St. George's were undefeated in the LUSL league and did prove quite a challenge for us, though in the end, it was a great match played by both teams.
The scrum was uncontested, which as always was at our major disadvantage and put pressure on the backs in the defense, which both they and forwards handled extremely well.
Our new confidence in defense meant that the opposition did not score a single time in the second half, even though we were stationed at our try line for a good amount of time. Untiringly holding the ball up, pressuring from try line defense and solid tackling meant that St. George's were getting increasingly frustrated at not being able to place the ball. We managed to kick to touch or even run half the pitch ourselves every single time. Being this keen unfortunately led to several penalties from our side for not being onside - and as soon as the damage was done, the ref was obviously very observant and strict on potentially offside players, particularly the flankers and back row.
This was too bad, as it really was their game. Speed and strength were key elements that we needed to fend off the opposition's clinical and aggressive rucking. Philippa and George really stood out as a result and made a huge positive impact!
In attack, backs were not used as best as they could because of arbitrary changes (media sec went form first-time 10 to first-time 13, then back to 10 and ended as 13, reflecting the absolute madness). Unexperienced combinations with otherwise solid players meant that when the ball did get to the hands of the backs, it fell short and failed to make an impact. 
Key points to take away from the match are 1. running forwards and not being afraid of the contact, 2. supporting the player going into contact and 3. COMMUNICATION.

Good game all in all, where the score line does not reflect our efforts in the second half.
We should have utilised our opportunities more - we panic and make stupid mistakes at the try line!

Lots to improve on for Royal Holloway on Wednesday, but also lots of positive to take with us!

Tries: Philippa (1)
Opposition's PotM: Georgina
Forward of the Match: Amy C
Back of the Match: Lucy
KCLWRFC is proudly sponsored by KPMG.

We have teamed up with our counterparts at KCL Men's Rugby team for a good cause this Christmas.
On December 6th, we will participate in the GRIM Challenge, which is an 8 mile obstacle course with lots of challenges and room for plenty of team bonding (and sore muscles). Just another day at the rugby office!
But this time, it's for a cause that both teams find very close to our hearts: the charity Headfirst, which raises awareness for head injuries and brain damages, something that happens way too often in our sport, unfortunately. Both teams have felt the effects of this, as the Men's Angus Swanson suffered from a major head injury in 2013 and KCLWRFC's greatest supporter Joanne Smith suddenly died of a spontaneous brain haemorrhage in 2014.
We look to raise £650, so please donate generously to this amazing cause and support us in the GRIM Challenge!

Faithful media sec was unavailable on Sunday, so the match report is brought to you by Cap'n of SS KCLWRFC.

The excitement of the adventure on the tube which became an overground to Imperial’s pitches near Heathrow was matched by that of actually watching the game (Captain currently out with knee injury, like 30% of our team). We were playing a team from the league above with many of the old girls not to be seen on the pitch due to injuries, which really allowed the freshers to show off what they’ve learnt.
The Imperial girls showed speed and power at the break-downs as well as great support and phase play. However, our new set-up in defence meant we were stronger than previous matches, with line breaks often being neutralised by our sweepers.
Imperial used a quick penalty into their advantage and scored the first try of the match. Their second came soon after with a cheeky chip and chase from their scrum-half.
Two scores down towards the end of the first half we were fighting hard. After not managing to score from two penalties on the 5m line it was third time lucky for the King’s girls, when a quick penalty saw Helen powering through and placing the ball over the line for our first try of the match.
Our lack of fitness showed and defence began to tire in the second half, and the next few imperial tries came from textbook forwards phase play before crashing straight through our line.

However, we can do the same! Several forwards phases followed by excellent back line play saw Emma P make metres down the wing but the defence made sure she crossed the touch line instead of the try line. More forwards play saw us again on their try-line but a turn over in the ruck resulted in Imperial clearing the ball back over our heads. Another surge and we were back on the 5m line, where Tara managed to take the ball and smash over the line but was held up.
The final score of the game came from another cheeky chip and chase by the Imperial scrum-half before an offload to their full-back to finish the job right under the posts.
Both teams were powerful and determined, but ultimately the game was decided by better organisation and quicker play from the Imperial girls, especially in the rapid decision making of their scrum-half captain.
Special thanks to Imperial for the chip butties afterwards!

Match report by Lynn, photos by Amy C.

Tries: Helen (1)
Oppo Player of the Match: Maighread (nom. Philippa)
Forward of the Match: Ally
Back of the Match: Maighread
Dick of the day: Becky (really an extra back of the match)
KCLWRFC is proudly sponsored by KPMG.

