At 5 pm, four youth teams played a mini 7s tournament as the university girls made their way down to support the local talent. After some great match play and hair braiding in the stands, it was our turn. Northumbria and Durham kicked things off in the first of the 30-minute matches. After some strong play from Northumbria and recently relegated Durham barely leaving their own half, Northumbria came away with a 19-0 win.
After a short break, NUWRFC took to the field for our first game against Durham. This match would offer good insight, as the 1XV’s play Durham away in their first BUCS fixture of the season on 8 October. The girls made a great start, with Emily Hazledine (1XV Vice Co-Captain) opening the scoring for us after an intercept from a Durham line-out.
The conversion was made by recent recruit Charlotte Cawthray, marking her first points for the university. Ten minutes later, Sophie Oldridge added five more points, having starved Durham of the ball, bringing the score to 12-0. In the closing minutes of the match, a fumbled Durham line-out in their half resulted in them kicking the ball back towards their own try-line. Pippa Woolley’s quick reactions and another conversion from Cawthray meant we finished the game 19-0 winners.
Finally, the clash everyone was waiting for, Newcastle vs Northumbria – the ultimate showdown against our Varsity rivals. Back in February, we claimed victory, a win that also secured us the Premier North league title. We geared up to play back-to-back while the well-rested Poly returned to the pitch in this winner-takes-all match.
“Despite the score line the girls cannot be faulted for their hard work and determination throughout. It was really good to get back on pitch with the girls. Tri-Uni is a great way to start our season and has set us up nicely for our BUCS fixtures ahead.”
Evie Haskell, (1XV Vice Co-Captain)
Northumbria conceded a penalty 30 seconds into the game, giving Newcastle a line-out which was unfortunately lost. However, Alice Burwell, in an amazing tackle, bundled the Poly winger into touch. A few minutes later, a Poly line-out within our 22 and a gap in our defence meant the poly scored between the posts and converted easily. After lots of back and forth, a second converted try from our opposition saw us 14-0 down. However, the Newcastle side kept fighting. Having made our way down the pitch, the ball was shipped to the edge, where Holly Burdon got us over the line to end the game 14-5.
It was a great evening, and congratulations must go to Northumbria for taking the trophy home. Player of the tournament went to last season's President, Sky Clemens, after a huge shift in both games. Everyone’s hard work during pre-season was greatly displayed. Having reflected on the matches, we now move towards the first BUCS fixtures of the season in October for our 1XV’s and November for the 2XV’s and 3XV’s