Kent Girls U14 match vs. Sussex
28th January, 2007

Kent U14 Girls continued on their winning way last Sunday in the annual match against Sussex, which this year doubled as the South East Regional Trial.

In a hard fought game, it was Sussex that attacked first, putting the Kent girls under concerted pressure. Much of the first quarter was played inside the Kent half through strong Sussex running and a tendency for the Kent girls to play the ball when not on their feet that was rightly penalised by the referee. Only determined tackling prevented a Sussex score.

Strong running and close inter-passing from the Kent girls brought one attacking position near the Sussex line. Quickly won ball saw fly-half Niamh Herman attacking from the Sussex 22 and a beautifully timed short pass to Ellen O’Connell, saw the wing burst through the middle to score untouched by the posts. Niamh added the conversion. 

As the half wore on, the stronger Kent forwards started to gain an advantage, and with their backs up fast in defence, the Sussex girls had little time on the ball. After a period of pressure and some good inter-passing from Hannah Daw and Emma Paice, forward Sophie Fannon drove over to add the second Kent try.

Nakita Reid-Nurse soon added another try after good runs down the right by props Megan Sears and Iona Todd, before an injury to centre Sammy White saw Kent bring on wing Olivia Clarke and move Ellen into the middle. At half-time Kent held a worthy 17-0 lead.

In the third quarter more attacks from the Kent forwards allowed fullback Sam Parker to make a good break from an attacking scrum, but she could not ground the ball over the Sussex line. At the resulting 5m scrum more pressure defence from scrum half Ali Stroud and the Kent backs forced Sussex to kick, but Holly Tobin took a clean catch for Niamh to score under the posts.

Olivia was next to score after quick hands by Ali and Niamh moved the ball wide to the left wing.

With the Kent forwards, particularly Abi Howland, and Hayley Morgan, now making strong runs at the Sussex defence, space was available out wide for the Kent wings to fly down each flank. This brought further tries for wings Olivia and Nakita, before a burst through the middle from Iona brought the final try and a further chance for Niamh to add the conversion to her points tally.

Congratulations to Captain Abi and her Kent players who all played well.

The final 44-0 score-line did not reflect how well Sussex fought throughout and the Kent girls will be looking forward to joining up with many of them in the South East Regional squad.

KENT COUNTY GIRLS U14 MATCH REPORTS
3rd December, 2006

3rd December saw another first for the Kent Girls U14s when two squads represented the county, the first against Hampshire at Andover, while the second was at Westcliffe RFC for the Essex Festival.  (See separate Hants v Kent match report.)

Essex Festival

The festival drew U14 County sides from Essex, Middlesex, Herts, Buckinghamshire and Eastern Counties, while Kent were represented by a largely development side.

The 10-a-side festival format saw Kent play hosts Essex and Middlesex in their pool. In our first match it was the bigger Essex girls that dominated the forward exchanges. The Kent players put in a mighty effort, but with little quick ball they could not break through the Essex defence. The 0-22 score line flattered the hosts, who scored two of their four tries on break-aways.

After games from the other pool, and the Essex - Middlesex match, a rather cold Kent squad took the field to play the last pool game, against the Harlequin clad Middlesex side. It was therefore the Quins who produced the first series of attacks, taking them into a 12-0 lead. Kent Captain Abi Howland responded with a series of attacks from quickly taken penalties and was eventually rewarded with a try, converted by prop Hayley Morgan. In the second period Kent continued to attack and from a driving maul, scrum half Ali Stroud ripped the ball free to find Hayley Morgan in close support. Hayley’s strength took her over the line for a fine try. Middlesex then took advantage of some defensive slips to score the last try of the game that edged Kent out of second place in the pool.

After the pool games, Kent played Eastern Counties in a play off game. This was another even game with Counties having one very strong back that scored two tries down their right wing. In return Kent had some good runs, and following one, Ali Stroud was able to hold the ball up to enable Abi to roll away to score on the left. The final score of 12-7 to Counties showed the closeness of the game.

The Kent girls all enjoyed the day and were pleased to receive their medals afterwards. All had played well on a day when Kent fielded 28 U14s against County opposition. A great day for youth girls’ rugby.

Kent Girls U14 matches vs Essex 17th December 2006
December 17th saw a large Kent U14 Girl’s squad visit Essex to play two pre-Christmas games. The Kent A’s, led by Captain Abi Howland, were quickly into their stride scoring an early try through forward Hannah Daw.

