be first into the ruck prevented easy second phase ball to score. The opposition scored twice before Hollie scythed through to pull one back. They then struck again but were put under severe pressure from Olney. Mimi at fullback in particular returned every clearing kick with interest. We pulled it back to 3-2 before tired legs gave in and we shipped a final try.
All round a good day. Hard conditions, some unfamiliar team mates and the ever improving level of rugby for U13s girls means that we were under the cosh all day. The girls have had an outstanding Autumn term, playing 20 winning 14 losing 4 drawing 2. Girl of the match was Mimi, who was all things. When one is refereeing you can hear the volume of the crowd increase when she has the ball and rightly so.