NRFC Girls 'International' fixture vs Canadian touring side

Rather than the usual Tuesday night training the Girls section of Newbury RFC added an ‘international’ fixture to their season as they hosted Owen Sound Secondary School from Ontario, Canada who were on a UK tour.

Supported by a large and very noisy crowd (which included the U14 Girls players; players from the Women’s teams; parents and injured players) a combined U16s team, consisting of players from Wallingford, Didcot and Newbury, took the field first in a very competitive and entertaining game which saw the visitors taking the spoils with a 35-24 victory.

The second game matched the high quality of the first as a combined U18s team of Didcot and Newbury players, after going behind early on, dominated the second half but were unable to make it count as they went down 35-17 to the tourists.

One of the objectives of the Canadian’s tour was to not just play matches but to experience the rugby culture: the noisy post-match meal and presentations, as players and coaches from both teams mingled and chatted, certainly ticked that box with 60+ teenage girls enjoying themselves.

Although the visitors won both games the real winner on Tuesday was Girl’s Rugby, with the core values of rugby being shown by all of the girls of both teams.