Harborough U15 Girls end their Season on a High

On the final weekend of the Club Season, Harborough U15 Girls made the long journey up to Melbourne to play against Coalville in a long-awaited Fixture, which was certainly going to prove to be a most fitting end in many ways.

It was really pleasing to have so many players available, 17 in total. The Squad prepared themselves for the challenge ahead and came out of the blocks with “all guns blazing”. Having kicked off, Harborough quickly regained possession and were soon applying pressure in the opposition 22. With quick recycling by the Forwards, Phoebe Andrews proceeded on one of her many sniping runs, snaking through the defence to cross the whitewash. With Hannah West successfully converting, Harborough were 7-0 up with barely 2 minutes on the clock.

Having successfully secure the ball on the re-start, Harborough launched another attack; however, Coalville showed their quality by making the most of some loose ball and run in an equalising try from deep in their own half. Olivia Chantrey successfully converted her own try to make the score 7-7. And so the scene was set for a thoroughly gripping game of rugby.

All credit to Harborough for maintaining their composure and once again applying pressure in the opposition half. With excellent rucking by the Forwards (particularly Ruby Evans) and nimble hands from the Backs, the ball was quickly passed out to Tahei Baikeinuku, who once again demonstrated her supreme strength by running straight through the opposition defence to regain the lead for Harborough.

For large periods of the first half, Harborough had to show their excellent defensive skills, as Coalville made the most of their powerful Midlands Forwards; however, despite being under considerable pressure, it was Harborough who were to score next. After an extremely confident attacking run from Sophie Grahamslaw (who was unlucky not to score herself), the ball was again recycled and Phoebe went over for her 2nd try. With the score now 17-7 to Harborough, Coalville launched another attack; despite some heroic tackling from Sabine Brewster, the defence was finally broken and Solitaire Moonen-Leadeatt crossed for Coalville.

In spite of the continuous pressure that Harborough found themselves under, the Girls never gave up. In fact, the harder Coalville played, the better Harborough seemed to become, with a determination that had not been seen before; this was typified in a couple of areas. Firstly in the scrum: even though they found themselves propping against a very strong pack (containing several Midlands Girls), Pippa Haslam and Eve Pollard never gave up for the full 60 minutes; they should be very proud of their performances. Secondly, although Coalville had been clearing their lines effectively from the boot of their Fly Half, the sheer determination of her opposite number led to a charge-down and resultant try by Hannah West, taking the score at Half Time to 22-12.

Having suffered a couple of injuries, Harborough had to re-group in the 2nd Half. All credit must go to Hannah Jenkins and Cassie Holyoak for taking over the Half Back positions and absorbing considerable pressure. Furthermore, the sheer number of bruising tackles that Cassie made undoubtedly played a significant part in Harborough maintaining their lead for the rest of the game.

Despite the continuous pressure from Coalville, it was Harborough who were to score again, with a well-deserved try from Rosie Tremlett who played out of her 'skins'.

Unsurprisingly, Coalville quickly responded, throwing everything they had at Harborough, scoring 2 tries in quick succession. With the score now finely poised at 27-22 and the momentum clearly with the opposition, the game could have easily slipped away from Harborough. However, too much pride was at stake and the Harborough Girls were not going to be beaten. Another sniping run from Fran Brimm almost resulted in the next try; however, Coalville managed to stop her on the line.

It was rather fitting though that the try that ultimately sealed the game for the Girls came from Tahei, in her last ever game for Market Harborough. When she returns to Fiji next month, she will certainly be sorely missed by everyone at the Club. We wish her all the very best for the future.

The final whistle blew and Harborough secured a well-deserved win, beating Coalville by a score of 32-22. Yvonne and I are extremely proud of the way everyone played. It was a truly fantastic team effort from all, including Mairead McErlean, Jasmine Poole, Lauren Rollason, Rebecca Town and Klaudia Wasko.