U13s - Crediton come out on top in a closely fought battle

OUR girls hosted a very strong Kingsbridge side on a lovely bright and sunny day.

The first quarter was a hard-fought affair. Both sides showing tremendous spirit both in attack and defence which ended with no scores from either team.

Crediton were the first to break the deadlock early in the second quarter through a series of hard rucking, good ball distribution and fantastic support play.

Kingsbridge responded with a try of their own just before half-time, putting the score at 5-5.

Crediton started the second half brightly and scored twice in the Third quarter, with no reply from Kingsbridge.

Going into the final quarter 15-5 in the lead, Crediton looked to have the advantage. Following some good phases of play from our opposition, they managed to score two tries in fairly quick succession leaving the game finely in the balance at 15-15, with minutes to spare.

Our girls rallied and played some of the best rugby I’ve seen them play all season and they scored on the last play of the game to win 20-15.

The girls played some of the best rugby they have played this season so far. They really came together as a team, everyone of them played out of their skins throwing their bodies on the line for club and their teammates.

U15s - Kirton close but never stopped trying

THE Kirton and Kingsbridge sides started strong, if they are both strong, not much progress is made, and this is what we saw.

Most of the first half was played between the 22's with neither side really getting the upper hand. When Kingsbridge attacked, they showed some strong running, good passing and put us under pressure.

However, at the same time, the Kirton defence was flawless, huge tackles, strong rucks, and great full width coverage of the Kingsbridge runners. Kirton used their ruck to steal possession many times and make their own strong runs, but were met with an equally well set up defensive line.

In the end Kingsbridge were able to use an overlap created after about 10 phases of run, tackle, ruck and recycle to score a good try which went unconverted.

Kirton frustration worked to their advantage, putting Kingsbridge under pressure so that they committed errors. An opportunistic attacking Kirton scrum, delivered fast ball only to lose possession in the tackle through a knock on.

In the next scrum Kirton defenders put the attackers’ scrum half under pressure so she could not get the ball away cleanly.
The game ebbed and flowed like this, with each side showing their strengths.

A second try from Kingsbridge in the first half was converted leading to 0-12 at half-time. Kirton were unruffled and the game seemed close.

The second half proved to be a tougher match, Kingsbridge changed their ruck technique and Kirton tired, which led to loss of possession on numerous occasions.

The Kirton girls battled on, and never let themselves be brought down, but in the end conceded five more tries for Kingsbridge to win the game 0-38.
This was by far the toughest game we have had this season. Kingsbridge enjoyed the competition and as a testament to our girls, has asked us to play them again as soon as possible. 
Coaches and parents agreed that the girls showed real character, we are proud of them and we know they can improve from here.

U18s - Character shines as Creddy Girls beaten but unbowed

THE National Cup journey came to an end on the main pitch at Blagdon as the visitors, Kingsbridge, proved too strong for the girls in black and amber.

Injuries and other commitments saw Crediton numbers depleted from their normal levels but the 15 that put on the shirt played with a pride and passion that kept coaches and spectators alike warm on a chilly end of January afternoon.

Indeed, for periods of the game, and increasingly so in the second half, it was the Kirton girls that dictated the pace of the game, moving the ball and driving forward and causing the girls in blue plenty of problems at the breakdown.

At the start of the game though, Crediton seemed somewhat subdued and showed their opposition too much respect which the South Devon outfit took full advantage of and sprinted into the lead crossing over the Kirton try line multiple times.

It would have been easy for Crediton to fold completely under such constant pressure but with the catalyst of some superb scrummaging - constantly driving back a bigger more experienced pack backwards - the Crediton girls found their feet, began to make some line breaks of their own and contested breakdowns fervently, with myriad ball kept and turned over. This disruption upset the visitors flow to the point that a stream of penalties where given against them and, eventually, a yellow card shown for persistent infringement.

Amidst the relentless pressure the attitude and never say die spirit was what shone through today though.

Crediton girls have run up some big scores this season and seen those sides keep at it and it was hugely pleasing to see the reverse transpire. With a bit more luck, when they were in the Blue’s 22, they could have been the first Devon side to score a try against a very impressive outfit.

Even the final score, 0-66, underlined the determination of the Kirton crew. With the option of calling off the game once the score hit 50, the girls gave that invitation short shrift and ploughed on in an attempt to conjure that elusive score.

The Crediton girls will pick themselves up from today and move forward again knowing now that they are capable of going anywhere, playing anyone and giving them a game.

The coaches, sanguine about the future and full of pride for the display today, look forward to accompanying them on the rest of this season’s journey. A fantastic group to work with and a joy to watch play the game.

Thank you to everyone for their support today, and those on kitchen duty who nearly literally fed the 5,000 today. We hope that you join us disappointed at the defeat but immensely proud of the efforts made by all of the girls as individuals and a team.

Good luck to all of our girls who are trialling for Devon this week. Play and contest with the spirit that you showed today and many of you will be swapping that black and amber shirt for a green and white one.

Andrew Drayton