THE Girls from Crediton RFC had an action packed rugby filled weekend on November 27 and 28.

On the Saturday they took part in the Exeter Chiefs Ladies “Super Saturday” Programme and all three squads were in action at Blagdon on Sunday afternoon, with around 100 girls from around the county playing across the Crediton pitches.

U13s - Hard fought win against a strong side!

Sunday saw the under 13 girls play a very strong Exmouth (plus one Paignton) side. After the first quarter the girls found themselves three tries down after some very good rucking by the Exmouth team.

Our girls kicked into action in the second quarter and replied in the next quarter with six unanswered tries of our own.

At half-time Crediton were 30-15 up. The second half was a closely fought affair and the game ended up being 45-35 to Crediton.

There were some very big hits going in from both sides in a very tough physical game! This was one of the best games I thought we had played this season so far! 100 per cent effort was put in by everyone on both teams!

U15s - huge step up against a strong opposition.

Crediton 45 - Exmouth/Paignton 35

Kirton were fired up after a great day at Chiefs Super Saturday. In the warm up there was lots of chatter about the training they had received and how great the Chiefs win was.

The U15s had been allocated the first team pitch with the grandstand which gave a great atmosphere against a combined Exmouth/Paignton team.
We kicked off to Exmouth who quickly attacked. Maybe the girls spent a bit of time with U18’s yesterday and it rubbed off, as the legendary slow start became apparent in U15s. We were caught napping and they scored and converted twice in the first five minutes. Both tries were excellent displays of good offloads and great reads of our defenders.
However, just like the U18’s, Kirton U15’s are not a group of girls who will let anything slide so they soon bounced back and scored two of their own converted tries, dominating the next 10 minutes of play.

The game was played in three 20-minute sessions. At the beginning of the second session, Exmouth again pushed Kirton back to their own try line, and despite some solid tackles, the visitors created space with some dynamic play and scored two more excellent tries.

Kirton’s Captain initiated a team talk and quick check on defensive tactics. Before long the Kirton girls had set up camp in the visitors 22 and bashed away at the try line through solid ruck and maul and scored two more in return. To be fair to Crediton, when they had the ball in hand, the attack was highly effective.

The last third saw Crediton again concede a try early on. Exmouth produced some powerful rucking and then were able to draw Kirton attackers in to a maul, and stole the ball from us. One attacker broke off from the maul and was chased to the line but not caught.

As soon as Kirton got possession they quickly responded and spent the rest of the last 20 creating and maintaining pressure in the opposition 22.

The black and amber scored two more converted tries for a hard fought victory over a well set up and highly competitive opposition.

U18s - For The Good Of The Game

It was a different sort of afternoon for the Girls from the oldest squad. The afternoon had been put together over the preceding couple of weeks with three other teams invited to a Barbarians afternoon as all squads that attended mixed up completely to make three teams.

A total of 41 girls came to Blagdon in the end and every girl played as much rugby as Crediton could offer them with the idea of the mixed squads being that no-one was limited by the half game rule, ensuring a full 60 minutes play for everyone.

The three teams ended up being a pretty even match and they tested each team across three 30-minute cracking games of rugby.

It was great to watch the girls organise themselves once teams were selected and the off-loading, communication and all around play was to a fantastic standard in the three pretty closely fought contests.

The results, in the end, didn’t matter but for the record were; 15-0, 5-12 and 20-0 but, at the end of the afternoon more than 40 girls had given their all for the game itself.

Thanks to Eddie for refereeing, Anna for First Aid duties and everyone that was on kitchen duty for your help.

Super Saturday - A Trip To Sandy Park

Around 30 girls from the three squads of Crediton RFC’s Girls sides travelled to Sandy Park on a very chilly Saturday morning to partake in the Exeter Chiefs Ladies “Super Saturday” programme.

The girls met at 10am and were escorted to the clubs training pitches where they were treated to 90 minutes of coaching input from Ladies from the Chiefs Ladies squad. Split into age groups, the girls were put through their paces in a variety of activities including handling, tackling techniques, kicking and contact work.

It was a fantastic insight for the girls, many of whom were still chatting about what they’d seen and heard the next day prior to their respective games. As an example of how far up the rugby ladder they could achieve, one of the coaches taking the session was former Kirton player, Grace Eckford, who is now part of the Chiefs Ladies squad.

The coaches for the girls were delighted with the morning and the inspiration that it had provided to their charges, especially those in the younger age groups, saying: “Our girls were all ears during the session, picking up little tips and techniques which they can carry forward, into their own game. It always means more when the advice you are given comes from someone that you have watched on the Sandy Park pitch, playing at the highest level of the women’s game in the country. And to have a former Crediton Girl amongst those ranks shows them that, with a bit of hard work and dedication, there are no limits how far they can go in the game.”

The day was rounded off as the girls then watched the Chiefs Ladies overcome Loughborough Lightening in a close fought fixture with Creddy Girl Tilly Pulfer, being the games mascot and running onto the hallowed turf alongside Poppy Leitch.

The coaches and parents that went along were hugely impressed with the way that the girls were received at the club and would like to thank everyone involved. From the stewards at the gate when they arrived, to the days co-ordinator, Lauren, to the coaches that gave their time to pass on their skills and knowledge it was an event that will live long in the memory.

Andrew Drayton