Vixen U18s

Match Report
Vixen U18s v Norwich/Beccles

15 Vixens turned out today hoping for what has been a rarity this season a full 15 aside game unfortunately the Norwich/Beccles cluster arrive with 11 players so again frustratingly for both players & coaches days of positional & tactical planning go sailing out of the window.
As a coach I’m so proud of how the girls obviously frustrated & disappointed pull on an opposition jersey & play against their teammates seemingly week in week out.
Given this & the slippery conditions it’s easy for a game to become scrappy & disjointed but our U18s striving for improvement shone despite conditions.
Rucking is beginning to improve with 2/3 players now getting to most breakdowns which gives Amie at s/ half clean ball to use. Our back line Meg,Ella,
Ruby, Ellie,Niamh & Evie for the most part of the game offloaded well using their line & causing the opposition obvious problems. Perhaps & I’m being picky ( coaches prerogative) we could offload a step earlier as support players are slightly overrunning the play. In the forwards Bethany,Alex,Izzy,
Sophie,Kirsty,Lorna,Murran & Poppy are settling well as a pack with Scrums being won against the head & a lot of hard unseen work being done. All of these girls carried well today & the work on for them must be support play all of them make the hard yards if we just linked & went in twos maybe threes this pack will become feared by opposition players.
Norwich/Beccles with borrowed players from Diss put up a good fight & I really hope they keep clustering together to play matches.
Despite their valiant efforts the Vixen girls teamwork unpicked their defence with Meg running in 4 scores & Ella 1 with Megs converting 1 this score should really of gone unanswered but a couple of lapses in concentration in the last 15 mins allowed our opponents to run in 2 scores to give a final score of Diss Vixens 27 Norwich/Beccles 12
As with a lot of our U18s games this season the positives are far out weighing the Negatives & pleasing today Sophie’s improved decision making especially when playing for the opposition calmly kicking for touch from a penalty, Kirsty after returning from a season out improves week on week Suberin at the breakdown & becoming more like the leader she was at U15s as confidence grows. Murran not been with us long tackles like a tiger & gives us good ball from line outs. Ella commanding the opposition lines whilst doing her stint & along with a lot of the others putting in huge hits in defence pressuring the opposition.
Alex her day cut short by injury but her work rate improves week on week along with her line out throws & hooking.
Izzy new to the sport but what a ball carrier making loads of metres Bethany grafts away in the middle rucking improving & fantastic use of hammer ball. Lorna confidence growing slowly often in the right place & becoming more involved has more ability than she realises.
Amie hassling any opposition player who dared come near. Poppy just being Poppy really steps in any position carries, tackles , hooks a real grafter. Megs, Ella & Ruby when they fire in the centre of the pitch it’s poetry in motion with the ball whipping from hand to hand. Ruby has improved her tackling especially the height working on going lower showing good technique. Evie, Niamh & Ellie all quick off the mark gaining ground & support well.
When we stick to our game plan our rugby is fantastic another great result well done girls.
Pom today Megs
4 try’s some great running through opposition defence.