It was an unexpected sunny Sunday afternoon as Stockwood Sharks visited Kingswood for the U13 girls return fixture. A huge crowd assembled (a lot to do with it being Rich Abrams 50th) to watch the ever improving girls side take on the Sharks at their home ground.

With Deej refereeing, it was hoped that the Kingswood team would see a win against their most evenly matched rivals and only other U13 girls team in the Bristol Area.

With emotions flying high the starting whistle blew and they were off. The opening minutes saw very evenly matched play from both sides. There were some crunching tackles from Tia Witcombe and Maizie Davis preventing the Sharks from scoring. The Kingswood girls were handling the ball well, passing easily along their attacking line. Paige Woodward and Katie Hodge made some precious ground by breaking through the Sharks defence. Amy Hodge and Chloe Reilly also had a few strong bursts of momentum, smashing though the sharks defence. Possession was alternated between the two sides, each not giving the ball away and making ground equally.

The first try of the game was scored by the Sharks, who then scored a second within a couple of minutes. It looked like Paige was in for a try but she was just pushed into touch slightly shy of the tryline. Shortly afterwards great team work between Chloe, Charlotte Marsden and Tia saw Chloe score, putting Kingswood finally on the scoreboard.
Great tackling by the Kingswood squad kept the Stockwood side at bay, but eventually they found their way through the Kingswood defence to score their third try. Kingswood responded with great determination from Tia who saw a gap in the defence and charged through, she was rewarded with her first try of the game. Great pressure from Paige and Katie on the Sharks attack enabled a turn over ball. A quick run down the pitch by Gabrielle Norman made some precious ground. Great team work from the Kingswood side finally got the ball to Chloe who managed to stay on her feet when charging through the Stockwood defence and score her second try of the game.

More crunching tackles by Maizie and Lottie held the sharks back. A quick break away run by Stockwood sharks saw them score their fourth try just before the half time whistle making the half way score Stockwood Sharks 4- Kingswood 3.

With everything still to play for the second half started. Stockwood Sharks scored quickly. Kingswood responded with a great charge down the field by Tia who was supported brilliantly by Katie and Paige making much needed ground. Stockwood were now in possession of the ball and broke through the Kingswood defence, looking like a try was on the cards. However, Paige raced after the Stockwood player and made a fantastic tackle, stopping them in their tracks. Unfortunately Paige was injured in the tackle and so had to come off for the rest of the game, meaning Kingswood were now playing without any subs.

Stockwood Sharks scored a further try. Kingswood were now trailing by 3 tries and needed to put some much need points on the scoreboard. A strong powerful run (as always) by Tia saw her power on to score a Kingswood try. The Sharks came back with another try even though Maizie, Lottie and Amy continued tackling brilliantly. The next try was scored by Kat who after retrieving the ball from the scrum darted around the pack and over the line.

Stockwood attacked well and passed the ball around the pack eventually being rewarded with another try. It looked like Stockwood were going to score again after breaking through the Kingswood defence but Amy sprinted after the Sharks player tackling her hard and stopping the try from being scored. Stockwood managed to secure another try shortly after but Kingswood were still fighting back. Kingswood showed great team work and supportive play and continued to edge up the field. Finally, Kingswood were rewarded for their hard work with Gabby scoring a much needed try. Stockwood were still holding their own and again scored by return. Amy, Gabby, Chloe and Tia made some great ground with Tia scoring a try for Kingswood. In the final minutes of the game there was some fantastic tackling from Lottie, Maizie and Kat preventling any more opposition tries. The final whistle blew on a well fought match.

The final score was Kingswood 7 – Stockwood Sharks 11

Player of the Match Lottie Marsden