THE grand total of 421 days had passed between the last outing of a Crediton Girls rugby team and a much anticipated return to competitive rugby.

In testament to the girls enthusiasm, attitude and love of the sport, the majority have attended every training session it had been possible to run during the tumultuous ups and downs of Covid, and for much of that time the prospect of an actual competitive game has seemed far, far away.

The girls travelled down to Exmouth to face combined Exmouth and Paignton sides, and as the occasion finally arrived it was unfortunate that someone went overboard on the “rugby playing conditions” machine as howling wind and Biblical rain came and went throughout the afternoon’s activities.

But Kirton girls are made of sterner stuff and battled both elements and opposition to great success.

U13 Girls

The wet and windy weather didn’t dampen the spirit of the girls who were all raring to go. The game was split into two parts, a game of touch followed by an adapted contact game.?The touch game began and both teams started with a few dropped balls and mistakes as opposition and the weather put pressure on both sides. The game was dominated by defences.

The Black and Amber defence was suffocating, getting up off the line and putting pressure on Exmouth and getting the turnovers they deserved. Once the girls got used to the weather and the passes started sticking Crediton started making inroads in attack creating multiple opportunities. Towards the end of the game you could tell all the players were ready for the contact to begin as the referee was having to remind everyone more and more often that this was only touch contest. The game eventually ended in a scoreless stalemate.?The contact game was where the true skills were unleashed. With the weather improving and the ball a bit less greasy, the passes stuck for both sides.

The game was played at a high tempo with Crediton getting offloads away at every opportunity and causing problems for the home defence.

This was highlighted with the last try of the game as an offload, unseen from the touchline or the opposition, sent Crediton away down the touchline to score. With something tangible to protect the Kirton defence stayed solid, with great technique from the youngest age group, their low and powerful tackles putting the attackers down and stopping any forward momentum.?It was a great game for the 13s highlighted by the smiles on their faces throughout both encounters, matched only by the smiles of pride by the coaching team delighted by their efforts.

U15 Girls

This age group of Kirton girls got off to a flying start getting a couple of tries plus conversions past the opposition in the first quarter with steely determination and great passion.

The Kirton girls continued with great pace, supportive play pushing the scoreline higher, the only blight conceding a solitary try by the end of the first half that they had dominated.

It certainly turned out to be a game of two halves. Both teams suffered some injuries in the second half with replacements having to be made regularly.

The girls in Black and Amber gathered themselves as a team and, whilst under pressure from the opposition they continued to keep the score line growing putting in try after try in the early part of the second half through dynamic individual runs and excellent passages of support play.

Going into the last quarter of the game the Kirton girls supreme efforts were starting to tire and they had to defend on their own line time after time which resulted in the opposition getting in a late flurry of tries. But, not enough to take the deserved win away from the Mid Devon visitors.

The coaches commented afterwards that: “All in all a very hard fought game with excellent displays of rugby. We are very proud of the whole team and their performance today.

“We would also like to say thank you to everyone that helped organise the fixture and especially to our newest member to the coaching team, Sarah Westcott, who kindly refereed the match.”

U18 Girls

Feeling their way back into competitive action, the smiles and excitement pre-game faded slightly as the home team put the first points on the board and controlled the first 10 minutes as Crediton’s girls seemed strangely subdued, a little hesitant and ill at ease with the “new” rules around the tackle and breakdown.

Then the Black and Ambers woke up.

The passes started to get strung together, they adjusted their play at the breakdown and players started to get support as they made line breaks. And with this new found cohesion the tries began to flow harder than the rain came down, with Crediton breaching the home defences for the next six scores!

It was very pleasing that the tries came in different formats; Players making a break to get clear, great support work and a kick and chase down effort all appeared on the “How to score a try” list with the home team combination sometimes chasing shadows in a vain attempt to stem the onslaught, eventually bought to an end as the referee signalled half-time.

The break and re-set brought Exmouth back into the game and, much like the first half, they got themselves a brace of tries and most of the pressure in the early exchanges went their way.

However, Crediton reacted again. Firstly to get themselves organised defensively and then, once the foundations had been put in place, they built again and returned to the dominant team that they had been with some lovely work in all areas of the pitch.

Adding some conversions to a further five tries the final score was a resounding 61-15, with a try count of 11-3.

After the game the Crediton coaches enthused about how the day had gone, saying: “The victory today was very well deserved and just rewards for the effort that the girls put in.

“It was great to see them solve the problem of a slow start, unfamiliar rules and playing together for the first time, to reach the heights that they did. And that’s before you take into account the atrocious conditions at points in the match.”

They continued: “With the hours of training that have been done, the stop start nature of the last year and all without knowing when they’d actually be able to play again, all we wanted from today was for the girls to enjoy themselves and remember why they chose to play the game they so obviously love.

“We couldn’t have been prouder today and every girl had a part to play in what turned into a wonderful victory.”

All of the coaches, from all of the squads, were united in their vociferous praise for everyone that had made the trip to support the girls, “Thank you to all of the parents that travelled down and endured the wind and rain. Your support is always valuable and the vocal encouragement is fantastic to hear as it echoes around the ground.”

Crediton’s rugby girls travel to Exeter Saracens tomorrow (Sunday) in what, sadly, will be the only other game they get to play this season.

If this week’s performances are a taste of what’s to come then Exeter Saracens will have to gird themselves against more than prevailing weather conditions.