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Senior Regional Finals at Staines RFC
The Rugby Football Union for Women’s successful Regional Programme enters the Final Round this weekend, Saturday 15th March, and you can see some of the best regional players in action at Staines RFC. The programme, which is supported by Sportsmatch and Canterbury, is a vital tool in helping to continue to develop rugby in England for Women and Girls. The Regional Programme is a key step on the Player Pathway, with a number of players in the current England team that is pushing for a third successive Grandslam, having worked their way through the pathway. The Senior teams have played three fixtures since February, to decide the league placings for this Final weekend. The third and fourth play-off will see a battle of the North, as the North West take on the North East. The Final promises to be an exciting encounter as the South West are up against last year’s winners West Midlands. Both matches kick off at Midday. RFUW Women’s Rugby National Development Manager, Claire Antcliffe said: “This is a great chance to see some of the best regional players in action; again the Regional Programme has been a huge success, and has provided some highly competitive matches. Each year the standard is raised on and off the field, and this is down to the commitment and enthusiasm of our volunteers across the country.”
Windsor RFC 7s - Win £1000 Kukri Team Kit	Posted 15/02/08
After a break of approximately twenty years Windsor RFC is pleased to announce that it is restarting the Windsor Sevens. In addition to a Men’s we intend to run a Ladies competition. The tournament will take place on Saturday 26th April 2008 with prizes to both the Men’s & Ladies winning teams of the main competition of £1,000 of Kukri Sports Wear each. For registration details please click here
Winchester Uni hold Rugby Reunion Event	Posted 15/02/08
The Winton event is an annual tradition where ex student sports team members come back to university to challenge the current students at their chosen sport. It traditionally started out with just the rugby match, however, now all the sports do it. It's a great time for old friends to be reunited and ex student to re live there university days. Everyone will be playing sport during the day all round Winchester, on main campus, Bar End and finishing off with the rugby at Winchester RFC. The rugby match is highly anticipated and many come to watch as the rugby is felt to be the highlight of WINTON. For more information on the event, please click here
Senior Regional Results from Round Two	Posted 15/02/08
South West 29 - Thames Valley 0 South 19 - South East 7 South and South East meet head on at Sutton & Epsom RFC
Berkshire Select U18 5 - Canada U18 41	Posted 03/01/08
Wednesday January 2nd 2008 A spirited display at Reading’s Sonning Lane ground by the Berks under 18 Girls brought them just one try but plenty of praise from their manager Nicola Eames. “Before the game they were apprehensive about playing the Canadian national team. But they all stepped up to the plate and did really well. I am proud of the effort they all put in”, she said. The core squad had been selected from the Berkshire team but we were grateful for the brilliant contributions from our guest players from the RFUW Talent Development Group, and players from Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire who fitted into the team so well. The match was refereed by RFUW Director Alan Thomas and watched by members of the RFUW Development team, Tom Stokes, Clare Cooper and Simon Burgess, as it was a good chance to watch Regional and TDG players in action. Certainly, the visitors knew they had been in a hard game as the home side harried them at every stage and put in some ferocious tackling. Canada were fit, well-drilled and powerful and it took some spirited tackling to hold them out. The first score only came after 16mins of play. The visitors’ ability to retain or regain possession from loose play was excellent and provides an area of play the Berks team needs to work on.   Berks' touch-down came later in the first half from full-back Alice McGill (Oxon) who outpaced several opponents while shifting from right to left wing to score a brilliant solo effort. Others who stood out were scrum half Aliena Archer, dealing effectively with some difficult line out ball and pressure from her opposite number at the scrums, Hannah Edwards in the centre, back-rowers Aisling Byrne and Amy Millar, and flanker/full back Hannah Field. Berkshire selected the Canadian Number 8 and captain, Kendra Reeves as player of the match for their team. The Canadian coaches selected full back McGill and centre Edwards as their joint players of the match.       