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On Thursday the 14th of March, the Year 7 Girls’ Rugby team were invited to take part in a Girls’

Rugby showcase organised by England Rugby and the RFU.

The day began at Richmond athletic ground, where 40 teams of 12 girls from schools around the

country were set to play against each other in both touch Rugby and contact Rugby tournaments.

The Blenheim students had a nervous start in their first match, which ended in a draw. Following

the first match, the year 7 team found their form! The students caught and passed the ball from

side-line to side-line with such accuracy and speed that spectators from other matches began to

gather to watch the team in ‘burgundy’. The girls played with width that the opposition could not

defend against, and when a tackle was made there was always two supporting students either

side to run an inside line to the try line. During the next three matches at Richmond, the other

teams could not get a foothold in any games against Blenheim, who ended up winning their pool

with three wins and a draw.

First round results:

Blenheim 2 – 2 Team B

Blenheim 4 – 1 Team C

Blenheim 2 – 1 Team D

Blenheim 3 – 2 Team E

The next stage involved going to Twickenham stadium to play the finals in each pool stage. The

students had the incredible opportunity to walk out on the pitch at Twickenham as players, being

supported by the crowd of parents and school supporters in the west stand.

Before the team had the opportunity to take in the enormity of the event, they were called up on

to the pitch to play in their first final. The students had to quickly adjust to the noise of the crowd,

the size of the stadium and to James Haskell’s DJ songs before the first whistle.

The opposition seemed to adjust to the new conditions faster than Blenheim due to playing a

game on the pitch during round one. The other team managed to score a quick try within the first

few minutes of the match, however, it seemed to do nothing but inspire the Blenheim team!

The girls fought back with speed and aggression and managed to level the game with a try

straight out of the rugby handbook! They used dummy runners and miss-passes to create a

wonderful try which caused a loud reaction from the crowd. After a very close game, the match

ended a draw.

Blenheim 1 – 1 Team A

After a short break, and watching the other two teams lose, it was down to Blenheim and team C

who could win.

As they were the top two teams in the group, the final match was played at a fast and skilful pace,

with both teams playing amazing Rugby. The opposition crashed over the try line first, however it

was due to a forward pass so the teams were called back. The match went back and forth with

both teams being held up over the try line in the first half. During the final minute of the match,

with the score levelled at 0-0, the Blenheim team spotted that the opposition had narrowed in

their defence and sent a rainbow pass over to the right hand touch line to Immie. Immie ran on

to the ball, skipped past two defenders without being caught and dived over Twickenham’s try

line in the corner to seal the victory for the Blenheim team!

The Year 7 girls’ Rugby team were the only touch rugby team to go unbeaten all day. The students

involved with the day were incredible. Their resilience, skill and attitude made them stand head

and shoulders above the 40 schools present, and they were a credit to Blenheim High School.

A big thank you goes to the members of Sutton & Epsom rugby club who made the whole day

possible, and gave up their time to support the students all day.

The day ended with the team having their photos taken with a current women’s England

international red Rugby player. Could that moment foreshadow the future for the Blenheim

team? I certainly hope that won’t be last time we see the students on the Twickenham pitch!

#BlenheimRoses

#teamblenheim