And with a short blow of the referee’s whistle, the Dorking RFC Girls U12 team’s debut season at Junior level came to a conclusion, at least in so far as competitive rugby is concerned (we still have our New Forest tour to look forward to)!
And what a debut season it has been as the girl’s claimed an impressive 4th place in the County. The Surrey Waterfall Cup, involving 16 different rugby clubs at U12 level, with 11 teams competing (3 teams made up of ‘clustered’ clubs) reached the final stage on Sunday 21st April at Cobham RFC.
It feels like a very long time ago now, but the girls’ first ever competitive match was an away win against Farnham in mid-January, with further wins also coming against Cobham/Chobham, and an enjoyable victory over rivals Old Reigatians!! Barnes RFC were a very strong side with huge numbers when we played them in late January and they deservedly topped the group table, with Dorking securing 2nd place to Battersea Ironsides in 3rd.
And so, on to the finals day to compete for the ‘Shield’ (the battle for 3rd/4th place overall – the weird and wonderful Waterfall Cup structure!) against Richmond RFC who finished 2nd in the other side of the draw.
A focused warm up with plenty of optimism from the girls getting the ball through the hands, some nerves, and lots of smiles. The first half was a tight affair with Dorking tackling ferociously and taking an early lead through Scarlett McSweeney. Unfortunately, this brought Richmond to life and their ‘player of the match’ seemed to be everywhere, running strongly and covering huge amounts of ground to make tackle after tackle. Without her, it feels like it would have been a very different result! And so, 2-1 down at half time, but heading into the huddle for words of wisdom from head coach Leo Kane, and with everything to play for!
Unfortunately though, a slightly sleepy defence at the start of the 2nd half conceded 3 tries in 7 minutes, and Dorking very quickly found themselves 5-1 down. However, with heads dropping, the reintroduction of McSweeney, Molly Lighting, Ivy Turner, Izzy Gentle and Lucy Cowlin from the bench sparked Dorking back into life and 3 unanswered tries from Cowlin, Turner and Lighting got the Dorking faithful believing once more and brought the team back to within a single score, 5-4 with roars from subs, coaches and parents spurring the girls on!!
Unfortunately, it was too much to hope the defence would hold out without being breached for the rest of the match given the dangerous running from Richmond, and the killer blow eventually came pulling Richmond back in the clear with a try to make it 6-4. A further try a-piece were exchanged, with Turner scoring her 2nd break away and earning her the ‘player of the match’ accolade from the opposition in the process, leaving the final score 7-5 and disappointment for Dorking with no finals day celebrations.
BUT…it is not the victories or losses that matter most in rugby. It is the team-ship on and off the pitch, and the combination of varying shapes and sizes with complementary skills contributing to the overall collective. And that, is what the girls should take the most pride in from the season! The biggest challenges I’ve felt this year as a coach is that the girls self-compare, mainly seeing scoring tries as the be all and end all. But the only comparison that really matters is the comparison between “you” today, and “you” yesterday. The progress in every single girl in the team that sat on the floor deflated after Sunday’s match has been amazing to watch. From the shoots of green last season when they were still playing as a group not recognised by the RFU, the buds showing in the early season training sessions and festival at Wimbledon RFC, finally blossoming from January into Spring as the Waterfall Cup gave the team a purpose. And so, as the season concludes, their bonding as a team, as friends, has been even better to watch than the rugby (helped the start of their own WhatsApp group, and the post-match lunches)! There are some special young people in this age-group, and parents, coaches and Dorking RFC should be excited to watch what they achieve in the coming years.
So, on to tour and a summer of rest and recuperation. And then, we do it all again!!! 🔴⚪🔴⚪🏉🐔🏉🐔
