Sunday, May 6th, the sun was shining, there was some music from the Tennis NSK, and the LSRG ladies were ready! It wasn’t a Semi-Super Sunday anymore because the Thor gents realized they couldn’t beat our 1XV and canceled. The Delft ladies also realized what a strong opponent they would face this Sunday, and even though they didn’t cancel as the Thor gents did, they brought an entire, talented team to play on het Palenpadje this Sunday. Indeed, whispers were going around DXV when realizing that they had brought some girls from their first team (playing in the Ereklasse).

We knew that this match was going to be tough. Exciting but tough. During the warm-up, both temperatures and tensions were rising. At the end of the warm-up and a few minutes before the kick-off, the faces looked focused and tense with stress. Coach Do gave the team a final motivational speech, focussing on the long breath, perseverance, determination, teamwork, communication, and trust. This game, this was our mountain. And we were climbing it together. There was calmness, inspiration, and focus. We were ready for the game of the year!!

Kick-off! We quickly realized what kind of opponent we had in front of us when we felt the toughness of the attacks. This was a nice example of the show of the game. The Delft girls were fiercely attacking our defense line, and even when we were attacking, our movements were still going backward, losing ground. Only 5 min into the game, Delft was able to score a try. After a long defense strike, with some beautiful tackles from our girls, we could not prevent Delft from scoring another try. Although the game was challenging (and our bodies were less used to Ereklasse bodyslams), the ambiance was good. Both teams supported each other, and OG-Soof was even secretly helping your raging reporter by analyzing the game in-depth and giving tips where necessary. Even Annelies (wife of our coach and mother of one of the Delft girls) was cheering for us and suggesting that we might distract them with our bodies.

We were able to recover after those first two tries. After a long series of attacks, pick-and-goes, being tackled, and keeping the pressure high, our backs were able to gain some ground. Small breaks made by Myrthe, Zoë, and Elfie made it possible for Zoë to make that first try. A few minutes later, an overlap on the left made it again possible to break through the defense line, and it was (of course, again) Zoë who ran half the pitch on her own, scoring the second try. With our more successful conversions, the score was 14-12 for our girls at halftime.

The Delft girls felt that we were a tough opponent to beat. We realized that they became scared, and some other first-team-girls entered the field after halftime. OG-Soof was chasing after a kick, and her fast legs outrun our girls. This eventually led to another try on the side of Delft. There was a long streak of attacks on both sides of the field, showing both teams how big that pitch actually is. Our favorite winger Ashley bulldozered again through that line and just kept running with the power of a first rower and the speed of a back. A final pass to Zoe led to our 3rd try. The score was now 19-19. Our public and fans were getting more and more excited. What a pressure, what a game. Another try of Delft put us again behind. But it felt like we needed those tries to get our focus back, get angry, and get back in the game. In a long series of attacks close to the try-line, Sanne spotted a gap in the defense line, jumped through it, and scored a try while falling. This final try and our strong ladies could not prevent Delft from scoring two more tries: Final score: 24-34

Although this game was mentally challenging, also physically, we paid our prize. Four minutes into the game, Anso had to leave the pitch because she took a hit on the cheek. Some ice helped against the swelling, but this could not prevent Anso from turning into a very cute squirrel. Luckily, she was able to get back in the game again later. Also, Roos was the victim of a harsh bodyslam, leaving us a bit scared when her head slammed on the field. Her sense of humor almost convinced us she might have a concussion, but we quickly realized that Roos was just being Roos, and she happily joined the zijnlijngezelschap. The battle of the roommates turned into a bloody massacre when a knee hit the nose of Iris, unfortunately leading to a broken/crooked nose and a(nother) visit to the HAP.

When the last whistle blew, the team gathered to receive congratulations from Do before being acclaimed by the opponents. The backs were on fire with three tries from Zoë (and two conversions) and one from Sanne! The tremendous work of the forwards was also rewarded: Charlotte was crowned WOTM by our team, and Peppy of the opponents. Eventually, the game of the year ended with both teams (and Do!!) at the Duke, a field on which Delft is not about to win.

Statistics
Tries:

• Zoë: 3x (and two conversions)
• Sanne

WOTM: Charlotte
WOTM tegenstander: Peppie
Vajayjay: Team Belgium (Anso & Helena)

- Koos, Hag, Elfie and Helena