A HOME friendly for Kingsbridge RFC U18 girls against Devonport saw them come away with a hard-fought 29-24 victory on Sunday, November 3.
With just 15 players, the girls came out fighting from the whistle. A blasting run from Georgia followed by an offload to Meghan, shocked the opposition with five points on the board within the first two minutes.
A quick clear out from Delphine's strong defending, Connie found the hands of Maisie, who ran on as far as she could dangling Devonport from her shorts! The opponents defended, with Kings brilliantly protecting the ball in attack.
Tenacious Devonport swept up a quick loose ball, only for Maisie to steal back. The first scrum went Kings’ way with No. 8 Maisie picking and going, then passing to Amelia who flew over the line for the second try of the match.
The rivals stepped up, more determined, and began to push hard. Every attempt to break through was met by tough forwards. Numerous try-saving tackles on the line involving Cerys, Ollie and Georgia to name but a few. Scarlett’s quick reactions saw her break the reds, to Katie, then to Erin, but unfortunately, couldn’t reach the line.
A hard tackle to the shoulder saw Connie leaving the field, and Devonport graciously lending a player to keep a full side.
Charli-Ann stepped up to the front row, showing just how diverse the Kings players are. The game continued to be a defending battle, unfortunately resulting in Amelia, who had been involved in every play, also limping off field.
Now down to 14, Devonport seized the opportunity, finding the line twice before halftime, with one conversion.
Post-break enthusiasm from Devonport saw their wingers utilise the gaps and stick another down. This is when Kings returned to the match.
Consistent hassling by Abi and Lucy forced a dropped ball error by the opposition, quickly swept up by Scarlett, and safely touched down. She then converted her try.
Another break from Erin, to the ever-ready Maggie, was cleverly held up by Devonport.
With errors occurring on both sides, a Kings scrum worked beautifully when Katie was defensively positioned for Maisie to take and complete the try.
A clash of heads for two Devonport players didn’t stop them from driving deep through the home side to put more points on the board. With the ref calling three minutes remaining, Kings became steely-eyed. A tactically textbook scrum pick and go by Maisie, secured by Cerys being covered by Delphine and Charli Ann, cleared out by Katie, then popped to Meghan, who drove through anyone in her way to secure the final try of the match. Scarlett duly converted. Mission complete at 29-24.
Next Sunday sees the girls travel to Cullompton for a friendly Cluster game, before a return match to Devonport in the National Cup on November 17.