Fabulous performance by Darts U18 girls in their first ever mnatch

Darts U18 girls travelled to Warlingham for their first ever match and they were understandably nervous but straight from the kick off they showed they were not going to be intimidated by the occasion. As with all girls rugby it is played at a fast pace with the ball being moved into the wide spaces and this match was no exception. The home side looked well organised and had a big pack which was going to give the Darts pack a lot to contend with but with the team being led by captain Lola and the dynamic Lara were up to the task and Rebecca playing her first ever game was doing really well in the front row. It was unfortunate that early in the match Jess who was playing well at that time received a bad injury to her arm and had to leave the field. Warlingham did get on the scoreboard first when one of their big runners managed to get over the line. This didn't deter Darts and gradually they got into their stride with Molly providing good ball for the backs. Karis and Eleanour at lock and No 8 were also both playing their first matches but you couldn't tell as they both had good runs with the ball. All of a sudden it was Darts who got on the scoreboard and it was a great break by Liv who took the ball and passed to Lizzie who used her great pace and power to go over. Minutes later a replica move saw Lizzie score her second try. It became a match of you score we score with the home side stronger taking the ball in close and Darts better out wide. Emily was controlling the game well at fly half and again a terrific performance considering she had not played a match before. Although the home side scored a couple of good tries the enthusiasm and spirit shown by the Darts team was unbelievable and they wouldn't give up. Another good move saw the ball go through a couple of phases before finding Leah who went on a great run and looked certain to score until called back for a marginal forward pass. It was a tremendous game with both sides giving everything and playing some great rugby and when Darts were given a penalty inside their own 22 they took a quick tap and Molly popped the ball to Emily who ran through a gap in the home defence and proceeded to run towards the home try line. Great defence from the home side manage to tackle her 15 yards from the line but the back up from the Darts team saw them win the ruck and pop the ball out to give Lizzie another try. The home side were always slightly ahead but Darts looked dangerous when they had the ball in hand but it was inexperience that
led to them conceding a couple more tries but this will change with more match time and their confidence increases. Darts again coming from behind kept themselves in the game with more good interplay and when the ball was passed along the line to Karis she ran 40 yards to outstrip the home defence to score a try on her debut. In the second half the pattern of play continued and it was great to the forwards take the ball at Warlingham and Georgia was particularly involved working hard around the pitch. The best try of the day from Darts came when they combined some good forward play keeping the ball going forward prior to then showing some fabulous with Ellie Leah Molly and Lola involved before the ball found the try scoring machine Lizzie to go over again.offloading. There was a lot of brave play towards the latter part of the half as the pace of the game began to show on the visitors but Rebecca stood out when she made 4 or 5 great attempts to take down the biggest girl on the pitch.over a 5 minute period of the game, Lara was putting in her normal strong and hard tackling performance which along with Lola was inspiring the new girls and she well deserved her score after showing pace and power determined to get to the line. The girls were tiring with the tremendous effort they had put into the game and although the game was lost they still put in a last great effort and Ellie made a great break and looked as though she would score but again great defence from the home side saw her tackled 5 yards short but she still had great awareness to see the great support from sister Lizzie who took the pop pass to score the final try of the game. A great game and great hospitality from Warlingham who were worthy winners but were given a scare by the fantastic performance from the Darts girls who well deserved the plaudits given them for all the hard work, determination and effort they have put in throughout the summer.