This was a superb opportunity for the girls to test themselves against quality opponents and that we could even consider playing a National team shows just how far our Berks team has come in the last few years. The Canadian squad is keen to play English sides to continue its national development programme and we are hoping the fixture could become an annual New Year event. All the spectators who came along and braved the chilly January day were treated to a fine display of Girls’ rugby and the friendly atmosphere in the Club afterwards as the players mixed and chatted was a great advert for the game. Berkshire: Alice McGill1; Bryony Cleall2, Melody Allen, Hannah Edwards2, Alica Fidler; Grace Hilbourne, Aliena Archer; Rebekah Lamden, Hannah Owen, Josie Bond1, Helen Keohane (capt), Amy Symes, Aisling Byrne, Hannah Field, Amy Millar2 Subs: Poly Leyland3, Kristy Papworth2, Poppy Cleall2, Charlotte Hunt, Dani Parker. 1, Oxon 2, TDG player 3, Bucks
Senior Regional Squads Announced	Posted 16/12/07
SOUTH REGION THAMES VALLEY REGION
Canada U18s on Tour	Posted 19/12/07
Canada U18s are on tour in the South East from Boxing day until 6th January 2008. Saturday 29th December v Hertfordshire at Welwyn RFC, KO 1200 Wednesday 2nd January v Berkshire Select at Reading RFC, KO 1230 Friday 4th January 2008 v Surrey and Sussex Select at Sutton & Epsom RFC, KO 1900 Please come and support the Girls in what promises to be an exciting series of matches. Nicola Eames, Reading and Berkshire Girls Head Coach, said: “This is such a great opportunity for the girls and that’s why we want as many people as possible to come to the club and support the game. It would be great if we could really welcome the Canadian team and also give our girls as much support as possible.”
Club partnerships create more competition for Girls Rugby	Posted 18/10/07
Does your club have a handful of girls wanting to play the game, but not enough to make a team? Not sure what the best option is for them? There is a solution! Clubs in the Thames Valley Region (Bucks, Berks, Oxon and Middlesex) have joined forces to play in a competitive Cluster League.     After a successful season last year adopting the “Cluster Club” approach to developing girls Rugby, the Thames Valley is doing the same in the 2007/8 season. Last year across both age groups, there were 7 sides competing in the region and 18 games were played in the league. This year there are 10 teams involved and a projected number of 20 full games plus 20 shorter games (in triangular matches) will be played. These are small numbers so it is easy to look impressive with percentages, but for the record that’s a 43% increase in teams and a 122% increase in games (about 66% increase in game time). We found last season that these “cluster club” matches provide an excellent entry level experience to competitive games, with points and trophies to play for. It was also a good development platform for the more experienced players, many of whom went on to represent the County and Region. The matches are arranged through the season, fitting around the County and Regional programmes so that players who are not selected for these squads still have games to play. Individual Clusters also arrange friendly games outside the league but this becomes a very simple task for the fixture secretary because most of the timetable is established and it’s just a case of filling in a few gaps. The Cluster Club approach ensures club level activity even when an individual club does not have a full squad and can form the foundation for player, club and volunteer development. It also provides a model not just for club growth but also for managing the periodic ups and downs that all clubs experience. We intend to decide each April/May what are the appropriate clusters for the following season which could vary as individual club numbers fluctuate. Of course there are challenges…. Questions to answer include: - Who is the lead coach for the side? - How do you get training time together as a single team? - How do we arrange effective communication between participating clubs? However, with the goodwill of those involved we are working through all that and most importantly young players are developing their rugby skills and enjoying competitive matches. The most impressive growth has been at the U15 age group particularly in Middlesex, which has almost 50 players registered. (In the first match last season they were only able to muster 5!) Moving forward, we should see a regular supply of experienced club, county and regional players entering the senior game either at university or directly into clubs. For more information on how cluster leagues can work in your area, please contact your WRDM, or email Dave Edwards at EDWARDS_DAVID_J@LILLY.COM back to top
OSL makes Wasps interactive	Posted 18/10/07
