On a day when Autumn definitely struck we took 17 girls across the border to face our closest neighbours, Kettering, where a warm welcome helped to ease the chill in the air.

Following warm-ups and stretches both teams observed a 2-minute silence for Armistice, which all parents and visitors observed in the most appropriate way.

The game kicked off a little after 2pm, with both teams putting in a spirited run of attack and defence, and playing tit-for-tat rugby for most of the first 10 minutes with Kettering putting the first try against us in the far-left corner. Unfortunately this made the conversion kick long, leaving Kettering 5-0 up. Following a series of five scrums, stopped because of wheeling, we were able to finally mirror the Kettering try with Taya bringing the score to 5-5, which is how the score remained until the end of the half.

Two minutes into the second half of the game a Harborough scrum saw the ball popped to Kayleigh who, against the Kettering players expectations, broke through their defensive line and scored beneath the posts, dragging a Kettering player with her. Belle's conversion moved us to 5-12, and from here the Market Harborough girls started to gain momentum.

From a line-out inside our own 22the backs drove forward, moving left to the half way line, before working our way back to the middle of the pitch. A full team effort everyone fulfilled their role in the attack, and Belle's conversion moved us to 5-19.

A further Kayleigh try came from another successful scrum, with the ball grounded just to the right of the posts supporting Belle to convert an additional 2 points, bringing our lead to 5-26. Despite a hearted effort in the final minutes Kettering were not able to breach the Harborough defensive line and the game ended with a final score that did not represent the physicality or passion of the game.

In a fixture that had our forwards experiencing more scrums and line-out than they ever thought possible in a single game of rugby, and an opposition that made all of the girls on the pitch work hard to maintain their team dynamic and focus, the Market Harborough U16s Girls showed the determination and grit (and the effects of Wes Carter's Strength and Conditioning workouts) that is becoming their trademark for this season.