A BRIGHT day with a chilly breeze made the Saracen’s pitch seem unwelcoming. However we were met with cheery smiles from the Sarries squad who also provided the officials.
Kirton won the toss and opted to kick and Sarries chose to start play with the sun at their backs and on the side lines coaches wondered if they intended to kick to break Crediton’s defence.
The game started with fierce attacking work from Saracen’s, with ruck and recycling and hard runners. However, by the fourth phase Kirton’s ruck machine woke up and was able to overpower them, we turned the ball over with a hard shove and counter ruck.
Kirton’s possession was lost with a knock on and scrum to Sarries, but the black and ambers soon turned over again and started their own attack.
Two phases and swift hands and Kirton were probing the Sarries defence on the try line. Some committed work in defence held them off but a quick pass to Kirton’s openside flanker, who had started a run, and she was over the whitewash after only five minutes of play.
Sarries received the restart kick off with a clean catch and moved the ball rapidly out to the right.
In four passes they were over the half-way line.
Some good defensive work in midfield slowed the ball down and saw Saracen’s pour players into the ruck and recycle.
Sarries work created space on the left and a fast Saracen broke two tackles and charged to the 22. The Crediton full-back expertly lined her up and brought down the attack. The ball carrier was isolated, and Saracen’s were pinged for holding on.
Play continued in the first quarter at a frenetic pace as both sides pushed for defensive weakness.
Despite some strong defensive work by Saracen’s, Crediton’s forwards had the upper-hand through strong support at rucks that provided quick ball recycling and created space for the backs and faster girls to work with. By the end of the first 15 minutes Kirton had scored twice more, and had two disallowed.
The second quarter started with Sarries going on the attack again. Their full-back nailed the catch and counter attacked swiftly.
She passed a smart offload in the tackle which was moved on. As soon as Sarries came in range though, the Kirton girls committed and made all their tackles. The well organised defence slowed the Sarries attack and the well oiled ruck was able to turn them over.
Soon Kirton had Sarries pinned in their 22 with Kirton’s scrum-half scything her way through defenders before hitting the full-back, who was one of many Saracens who seemed very tall for their age. The ruck formed quickly, and the ball moved out to Kirton’s right wing who was bundled into touch at five metres from the try line.
Saracen’s line out was clean ball but was dropped in the tackle, Kirton playing advantage also dropped it forward and another scrum.
The home side was well organised in the set piece and many of their scrums succeeded in fast ball and good hands.
Crediton may have been a little slower to meet them but the defence was an impenetrable wall and lead to turnover after turnover.
Some of this possession was lost as fast as it was gained. Saracen’s had a great maul technique and ripped the ball from the unwary on notable occasions.
However, Kirton ball retention was mostly better and the second quarter lead to another three tries to the visitors. The best of which was the full-back who was felled a metre from the line but rolled in the tackle to score her second try.
The second half started a little slower for Crediton who found themselves receiving a blistering attack and defending on the try line for the first two minutes.
Saracens found it hard to convert their opportunities and again the Kirton wall was not broken. Kirton were soon back on the Sarries five metre line, and for the third time in three minutes, probing away at their defence. Here one of Kirton’s backs, possibly the lightest player on the field, was impossible to catch and swerved through the defence to score the eighth try.
By the beginning of the last quarter with Sarries yet to score and Crediton running away with the game, you would expect the home side to be bowed and losing interest.
Kirton had them pinned on the try line, but dropped the ball just before. Here Sarries never let up, and produced perhaps the most energetic and lethal attack of the game from their penalty on their own try line. Dangerous as this attack looked, with the defenders beaten and a perfect grubber skipping towards the visitors 22, Kirton full-back and replacement hooker chased down the ball and countered with precision. In two passes, a ruck and two more passes, the attack was back on the Saracen’s five metre line.
Here Kirton’s left wing and blindside flanker were once again bullying defenders. Interplay between these two girls saw both of them come so close to scoring in a one-minute period. Each one going in to contact and offloading to the other. The winger came closest to the line but was denied by a three girl tackle and knock on.
The resulting five metre scrum gave Sarries another chance and soon Kirton were battling away in defence on the half-way line. The Crediton ruck once again saved them. At one point a Crediton front row player bound on to two Sarries defenders and drove them off, single handedly handing possession to visitors to attack and score again.
Crediton’s right wing earned player of the match by putting in an enormous defensive shift. At one point she handled the defence all on her own.
She made a dominant tackle and rolled away, Sarries recycled the ball and again she took out the first receiver, rolled away and repeated this for a third time.