OSL has designed and implemented a web page which allows the players and coaches to feedback on the previous games performance. With a unique login ID the players can receive individual feedback from the Coach and are able to reply to the Coach, straight from the web page. The Coach and the player can the discuss what the next weeks goals are to focus on at training and in games, as well as the more long term goals for the whole team. With its friendly easy to use system both Coaches and players a like have benefited from the web page; Shelley Rae – Wasps Captain commented, “it gives players the opportunity to get detailed feedback which they may not have the time to receive at training because of the limited time together”. If you would like to find out more about the web page / team administration system please contact Objective Services Limited 10, Kingfisher Walk Ash, SURREY GU12 6RF Phone: 01252 345399 Fax: 01252 345589 E-mail: Sales@objectiveservices.com     back to top
Women’s rugby gets a boost in London, Thames Valley and the South East	Posted 10/10/07
The Rugby Football Union for Women has expanded its work force in London, the Thames Valley and the South East with the appointment of two Club and Coach Officers (CCOs). The CCOs, who are two of ten CCOs recently appointed, will be responsible for supporting the development of women’s and girls rugby across London, the Thames Valley and the South East. They will have an extensive remit which will include player development, coach development and club development. England Women’s international Maggie Alphonsi has been appointed CCO for London and the Thames Valley. Alphonsi, who is also the IRB Personality of the Year, said: “I am excited about the challenging new prospects this position will bring. As a player and a coach I want to see the women's game develop, and now that I am part of this program I'm looking forward to working with all those involved and helping them take the women's game forward in preparation for the 2010 IRB Women’s Rugby World Cup.” Simon Burgess meanwhile has been appointed to the position of South East CCO. Burgess said: “I have been involved in coaching for four years since injuring myself playing rugby. My drive and passion for rugby meant that I couldn’t sit at home being an armchair fan and that I needed to be active in the game that I enjoy so much. “I am now delighted to have been given this new opportunity. I am looking forward to working with an enormous array of players, coaches and volunteers who all share my passion. Working alongside these individuals to improve the standards of coaching and to increase the number of women and girls who have the opportunity to experience rugby is extremely exciting.” The appointment of the ten RFUW CCOs across the country has been supported by Sport England who awarded the union £1.4 million over three years in August. These monies have been specifically designated to be spent nationally to support club coach development. back to top
WASPS SWARM ALL OVER DUKE OF KENT	Posted 28/08/07
The England men’s rugby team may have been undertaking intensive training in Portugal prior to the start of the Rugby World Cup, but there was a buzz of excitement in the heart of Surrey too, last weekend, when Wasps Ladies Rugby Club descended en masse to the Duke of Kent School near Cranleigh for an intensive weekend of training prior to their new season. Despite atrocious weather, the training camp included sessions covering core skills, continuity and team play, plus a number of team-building adventure challenges over the two days. The rugby-specific sessions were delivered by England captain Sue Day and club development manager Grant Anderson. The squad was split into Team Black and Team Gold for team-building challenges which were set out across Pitch Hill. The challenges included creating a spoof video ad for a well-known Irish cider, competing in a pub quiz, balloon modelling, a gymnastic balance competition and composing a new Wasps club song! Club Chair, Claire Purdy said, “we chose the Duke of Kent School because it has excellent facilities in a superb location – and is close to London,” said Claire Purdy, Chair of Wasps Ladies. “Everyone commented on the stunning surroundings. A big thanks goes to the School for hosting our first pre-season training camp.”   Of course, it wasn’t all hard work… Time was allocated for a visit to the local pub to watch England take on France, in their final World Cup warm-up match and to enjoy a few sociable drinks. Wasps Ladies season starts on 16th September with the first XV hosting Lichfield Ladies. The Ladies train at Twyford Avenue, Acton from 7:30pm on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. New players are always welcome at Wasps, and more information can be found at www.waspsfootballclub.co.uk/waspswomen.cfm or by calling Claire Purdy on 07791161846. back to top