Sunday, April 10, semi-super Sunday. The weather looks promising, and we are looking forward to a nice Sunday full of rugby. This week's opponent is Greate Tryn, the opponent that we had to play two weeks in a row, and for which we battled code-orange weather to get to Leeuwarden. There are many things you can say about Greate Tryn, but not that they have a lack of effort in sportsmanship in their game and attitude. This Sunday, they came all the way from Leeuwarden (again) and without a whole team (again). But they were present! Again!

It was decided just to have a friendly game of women's rugby, so there was a lot of playing time for all of our girls (as we had to substitute the opponent). Coach Do tried to make two equal teams, coining them the ‘probable’ vs. the ‘possible,’ making it an exciting start to the game. For this game report, when describing the actions of our girls playing for the other team, I’ll put (GT) behind it, making it more explicit (btw, if you want to read GT as Gin-Tonic, that’s also perfectly fine). 

Kick-off. It has been a long time, but can you remember the tough times when we always got that one fast try scored against us, just to get awake and shaken up. So yes, that happened again: Only a few minutes into the game, a fast try followed by a conversion by GT put us on 0-7. For the first time since November, we were on the losing side of the scoreboard (however, since it was still ‘probable’ vs. ‘possible’, it was still half of our team winning). Only 10 minutes into the game, two fast tries by Yv, followed by two conversions by Zoë put the score on 10-7. When Linde came in at the right speed, she caused a beautiful break. Linde-long-legs kept running and was able to make the try herself! Myrthe (GT) showed that she analyzed Zoë’s running tactics and ran half a pitch zigzagging. Although she almost made it to the try line, it did not result in a try. Femke (GT) showed her forwards moves by running the defense line down as some kind of bulldozer, running past a confused Zoë and making that try (for GT). Following a scrum, Iris made a fast pick-and-go and a well-timed pass to Yv, leading to another try. Some mixing and mingling of our girls on the field resulted in Iris playing hooker and Sanne on the fullback. After a break, the ball was passed via the line to Mip, who could gain some ground. After a tackle and a fast pick-and-go, Fred made the try! After a long series of multiple attacks close to the try line, it was eventually Zoë who made the jump and scored the try, making the score 40-14 at halftime.

We had a fun game, the sun was feeling great (Read: scorching hot), and your favorite albino ginger found herself quite busy handing out sunscreen at the sidelines during halftime. It was decided to mix the teams up again, still trying to make them equally strong.

In the second half of the game, we showed more of our regular moves and some new moves. Another break by Yv resulted in a try and a conversion. Multiple of our girls also revealed that they were not scared of hurting each other. Zoë tried to tackle Sara and hug her simultaneously, resulting in a quite high tackle on the neck. Iris wanted to join the human-curling competition by pushing/throwing Mel behind the sidelines. And in retrospect, we can admit that she did not have to die, but she had to be pushed out (which was apparently a good defense argument for this action). While attacking, Yv broke through the defense line again, and Peppie (GT) made an honest attempt to stop her. Pep, however, was not able to catch her, resulting in another try by Yv (and kicking her own conversion between the poles). Some nice teamwork between Yv and Zoë resulted in a full-speed break. Zoë gave the last pass to Femke, who scored the try and, with that action, was the only girl scoring for both teams this game. In addition, she also kicked her own conversion. Iris (GT) was again very fast back on her legs after a scrum, but a great tackle of Elfie evicted further danger. Peter (GT) was at some moment in the game a bit confused and forgot that the opponent needs to tackle you before you normally stop running. After a small pause in her running line, she continued and gained some ground (while looking very pretty; you can see proof in the photos!) before she was eventually tackled. Yv showed her how much she appreciated our captain by almost grabbing her by the pussy during a ruck. Classic Zoë ran the entire field independently, avoiding the last opponent close to the poles and making a try. This move inspired Fred, and after a great break over the left side of the field, she ran half the pitch on her own and scored a try. Following, Hag tried to make the conversion; however, she missed. BUT, she was able to make two other conversions later in the game!! A nice interplay between Zoë and Femke resulted in another try by Zoë. Following a line out, Myrthe eventually got the ball and ran gracefully like an Antilope across the pitch. A great 1-2 between Yv and Zoë resulted in another try by Yv. After this, GT turned on their engines for one last time. Peter (GT) was able to make a break, and a late pass to Sanne resulted in a final try, making the final score 92-21. 

Some special attention to Maegan, who played her second game today but already showed that she’d grown a lot since the last game; she was often at the right time at the right place! In addition, shoutout to Iris, who was on a tackling role again: One time, she actually tackled the opponent, rolled away, stood up, and with the first pass out of the ruck, she tackled the ball carrier again. And finally, Elfie, who made some really lovely tackles, which also showed how much she’d grown the last season. Hag was crowned woman of the match for all her strengths in this game! As nr. 10, she reached the right girls at the right time, playing an essential role in the center of the field, dividing and balancing out the game, leading us to the win. And, of course, for her newfound talent for kicking conversions. The opponents chose Iris because of her Irisness. Roos was picked as the Vajayjay of the day (again), because she is Roos, and sometimes quite vajayjay-ie.

This was an excellent practice game, giving a lot of girls the opportunity to play for a longer time. In addition, the million scrums (as a result of knock-ons) showed that we might need to work on our passes and catches again. We have two more weeks to prepare for the next game against Rotterdam. See you all there!

 

Statistics:

Tries:

• Yv 6 (and 2 conversions)
• Linde 
• Fred 2
• Zoë 3 (and 6 conversions)
• Femke (and 1 conversion)
• Myrthe
• and 2 conversions by Hag

Tries GT:

• Femke
• Sanne

WOTM: Hag

WOTM opponent: Iris
Vajayjay: Roos

 

- Koos