Welwyn welcomed Old Reigatians to Hobbs Way on Sunday for an unusual (for the girls) morning kick-off for a friendly. On the day, although ORs came away comfortable winners, rugby was the winner.

Having agreed ahead of time to play the game as four quarters to allow for more coaching input and chances for captains to talk to their teams as well as for ORs to manage their greater number of players, the first quarter was dominated by ORs with them speeding into oa 5 try lead as the more inexperienced Welwyn girls found their feet and struggled to get some more structure to their play. The second quarter was a different story with the Welwyn girls really beginning to build some teamwork and get the ball into their hands more. Defence improved and during the quarter Tegan, with quick thinking took a quick tap from around the halfway line and broke a coupe of tackles and sprinted the rest of the pitch to score Welwyn's first points of the game. That meant the 2nd quarter finished much closer at 5-12 (5-41)

In the 3rd quarter, despite the Welwyn girls continuing to be under huge pressure from the ORs players who, throughout the whole game, were quicker to and better at the breakdown than the hosts, Welwyn scored the best try of the day with repeated offloads and support play with Polly eventually going over for a super team try. It was a demonstration of what the Welwyn girls will be able to do more regularly when they become more used to playing with each other and accostomed to their specific positions and roles on the pitch. The change in performance in the 2nd & 3rd quarter compared with the 1st was hugely positive and in fact, the Welwyn girls won the 3rd quarter 7-5 (12-46)

With OR's experience telling and the greater number of subs available to them, with the Welwyn girls tiring, the fourth quarter belonged to ORs again and they completed a well deserved victory 12-68.

Despite the score, the Welwyn girls will have learnt a huge amount from the game and there were many positives to take from it. With Welwyn having 3 debutants and 7 of the 18 girls in their first season of rugby and experience missing in some key positions through injury or unavailability, there is real promise in the side.

However, going back to the opening sentence. On the day, rugby was the real winner. With the game being played in great spirit by all girls, great conduct by all parents at the side of the pitch and support and encouragement by the ORs coaches for the Welwyn girls, everyone enjoyed the day. We really look forward to sorting out a return fixture later in the season. A huge thanks to ORs for making the journey round the M25.