CREDITON RFC Women’s XV travelled to Twickenham on Sunday afternoon (April 30), to prepare for their opportunity to play in an invitational “Celebration of Grassroots Rugby” at the home of England Rugby on Monday, May 1.

The ladies were set to play three 20-minute games against teams from the north, east and west of the country and, whilst the players seemed to take the experience in their stride, it was more than apparent that the back-room staff were feeling the pressure of the moment!

All warmed up and ready to go, the ladies were escorted into the England dressing room for a final few words from coaches and captain before heading for the tunnel ready to take their place on the hallowed turf of HQ.

Our first game was against Southport Ladies Rugby, who are in the equivalent league as us, and have been for several years. This did not phase the Crediton players though, and from the first whistle we took charge and never looked back.

Tries from Chloe Hetherington, Libby Baker, Tess Brock (2) and a Rachel Mortimer conversion saw us win 22-0.

The second match was against Dartfordians Women's Rugby from the NC3 South East Division and, on paper, should have been an slightly easier task. However, for the opening five minutes we were on the back foot.

After a bit of a wakeup call, we were soon back on form and pulled away from the Dartfordian ladies, leaving the score at the final whistle 21-0.

Tries were scored by Sophie Phillips, Emily Blatchford and Lauren Woodman with Rachel Mortimer converting all three.

The last game was against Cambridge Women's Rugby, who also ply their trade in the NC3 Division.

We settled into our rhythm and patterns and went to work, pulling play from one side of the pitch to the other, which made it very hard for Cambridge to compete.

Tries from Becky Dennis, Sophie Phillips and a brace each for Lorraine Cleverdon-Brend and Alice Mahoney, with Rachel Mortimer converting three gave us a 36-0 win.

Although the primary objective was to have fun, this was by far the best performance of the season. This group of ladies are a truly remarkable squad, and we should all be very proud of them.

This was a momentous end to a fantastic season which saw us finish second in NC1 following promotion last season.

I think you would agree it really makes you proud to be a member of Crediton RFC.

Finally, a big thank you to the 70+ supporters who made the trip up to Twickenham to cheer the ladies on. It was really appreciated and we look forward to seeing you in the new season.

#kirton #blackandamber #onebigclub

Kevin Ellis