Wothing’s rugby girls end fabulous season with 10s win

At the start of the season, changes to girls’ rugby age groups meant several players from Pulborough joined Worthing, and they got a really competitive squad together.

Training took place on Tuesdays and Sundays, with games scheduled for Sundays. The squad were entered in the Sussex League and the National Cup, and a number of friendlies were arranged.

Throughout the autumn the girls played some sparkling rugby to register good wins over Hove (twice) East Grinstead and Sutton and Epsom, leaving a National Cup showdown with old rivals Horsham.

Sadly, the only freezing weekend before Christmas caused the game to be postponed until January. After a race to get the pitch playable, the game was played on a Friday evening under floodlights.

With a crowd in excess of 400, the girls played some scintillating rugby and came out deserved 25-7 winners, their first victory over Horsham for a number of years, and it was deemed by many in attendance to have been the best girls’ under-18 game they’d seen.

This meant progress to the knockout rounds of the National Cup and a home draw against Farnham. A convincing win meant another trip to Basildon in the quarter-finals, where they had been beaten the previous season. In a close game, two late tries meant a 27-17 reversal and National Cup hopes dashed again.

Despite the disappointment, they still had the Sussex championship to battle for, and as Worthing 10s holders, a cup to defend.

On the final day of the season, the Sussex Championship boiled down to another match against Horsham at their ground. Another great display of running rugby resulted in a startling 55-33 victory and the title of Sussex champions.After that it was time to look forward to the annual Worthing 10s festival where 1,000 girls descend on Worthing RFC to play U12, U14, U16 and U18 age grades, camp out and generally have a good time.

After some tough battles Worthing made it to the final against Chippenham, and after a pulsating game, Worthing prevailed and won the final 12-5. Much celebrating ensued.

As well as the team successes, the team have had seven girls selected for Harlequins Centre of Excellence and 12 girls representing Sussex teams, both of those the most from any club.

Coaches Chris Gaskell, Tom Youngs and James Brotherhood have instilled a work ethic and a team spirit, along with a bucketload of skill, which has taken them to great heights.

Gaskell said: “We talked of a mantra of ‘We will not be outworked’ and I don’t believe we have all season, and we’ve also applied the skills and game-plan to play some amazing rugby.’

Anyone interested in playing should contact [email protected] or search social media.