The opposition must have thought there were identical triplets on the field as she was everywhere.
Every time she got her hands on the ball she made metres but was often without support and unable to make the most of it.
So it came to the last few minutes and she needed to get her mark on the turf. She marshalled her line to be with her and was able to make 10 metres before going in to contact against two defenders. The ball was recycled to the centres who then passed back to her and finally crossed over for the most deserved try of the day.
All credit to Saracens, despite not scoring any points they fought hard for every tackle, ruck and maul. Even being down they competed for every ball and played hard to the end. We have said this before, often small margins make huge differences to the score line. Here Crediton had the edge and were able to show some flashy rugby because of it. However, we expect Sarries to be back, so will not be complacent.
The coaches said they were immensely proud of the girls. Preparations for the game were taken seriously and showed on the day.
More significant was the sustained energy and effort, despite being so far ahead the girls were presented with serious challenges at every play, and they rose to it. The cup match meant we had to limit the size of the squad and many of the girls unable to play travelled to Exeter to support their team. Also thanks to the supporters, mostly parents, who came and gave the girls a huge lift.
U18s - Crediton Girls give their all to edge close fought contest
The anticipation for this National Cup game had been building over the last few days. The opposition at Blagdon on a perfect day for rugby were the girls from Sidmouth, an evenly matched side that have always provided a stiff contest. And today was no different. Pre-match the girls were more focussed than they have been in a while as they knew it would take their best efforts to overcome the challenge of the girls from the south coast.
And the focus bled into the game as, for the first time since Moses’ Grandfather was alive, the Kirton Girls got off to a flyer. Yes, you read that right! The opening phases of play were predominately Crediton moving forward and recycling ball well. They were organised and efficient in their carries, breakdown work and distribution and moved into the oppositions half with a series of well worked moves. Sidmouth were resolute in defence though and every breakdown needed everything the Crediton girls had to preserve possession.
The pressure was, more or less, maintained and in the end told as Crediton took the ball down their right hand side and, with the ball nearly on the Sidmouth line, a final pick-and-go saw the try taken from close range.
But in a game as tight as this was it wasn’t long before the girls in green and pink made their own ground through the middle before a breakdown the left saw them in the Black and Amber’s 22 and the need for stout defence came to the fore. For the time being, they held out.
Sidmouth’s first points looked like they may come from a penalty awarded but it struck the upright leading to a messy few minutes before the reply was solidified in a try down Crediton’s right hand side.
With the game being played over four 15-minute periods, the second half of the first saw the sides swap around but the intensity of the game stayed constant with no side able to imprint their dominance on the occasion. Crediton then turned over a ball and made a break down their left, the ball was worked back from the breakdown and another line break down the left hand side which resulted in a try under the posts and a conversion which, come the end could well have proved crucial.
12-5 at half-time and all still very much to play for.
Crediton made their changes but the cohesion, communication and commitment were continuous. And they needed to be. Sidmouth’s defensive line speed started to cause some handling errors and their use of their backs kept the Kirton girls on their toes. On more than one occasion their refusal to concede kept Sidmouth out even when they’d crossed the line and from their celebrations you can see what it meant to them.
What proved to be the score that separated the teams came after a back and forth in midfield before the ball was ripped and a line break and charge to the line.
Much of the end of the game was played in the Crediton half as Sidmouth kept coming forward. They worked their own possession well, returned the kicks that the Kirton deployed to ease the pressure and stayed in Black and Amber faces to force errors. One of which led to the final score of the game as Sidmouth again moved the ball out wide well and this time it worked for them with a try in the corner.
Fortunately for Crediton there was little time left on the clock before the referee called it a day and this absorbing contest came to its conclusion.
The anticipation for the game mentioned at the start of this report was well warranted. A great game to watch for the neutral, of which there were none in the crowd, nervous for the coaches but all of the plaudits for the day must go to all of the girls that provided an enthralling contest befitting of the decision to play it on the clubs main pitch.
Every Girl in Black and Amber can be proud of themselves. Individually and as a team they gave everything they had. They knew that nothing less than full commitment would be good enough and in the end it was enough to see them home. The spirit in which the game was played was personified when all players came together at the end. And the request from both sets of girls to do it all again before the end of the season will surely happen as Sunday’s such as this are the reason that we all love this brilliant sport
Thank you to everyone that chipped in and with last minute volunteers for the kitchen, running the makeshift bar and to Team Manager Anna for getting it all sorted in double quick time. And Thank You to the Club for letting the game go ahead on the main pitch and giving it the venue it truly deserved.