Teams 
Bideford RFC Girls U13 team enjoyed their first game of the season (and for many their first game ever!) at Crediton RFC on Sunday 26 September.
After a long old wait due to Covid, it was wonderful to see the girls performing with such heart and amazing attitude.
From the off it was incredibly intense, with everyone putting their bodies on the line and taking the ball into contact. It was an absolute baptism of fire for many, of which they all came through. Phase after phase of tackling took a lot of grit.
Joined by four other girls from Newton Abbot, Bideford started and continued with great intent. Scoring first within the first quarter, it was wonderful to see their confidence growing.
As the game progressed, Crediton’s girls (who averaged age 13 to our average 11), took advantage of their superior rucking skills and created a lot of possession and a lot of chances. Quite a few tries came in succession for Crediton.
The game was interspersed with two fantastic tries from Bideford’s Dolly (who showed great leg driving strength), Thea (a lovely, weighted kick and chase that showed great spatial awareness) and two from Newton Abbott’s Willow (great pick and go and individual running) weren’t enough to utterly dominate, but made ourselves a gritty, defiant and difficult team to play against.
The later end to the game saw the better rugby skills, with less reliance on using the bigger, stronger girls and more use of everyone on the pitch.
As we all know, it’s not just about who scored! Big mentions too go to Emily for her tireless aggression and commitment, she lead from the front and never took a single step back. To Tilly for keeping on her feet whilst being tackled by two girls and managing an offload to Dolly to score. To Lauren for her continued strong tackling and running and no nonsense ‘get on with it’ attitude. To Daisy, who put in some huge hits, and put her body on the line time and time again and shrugged off some big knocks.
A big thank you to the referee Mike, and to Crediton RFC in general for their wonderful hospitality and friendly welcome.
Thank you to all involved for your help and support.
Looking forward to next week! Well done girls.
