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Junior Girls Inner Warrior and match report: SCRFC Ladies Development vs Hammersmith & Fulham

Junior Girls Inner Warrior and match report: SCRFC Ladies Development vs Hammersmith & Fulham

Millie Ross28 Jan 2019 - 14:01
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A busy weekend for the future of the ladies section of SCRFC!

With a change in the leadership of the Junior Girls section, new coach Catherine Kingston led a fantastic Inner Warrior session on Sunday, despite the battle against the elements. Welcoming England Red Rose Marlie Packer and her Saracens team mate Hannah Duffy, the ladies hosted a Q&A in the clubhouse whilst the hail came down outside. When the sun poked its head through the clouds, the girls ran through some fun drills under the leadership of the coaching team. SCRFC girls are now recruiting, ages 5-17 with 0 experience required! Do get in touch with Catherine at juniors@streatham-croydon.co.uk if you are interested.

Streatham-Croydon Ladies Development vs Hammersmith & Fulham 2s Match Report

The morning started with what promised to be perfect rugby conditions writes Katherine Cowling: glorious sunshine, soft ground, only a light wind, but by the 2pm kick-off it had clouded over and was intermittently hailing or raining. Despite this the ladies’ development team were excited to run out against Hammersmith and Fulham’s well established 2nd team. Following a traditional welcome to the pitch from Streatham’s touring, drum-equipped SCUM, the ladies kicked to start the match.

The slippery conditions lead to several knock-ons from Hammersmith, resulting in a Streatham scrum within Hammersmith’s 22. A few phases later scrum-half Paige Abbs, a woman of about 6 feet and possibly of greater stature than some professional male scrum halves, delivered a fantastic pass out wide. This went through the hands to outside centre Katie Corr, who drew in 2 defenders and popped the ball to Erin “Errol” Fairly. Erin, coming back in style from maternity leave, scored in the corner, however it was not converted due to the aforementioned weather conditions.

As play continued and the hail came down hard, the Streatham ladies still looked to be the stronger side, despite letting in two tries in the corner. Hammersmith only converted one, bringing the score to 12-5. Following some excellent motivational oratory from coaches Nic and Martin, the more experienced of the development team found their voices, with fly-half Jenny Frost leading the defensive line up with the enthusiasm and aggression the ladies have become known for. Normally playing at fullback, Ana O'Connor made her debut at Hooker and made some whopping tackles, prompting a new affectionate nickname from the ever-present SCUM: ‘Ana the Slammer’. Newbie Juliana made a fantastic impression on flank, regularly taking out the opposition 10 that fraction of a second after the ball has been passed, as any self-respecting flanker should. Anna Fogel, more used to the front row for Chichester University, made a great impression as a mobile back row at 8 and her fellow front row, Rain, grew more confident on the wing.

Half-time saw the arrival of Millie Ross at 10, moving Jenny Frost in to full-back for the first time and Kimberley Bennet from full-back out onto the wing. The re-vamped back line made a few excellent plays, and Jenny made use of her footballing past with well-placed chips over the Hammersmith defensive line. However, Streatham were ultimately unlucky and did not manage to put any more points on the home team. The ladies left the pitch without the win, but supporters and coaches alike were thrilled to see the depth the ladies side is building as they progress through their 4th season as a team.

Forward of the match: Ana O'Connor
Back of the match: Jenny Frost
Scorers: Erin Fairley (1T)

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