Unlike at the recent Essex Festival, it was Kent who had the bigger pack of forwards who were repeatedly used on driving runs deep into the Essex half. Close support work brought tries for forwards Meg Sears, Sophie Fannon and Iona Todd.

The Kent backs played their part, with half backs Ali Stroud and Niamh Herman launching Sam White and Sam Parker on strong runs down the middle that made space out wide for Nakita Reid-Nurse to blast over for a brace of tries. Sam White later collected one of her own, before Iona wrapped up the Kent scoring.

The Essex team put up strong resistance throughout that was rewarded with first-half tries through their hooker and outstanding prop.

Overall the Kent team impressed the watching crowd, with the Essex coach recognising them as ‘a well drilled squad’. This was only the second defeat for Essex U14 in the last two years and reversed the recent Essex Festival result. The final score was 40-10 in Kent’s favour.

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The Essex girls then took on Kent B and it was the Essex prop that again stood out, scoring three of the six Essex tries.

The Kent girls tried hard in response, with prop Hayley Morgan putting in one memorable 40 metre driving run despite the close attention of 3 or 4 Essex defenders. 2nd row forward Emma Paice had a good game and made numerous tackles. Scrum half Ellen O’Connell had a difficult time behind the weaker Kent B scrum, but managed to join the end of one Kent attack to score in the corner. Kent wing Olivia Clarke also scored a good try, despite being on-loan to the injury hit Essex side.

The final 30-5 score reflected the stronger Essex side.

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Our thanks go to the Essex County management and players for a great day, to hosts Thames RFC and to the young ref who controlled the above two games, plus a final Kent Blues v Greens game, despite her suffering from Tonsillitis. All Kent players enjoyed the day and now look forward to a restful Christmas.

Worthing U-14 21- 34 Beckenham U-14 Girls
A great game played at Worthing with the Beckenham girls going 14 points down before fighting back with six tries before Worthing replied with their third. Once the Beckenham girls had got the travel out of their system they played excellent running rugby with their quick wings creating many opportunities. Olivia crossed the Worthing line 4 times but only came away with 2 tries as brave Worthing cover tackling dislodged the ball. Beckenhams other tries came from Anam (2), Callee and Ellen as they converted a 14-12 halftime deficit into a 34-14 advantage. Jade had earlier scored for Worthing with a length of the field break and was hauled down just short of the line twice, and the smaller Worthing girls never gave up and emerged with great credit, as well as being terrific hosts.

Kent Girls U14 match vs. Surrey 12th November, 2006

The first game of the 2006/7 season saw this largely new squad of Kent U14 players visiting Surrey at the O Caterhamians’ ground for a (delayed) 2:30 k.o.

Kent kicked off and immediately put Surrey under a period of pressure. After a series of phases, Kent full back Sam Parker ran through a crowded midfield to score a try near to the posts. Niamh Herman added the conversion for an early 7-0 lead.

Surrey’s restart put Kent under pressure in return. After Surrey players had been held up over the Kent try line on four occasions, including one great try-saving tackle from Holly Tobin, this led to a series of 5m scrums. Kent eventually broke out and attacked the Surrey end.

Kent forwards continued to make forceful runs into the Surrey half, while the backs made some good individual runs. However, the Surrey defence prevented any further Kent score. In contrast, Surrey added two tries, converting the first, to give them a 12-7 at the break.

Half time saw two changes with Ellen O’Connell replacing Ali Stroud, and Sam White replacing the winded Holly Tobin. In the second half, Kent again took the battle to Surrey with some good straight running by the forwards and bursts by the flying wingers Rose Atkins and Nakita Reid-Nurse. Only great cover tackling by the Surrey fullback prevented three Kent breaks down the right being turned into tries.   

Surrey added two further unconverted tries as Kent brought on replacements for tired or injured players, giving some of their newer girls playing time. The final score of 22-7 masked the closeness of the game, with the Surrey fullback being the outstanding player.

The Kent girls all played extremely well and contributed to a good, all-round performance even if it was not a winning one. 

Kent Team:
Iona Todd
Hannah Daw               (replaced by Emma Paice)
Megan Sears               (replaced by Hayley Morgan)
Abi Howland (capt)
Sophie Fannon            (replaced by Aimee Riley)
Ali Stroud                   (replaced by Ellen O’Connell)
Niamh Herman
Rose Atkins                (replaced by Olivia Clarke)
Callee Hart                  (replaced by Meghan Rice-Wilson)
Holly Tobin                 (replaced by Sam White)
Nakita Reid-Nurse
Sam Parker

Unused replacement – Rachel Davies