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FUW Under 14s National Cup Final
'Dry Thorns' 17 'Tyldesley/Waterloo Cluster' 15
When Tyldesley, Waterloo and Ormskirk entered a joint team for the National Cup they couldn't have dreamt that a few months later they would be playing in the final.
Having made it through the initial pools and the semi-finals they arrived at Lichfield Rugby Club on finals day confident in their ability but knowing practically nothing about the opposition, whose fixtures had been played in the opposite end of the country.
Tyldesley started well, immediately taking the game to the opposition and almost crossed the line twice in the first ten minutes. It was the Dry Thorns, (a combination of two Gloucestershire clubs, Drybrook and Thornbury) however, who put the first points on the board after a great break from one of their players and excellent support play. It wasn't long before some determined work by the Tyldesley /Waterloo forwards set up Waterloo Second Row Jenny Carney to score not long before half-time. The conversion was missed and the score going into half-time was 5-5.
Tyldesley started the second half with equal determination and, after five minutes, went ahead after a try from Tyldesley centre Bojan Johnson.
The Dry Thorns answered with two excellent tries of their own in close succession, one of which they converted.
With less than ten minutes to go it was 17-10 to the Dry Thorns but Tyldesley were far from giving up.
Unlucky for them, however, the odds seemed stacked against them after they lost a player to injury and, having used all their replacements, had to play the last five minutes without a full-back.
Lesser teams might have been fazed by this but, showing the tremendous spirit which had characterised the team all afternoon, Tyldelsey responded with a third try when, after a whole team effort, scrum-half Laura Riches dived over in the corner.
Despite both teams playing their hearts out until the whistle, these were to be the last points of the day and the match ended with a Dry Thorns victory, 17 points to 15. The well-drilled and skilful Dry Thorns team fully deserved this excellent win and the title of RFUW National U14 Champions. The skills, tactics and teamsmanship shown by both teams on the day, and the spirit in which the match was played were, I think all would agree, a fantastic advertisement for girls' rugby in this country. It's surely safe to say that even Brian Ashton - an old Tyldesley boy himself - would have been impressed. Very well done to all.
Waterloo /Tyldesley team :
Hannah Leddy (Tyldesley) Robyn Hague (Tyldesley) Rhiannon Wildman (Ormskirk) Jenny Carney (Waterloo) Charlotte Ranson (Tyldesley) Laura Riches (Tyldesley), Kayleigh Sutherland (Tyldesley) Emily Brown (Waterloo) Bojan Johnson (Tyldesley) Sian McGuniness (Tyldeley) Rachel Higson (Tyldesley), Becca Brown (Waterloo) Sarah Armstrong (Waterloo), Jodie Talbott (Tyldesley) Kelly Thompson (Tyldesley) Sarah Thorpe (Tyldesley), Zara Falcon (Ormskirk), Emma Bowler (Ormskirk)
