The Under 18s faced their toughest game to date by far and, due to illness, turned up with a squad of only nineteen. Ill fortune struck again, with several injuries in the first fifteen minutes, leaving the team with no replacements well before the half-time whistle.
Yorkshire played the superb rugby for which they have become known; the forwards were solid and their backs truly outstanding. At half-time they were six tries up with Lancashire unable to respond.
By the third quarter, Lancashire were down to twelve players and had to borrow from the opposition. In the midst of all this, however, Lancashire showed grit and determination, keeping their heads up and executing some fine passages of play and some fierce tackling. Special mention must go to full-back Katie Hemborough who ran and tackled brilliantly throughout.
Despite the heavy loss (60-0 to Yorkshire), the Lancashire players had much to take from the game - not least the experience of playing out of position, which most of the squad found themselves doing at some point- and emerged from the game battered and bruised but better rugby players.
Heartfelt congratulations must go to Yorkshire for their shining example of how to play rugby and their great sportsmanship and, of course, for their victory in the Northern Counties Championship in which they scored 165 points and conceded only 17!
As for Lancashire, they can look back on the season and see the massive progress made; in last season's Northern Counties Championship they lost all games and failed to score a point whilst this year they won one of their games and scored 49 points across the three games.
Many thanks to Wigan RUFC for their warm welcome and excellent hospitality.
Rachel Gooding – Girls’ Squads Manager
Under 15s edged into second place on points difference
The final Northern Counties position
|
Played
|
Won
|
Drawn
|
Lost
|
For
|
Ag
|
Pts Diff
|
| Northumberland |
3
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
83
|
10
|
73
|
|
Lancashire
|
3
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
30
|
12
|
18
|
| Yorkshire |
3
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
32
|
52
|
-20
|
| Cheshire |
3
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
15
|
86
|
-71
|
Thanks to Vicky Muir for collating the data |
Under 15s: Lancashire 10 Yorkshire 12
Lancashire Under 15 girls faced bitter disappointment today in the final minute of the third and final of their Northern Counties Championship games.
Having beaten both Northumberland and Cheshire, a draw at Wigan would be enough to secure the title but a loss to Yorkshire by a single conversion ultimately meant that they were beaten into second place on points difference by Northumberland.
Lancashire started strongly and spent most of the first half Yorkshire's half but in the wet and windy weather, handling errors, along with excellent defence from Yorkshire, meant that they were unable to convert this pressure into points until the last minutes of the half when Tyldesley centre Bojan Johnson finally crossed the line. The score was unconverted.
Yorkshire started the second half very strongly and initially looked the better team. They equalised quickly but, with the score at 5-5, Lancashire fought back with a try from Tyldesley scrum-half, Laura Riches. Lancashire were ahead until the last minute when Yorkshire broke through and scored again. This time their try was converted and, when the ball went dead, the whistle blew with the final score 12-10 to Yorkshire. Both teams played superbly in adverse weather conditions and all were a credit to their clubs and counties.
Rachel Gooding – Girls’ Squads Manager
UNDER 15s v YORKSHIRE
at Wigan, Sunday 18th November
| 1 |
Sarah Thorpe |
Tyldesley |
| 2 |
Rachel McCoy |
Bolton |
| 3 |
Rhianne Murray |
Fleetwood |
| 4 |
Jenny Carney |
Waterloo |
| 5 |
Hannah Leddy |
Tyldesley |
| 8 |
Rebecca Trist |
Bolton |
| 9 |
Laura Riches |
Tyldesley |
| 10 |
Kayleigh Sutherland |
Tyldesley |
| 11 |
Samantha Clegg |
Fleetwood |
| 12 |
Sian Maguiness |
Tyldesley |
| 13 |
Bojan Johnson |
Tyldesley |
| 14 |
Laura Armistead |
Fleetwood |
| 15 |
Rachel Higson |
Tyldesley |
|
|
|
| 16 |
Natalie Dagnall |
Tyldesley |
| 17 |
Daisy Greaves |
Bolton |
| 18 |
Georgie Greenwood |
Bolton |
| 19 |
Emily Hazlitt |
Bolton |
| 20 |
Jess Smethurst |
Bolton |
| 21 |
Charlotte Ranson |
Tyldesley |
