The Dragons Girls under 15 side made a great start to their season with a 43-5 win over RGC 1404 in Machen on Sunday (10th October)
The work put in by the players and Head Coach, Luke Williams during the close season paid dividend as the Dragons ran in 7 tries in the afternoon sunshine at Machen. Slick handling along with the ability to think and attack at pace coupled with resilient and coordinated defence saw RGC 1404 face a tough afternoon.
From the kick off the Dragons looked hungry and early hard hitting tackles, especially from Johnson at 10 and Daley at 13 saw several RGC 1404 attacks halted as the ball was spilled forward. With RGC 1404 unable to field a full side, 11 in total, the scrum was reduced to passive scrums, a shame at regional level but none the less it gave the Dragons forwards more energy to get round the park, with devastating effect.
The Dragons opening try came after 10 minutes with good rucking at the breakdown lead to the ball being sent along the backline, with each player drawing in a defender before releasing the ball, this put Wing convert Price, clearly enjoying the sunlight as not much gets through in her normal position as prop, into space and she showed the opposition defenders a quick shake of the hips and a clean pair of heals to race in from 30m to score under the posts. Daley was successful with the conversion. Strong direct running from Feeney, Griffiths and Bowen was making inroads into the RGC defence and quick ruck ball allowed Bevan the luxury of clean ball to release the backline. Johnson and Daley reverted back to their positions of Centre and Outside Half respectively as the Dragons began to control the game.
The second try came from Lewis, making her full debut for the dragons after 15 minutes. Again good support play and to ability to commit defenders allowed Lewis to collect the ball and display the type of pace most wingers would be pleased with, to round the RGC defender and run in from 20m to score. The conversion from Daley drifted to the right of the upright.
RGC came back at the Dragons but strong tackling from Holman in the centre, Burns on the wing and Bowen at second row saw several attacks come to nothing as RGC looked for a weakness in the Dragons defence that wasn’t there. RGC were reduced to 11 after the try as one of the backline was taken off with a minor injury, this resulted in Price being taken off to even the numbers. The Dragons closed out the half with a try from Bevan, picking up from the base of a ruck to beat the defence and touch down under the posts for Daley to convert.
Half Time Score
Dragons 19
RGC 1404 0
During the break Bowen was replaced by Megan Jones after an excellent display during the 1st half that saw commitment, skill and determination all come to the forefront.
The second half began with the Dragons looking fresh. RGC came out fired up and during the early stages put the pressure on the Dragons, forcing them to concede several penalties in quick succession. Captain Johnson was spoken to by the referee, who had an excellent game, allowing it to flow, as the Dragons were warned about their discipline. With RGC now back up to 12 with the injured player returning to the game, Price was brought back on.
Good work at the ruck and in support by debutant Crook was allowing the Dragons to break away and exploit the mismatches in the RGC defence. With Jones providing an excellent support runner the ball was rarely bogged down in the breakdown allowing Bevan to release the backs to do what they do best. From a scrambled lineout the ball was sent into midfield where from a ruck inside the opposition 22 Crook picked up and run in to crown a fine debut performance with a try under the posts. Daley was successful with the conversion.
RGC hit back and a combination of good attacking rugby and Dragons ill discipline resulted in RGC gaining good position in the Dragons 22. From a ruck 5m out RGC were able to pick up and drive over for a deserved try. The Dragons responded by increasing the tempo which lead to tries for Megan Daley, Sophie Johnson and a2nd for Price.
Final Score
Dragons U15’s 43
(Tries: Price 2, Daley, Crook, Johnson, Lewis, Bevan Cons: Daley 4)
RGC 1404 U15’s 5
Dragons Under 15 team
Megan Jones (NHSOB RFC),Heather Burns (NHSOB RFC), Megan Daley (NHSOB RFC), Steph Holman (Melksham RFC), Josie Price (NHSOB RFC), Sophie Johnson (NHSOB RFC) Capt., Annie Bevan (NHSOB RFC), Charmaine Crook (Caerphilly Tigers RFC), Steph Feeney (NHSOB RFC), Rebecca Griffiths (NHSOB RFC), Michaela Bowen (Abergavenny RFC), Charlotte Lewis (Caerphilly Tigers RFC),
