DORKING & COBHAM U16 GIRLS
WATERFALL CUP FINALS – 21 APRIL 2024
At the start of the year, with the Dorking/Cobham cluster newly formed, one of the main topics of conversation was what name should be called from the touchlines in support of the players – Cobking? Dorkham? It wasn’t long however, before that fell by the wayside and, so far as the coaches were concerned, they simply became Our Girls.
The team gelled well from the outset and with a mix of experienced and new players, they brought complementary skills to the squad. The coaching team also shared a common ethos – that training should be fun as well as instructive, that everyone had a place regardless of experience or ability and that, above all, the game should be played with enjoyment.
Results throughout the season were mixed, some losses, some convincing wins and some highly competitive close calls. Whatever the outcome, the girls all improved and grew throughout the season and played for fun, despite the score or (sometimes) the weather. Last Sunday’s Waterfall Cup final, where the Dorking/Cobham cluster faced London Irish/Teddington/Quins for the Bowl was the last fixture for the girls, and the day that it all came together.
Having had the opposition beat us in a hard-fought match a few weeks earlier, we knew it was going to be a tough game. The LI/Ted/Quins cluster started strongly with an experienced and dominant set of forwards and some high-flying backs and they came at us hard and fast. Our defence held strong in the most part and our girls counter-attacked like furies. The teams were closely matched and at half time it was 12 all with two tries apiece (Bella & Sophia) and a conversion (courtesy of Immi).
The second half saw the opposition bring on a host of subs but this disrupted their set piece somewhat and Our Girls scented opportunity. With a strong scrum and emphatic rucking as an attacking platform and (at last!) getting their structure right, they got into a rhythm. Working as a team with every single player putting in the effort, they battled their way through to score 3 tries (Erica, Bella & Elsa) with Immi converting 2 of them. Despite their lead, they never gave up and the opposition only scored an unconverted try at the end due to weary bodies and tired legs.
The final score 31 – 17 to the Dorking/Cobham Girls, worthy winners of the Bowl and a shining example of what a successful cluster can achieve.
U16s Squad - Pippa B, Erica, Keira, Phoebe, Ella, Willow, Elsa, Evie, Megan, Betty, Gabe, Mia, Kelly, Bonnie, Imogen, Bella, Pippa S, Sophia, Marianna & Saba
