Returned to the school to hear lovely tales of the night before from the girls – all of which were positive . . we even had a couple that had seen Gloworms ( JMS very jealous ). Lovely weather lovely reception lovely sport hall with good ventilation. Sopwiths to go first and were well warmed up. Recruited in to join forces with the team came Naomi and Toni. The result was a more balanced look and feel to the team. We needed the players as the girls in giving 100% each quarter just need to come off and recouperate / rest. The result of the first quarter was that we were 7 – 3 up. And although we’d have liked to play the Senior girls for more we felt we couldn’t. The rest of the game saw its toll on the players with several close to the point of collapse. . . . . touring and playing at this level in intensity with little rest between players will take its toll. Anne-Marie was suffering – not in her shooting – but just generally . . she did not look well . . a head cold looks as if it’s on its way. . . still she and the rest of the girls did not give up. The third quarter saw the RGS girls come back to close the gap but in the end it was the small things that made the big difference . . . the small dropped pass, the interception – Katie Ruddock made one glorious interception and the clattering of Lizzie into the oppo was fantastic to watch ( Lizzie came off much the better by the way !! ) . . but it was just the small things that if we had a week before the next game we could have sorted out . . . the sad fact about touring is that you don’t have the luxury of that time . . next game Tuesday !!! So it was a rather saddened team that came off defeated 13 – 25.
It was similar story for the Hurricanes but closer and with injuries taking their toll. Hannah had a recurrence of her shin splints / Georgia couldn’t come out for the final quarter with an ice pack on her ankle neither did Immi who had a temporary breathing problem. All sorted now but it caused the team to require a major refit / reorganisation . . . and when players are being asked to play in positions that they are not totally familiar with it can cause disruptions to the performance. This is one reason why as coaches we stress the need for players to train and play in alternative positions. The first quarter was nip and tuck 4 – 4 and indeed at the end of the second quarter, with Lian and Jane combining smoothly the score were still close 8 – 9. It was then at the half-time break that the injuries really hit us and some would say we faded badly – I would only say that we were looking tired and worn ( out ? – not yet !!! ) . . . but isn’t that what touring is all about . . pushing yourself to the next game no matter how you feel and with little time for re-energising ? We are there and have felt that . . another experience that we can tick off in our large box of experiences. The end result for the statisticians amongst you was a 13 – 24 defeat but again it was the manner of the performance that again was highlighted by CMD in her post match chat. We again gave a performance full of pride and passion.
The hospitality of Garin College was again immense and after the matches we enjoyed a delightful spread of cakes and buns to which ALL were grateful for. Then the girls found their hosts and those with ailments were given the magic FW tonics and sent away to bed – hopefully to return a little more energised.
Shozza
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