FOLKESTONE RFC

Fillies Match Report

London Irish 40 FRFC 0

By Abigail Howland

Folkestone Fillies set off for London Irish with a mixture of determination and apprehension having had an excellent training session the previous Thursday evening with England captain Catherine Spencer. Two coaches full of players and supporters arrived at the ground full of anticipation, but disappointed not to be playing on the same pitch as England. The game started well with the Fillies camped in the London Irish 22 for the first quarter of the match, but solid defence from the home team prevented the visitors from scoring. If the Fillies could sustain this type of grit it would be a closely fought game. The commitment from the pack was outstanding and they dominated the scrums, rucks and mauls. At half time the home team were only leading by two tries and the Fillies were still in the game. At the start of the second half London Irish requested uncontested scrums due to a front row injury. With the Fillies unable to dominate the set piece it gave the home team time to set up their backs and as the game progressed London Irish started to cut through the visitors defence. This was not surprising as four of the opposition are England development players and all of them 15 years old. The Fillies were fielding a true Folkestone team consisting of three 12 year olds, nine 13 year olds and six 15 year olds. The game ended in victory for the home team 40-0, a score that in no way reflected the game and in particular the way the young ladies never let their heads drop. London Irish are a well drilled team selected from other Surrey clubs. The previous weekend they beat both Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. The girls can be proud of their performance.

In the afternoon the Fillies and travelling support moved on to watch England Women open their international season with an impressive six try defeat of the US Eagles at London Irish ARFC, Sunbury. The reigning RBS 6 Nations champions battled hard against a physical and determined touring side to earn their first scalp of the season which saw ex Folkestone mini player and Ladies captain Catherine Spencer lead the England team onto the pitch for the first time as captain. After England opened the scoring in the 23rd minute the large crowd then had to wait until extra time of the first-half to see them extend their lead to 10-0, with the US holding their own. Catherine was involved in numerous plays, making good yardage and was also impressive in defence, on several occasions stopping what looked like a good USA break. During the second half, as the USA began to tire the home side continued to show great determination to battle on to the end, rounding off proceedings with the scoring of the sixth try on 79th minutes to bring the final score to 34 - 0. With the game won, Catherine was among a raft of English substitutions on the 65th minute mark, giving her time to chat to her 'army' of supporters, both older club stalwarts and the younger 'Fillies', during her warm down on the sidelines. After the game Catherine made a point of signing autographs and having her picture taken with some of the Fillies, who possibly in the not too distant future will also wear the England shirt, having learnt their trade at the New Burlington ground. Having supported England vocally in the stands the Fillies rounded off the day with a good sing song on the coach.

Back to the Fillies game and thanks go to Ian Fell for refereeing despite 'walking' round the pitch after pulling a calf muscle. Also many thanks to the rugby club for their continued support. All the girls enjoy the relaxed family atmosphere and being part of a caring club that provides more than just rugby. If there are any girls in years 8,9 or 10 that would like to play please contact the club - 01303 266887.

Support Folkestone Rugby Football Club

Back To Home Page