U18s Girls
Matches
Sun 05 Nov 2017
Tunbridge Wells
31
0
Welcome to Dartfordians RFC
U18s Girls
Good performances despite loss

Good performances despite loss

Dave Phillips5 Nov 2017 - 19:45
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Darts travelled to Tunbridge Wells

Darts travelled to Tunbridge Wells with numerous changes but happy to give more players much needed match experience. Missing three props it was up to Jess to step up to the plate for the team and did a great job in the first half and then it was Megan's turn to take over in the second half and also did extremely well. The first half was a very tight affair with both teams having a lot of ball to play with but it was the home side who made the first break which was well defended by Lillie who put in a great tackle at full back. Darts were holding their own and making good ground with Lizzie and Abbie working well together in the centre but the TW defence was very strong not allowing us to make any clear breaks. TW had a lot of pace out wide but Darts too had Anna and Evie who both put in good tackles to keep them at bay. Pelumi was putting in a great shift in the scrum and around the park always offering herself up to take the ball on and keeping the home defence busy. Darts back row were working well with Innes and Lara on the flank continually disrupting TW's offensive play ably backed up by Emily at No 8 who was also looking to take the ball on . Lara yet again put her body on the line tackling bigger players and rucking well. A new second row partnership of Georgia and Alicia who was playing her first match were also in the thick of it but with few lineouts they were having to do the hard work in the engine room. The game was really entertaining despite there being no score and Ellie and Emily were working well together at half back and it was unfortunate that a small mistake by Darts saw the ball go loose and it was picked up by TW who then ghosted through to score the only try of the first half. All credit to Darts who were trying to keep the ball alive but were guilty on occasions of trying to offload when in contact which meant losing control of the ball but this skill will improve with more practice and game time.
Darts made 4 changes in the second half with Poppy coming on at hooker and Lizzie G, Talie and Libby coming on in the backs. Abbie moved to No 8 , Emily D into the second row and Robyn went to fly half replacing Emily who moved into the centre. It was pretty much the same in the second half with both teams working really hard to try and make a breakthrough and although it was Darts who had the territorial advantage the home side looked more clinical with their finishing and the pure pace out wide saw them run in 3 tries which were slightly against the run of play. Robyn made a number of breaks but whereas TW were always in support Darts were a little guilty of watching the break allowing the home side to kill any breaks we made. Lizzie was tackling as she she always does but was defended well and Emily in the centre didn't look out of place in her first match in that position. A great tackle by Lizzie G kept TW in their own half and Darts were pressing really hard with great drives from Abbie, Emily and Innes who was producing a terrific performance in her first season. Talie made some good tackles and had a couple of good runs but the ball wasn't getting to our wings and full back enough for them to make a big impact and following some great pressure from Darts it looked like they would get the score that they really deserved. The defence was strong and when Darts lost the ball TW were a little fortunate when a clearing misskick bounced badly for the visitors it allowed TW make a break and score at the end of the game. Despite the score it was a good performance from all of the girls who put everything into the match and deserved to get a couple of scores on the board but the difference in the teams was the home sides clinical finishing combined with a more experienced defensive work which gave them the deserved victory.
The way in which our girls are continuing to develop has been fantastic with many of them in their first season and still finding their way in the game and results will soon come our way. Although there were one or two players who could have been awarded player of the match it was unanimously give to Innes who was outstanding throughout making tackles, rucking and carrying the ball with pace and power despite this being only her third match.

Match details

Match date

Sun 05 Nov 2017

Kickoff

13:00
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