Ealing U12 Girls vs Ashford

On Sunday morning, the Ealing U12 Girls squad assembled to play their final 12-a-side match of the season. Our opponents for the day, Ashford RFC, made the long journey up from Kent, and travelled in good numbers of both players and supporters. The drab weather conditions did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm from either side.

After a joint warm up, the referee (our very own Cyril R) got the game underway, and the first period was characterised by an evenly (and heavily) contested breakdown, the Ealing girls looking to move the ball through the hands, and Ashford’s strong ball carriers causing our girls problems. Both sides were guilty of leaving scores out on the pitch, and a tense first period finished Ealing 1 -2 Ashford, with Catherine grabbing the try for the hosts with a mazy run from out wide, which has become somewhat of a trademark for her.

The second period was much of the same, with the Ealing girls getting close to crossing the opposition tryline on several occasions and also having to working hard in defence to keep the Ashford attack at bay. Another closely contested period finished with the scores Ealing 2 – 3 Ashford, with Rose dotting down from close range to get the Ealing try.

The final 3rd was where Ashford pulled away from Ealing and eased their way to victory, with a number of tries characterised by strong running from deep despite the best efforts of a tiring (and injury depleted) Ealing defence. The sole Ealing score in the period came from Catherine, with the match ending Ealing 3 – 7 Ashford.

As mentioned by the Ashford manager in the post-match clubhouse speeches, the scoreline was not wholly reflective of what was generally a fairly even match. What is for certain however is that, at the end of their first season together, the girls acquitted themselves incredibly well against a well organised and well-established side. For that, they should be very proud of themselves.

The Ealing Player of the Day, as voted for by the opposition, was Neave and her fearlessness, elusive running and carrying the ball from deep made her a deserved recipient of the award.

The Ealing Girls squad and management are very grateful to Ashford for making the trip to West London and we hope to see them again soon. The team move forward from this match and look forward to their final outing of the season in a 7’s festival this Friday.