*Due to the absence of our regular game day photographer some of the photo’s below may not accurately depict the action during this particular game. Some photos are of “other” rugby players that may or may not bear a remarkable likeness to our own superstars….only the author will ever know!! 

A game of three halves…Another milestone was reached today for our Kiwi Hawthorn Redbacks Girls as we had TWO full teams turn up to take on the girls from Racing Rugby.Its a great problem to have when too many girls turn up to play! We fielded two Redbacks teams to play one half each against Racing, followed by a game between our own two teams so it was a feast of rugby on a glorious crisp winters day.

The first team to line up was Poppy, Alannah, Jaimie, Mia, Iona and our two new recruits, Stella & Pascale. Welcome to the club girls! Poppy was named captain and led the team out. It was fast paced from the start. Racing turned up the heat from kickoff and were very difficult to pin down however Poppy organised the defence and they started to close down Racing’s racers with excellent communication (lots of yelling!)

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For the second half Amelia,Sunday, Alice, Bella, Claire, Holly and Lola ran out. Both sides are starting to appreciate that space is lessening each week as defence improves, making it more difficult for the speedsters to find gaps out wide. Bella and Alice still managed to find some space, however it was tight and there was some serious tiptoeing along the chalk on the way to the try line..

We’ve been training very hard on Tuesday nights to spread across the field in defence and attack as well as understanding how to “effectively utilise” the offside line to create pressure (or as the girls say, “spread out, back 5 and go forward”) . They are starting to get it, which is hugely encouraging for such a new team.

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After the Racing game, our two Redbacks teams immediately took to the field for their very first game against each other and again we watched some great passing, catching, running into space and of course try’s. At the end of the game, Claire was awarded this weeks Team Player of the Day medal for her great support work and teamwork. Well done Claire and well done to all of you girls!

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Its no surprise how much enjoyment the girls bring to the game, and its certainly no surprise how far they have come after a few weeks. What is surprising however, is how easy it has been to make this happen for them. With everyone’s continuing support and by introducing more families and friends to our game, we believe that we can make this a great pathway for girls and one that can lead to Gold!….and when you ask “what if it doesn’t?”, these girls will reply “what if it does?”……
Thank you again to our friends from Racing Rugby for making a special effort each week.
See you all on Tuesday night (rain, hail or floodlights) for the Curtain Raiser Training Session – Go Redbacks!!