Before stepping on the pitch, we already knew this game would be a hard one. Despite winning comfortably in our last friendly with Brunel, they have always proved a challenge to us, emphasising and taking advantage of our weakest points. I am happy to say that although messily, we won this match as the better team.
Early on in the game, Brunel already had us by two tries, which they basically gained by passing the ball out and running through the gaps by the wing, as our defense was lacking a bit on the sides. Though after we gained ball possession and composure, we did what we do best: steadily and powerfully crushing down the opposition through forwards balls. This gave us our first try, where scrum-half Helena did a quick pick-and-place on the try-line. After this, Liz scored what would become the conversion that would decide the outcome of the game.
Brunel had incredible strength and speed in their back line from fly-half to centres, which we responded to more positively in the second half by stepping up our defense. They did put a damper on our back line whose opposite players were strong and decisive in defense, meaning that forwards had to carry balls more than in previous games. Thus, the results of our strong scrummaging and forwards crash balls showed on the rest of the match's try scorers, where flankers and 8 had a great day - shout out to George, Philippa and Helen!
This did not stop Brunel from stealing tries by repeating what they did best: making an unstoppable run to the try line and scoring comfortably. Thankfully, they never scored any conversions, which would eventually determine the game.
With two minutes left, we were in Brunel's 22, where Ana took a hard tackle and had to be carried off the pitch (again by coach - wish we had pictures, but media sec was finally on the pitch, playing again!!). The score was 27-30 to Brunel. The short stopping of the game gave us a last-minute huddle, where we promised ourselves to get this win for Ana, who we at that point thought had broken her thigh bone, judging by the Spanish swears and curses coming from her tiny body (don't worry, it's not broken). As the game commenced again, the ref announced a scrum with our put-in and that this would be the last play. We won the scrum and passed to back line, where it crashed, meaning we had to ruck and recycle. Many attempts to break through the solid Brunel defense at their 5-metre became too much for them and they were penalised for hands in the ruck, which gave Liz the chance to dive on the try line and finally score, effectively ending an incredibly intense match to our advantage.

While the victory was somewhat overshadowed by a burglary in our changing rooms and Ana's injury, a win is a win - especially such a hard-fought one as this. That will be the major positive from this tumultuous day.

Tries: Philippa (2), Helen (1), Helena (1), Georgina (1), Liz (1)
Conversions: Liz (1)
Opposition's Player of the Match: Liz
Our Players of the Match to be revealed.
KCLWRFC is proudly sponsored by KPMG.

The starting lineup for Sunday's LUSL game was characterised by our many new players, as few had had a chance to play on Wednesday. Old girls had to stand on the sideline as support and yell cheers in the beaming sunlight for a change, which might be very healthy!
The match was mostly dominated by KCL as we had ball possession a great deal of the game and relatively few turnovers. Even when Kingston made our line, we would hold the ball up, make a line break back down the pitch or kick the ball to touch (thanks, Liz!). That being said, Kingston proved a challenge to us because of their aggressive play and their strong players making line breaks in our weak defense, something which is evident on the scoreline.
A key issue in the match was the lack of communication in our squad. Forwards were often passive, not calling for the ball or running onto it, which made the game stand still before the back line could whip it out and make metres. And this match truly was in the hands of the backs (pun intended), as they showed stability, speed and decisiveness both in the defense and the attack. First up on the scoreboard was thus Camille, who quickly grabbed the ball off a maul and dived through the defense. Not very long afterwards, a picture perfect try was scored by winger Lucy, who received it from Ana at the end of the back line, smoothly placing the ball on Kingston try line. Awesome handling and definitely shows that the pass training has paid off!
Being at Kingston's try line, the ball went out to the backs after many forwards phases. The try should have been scored then and there, but backs were attacked by defensive players and were not quick enough to pass it further, why Lucy never made it to the line. A sneaky pick-up and run by Helen made our efforts not wasted and a try was scored.
Finally, a special mention is for the wingers who had a great game; Paz and Lucy stood out in defense, ball chase and line breaks, as they had more opportunities and open spaces than we have seen in previous games, particularly as a result of Alice's great off-loads and strong tackles.
Talking to each other, yelling for players in defense and calling for support are key improvements that we take with us from this game, particularly for forwards and wings, who could have played their advantages even better.

By Helena C. and Celina.

Tries: Camille (1), Lucy (1), Helen (1)
Conversions: Liz (2)
Opposition's Player of the Match: Liz
Players of the Match: Wingers Paz and Lucy plus Becky (who nominated Jas to take the pint because of concussion)
KCLWRFC is proudly sponsored by KPMG.

Today's game was all the way in Eastbourne near Brighton, where we were excited to play the local team for the first time and to try on our brand-new kit. We barely made the train (extremely unfit media sec had to sprint through Victoria Station, followed by blood-tasting coughs throughout the journey. To our coach: just kidding! My fitness is excellent! Please put me on the squad again!!).
When we arrived we discovered that Brighton only had 11 players, putting a damper on warm-up (as well as their facilities - taken straight out of a horror movie slaughterhouse), as we had all sacrificed lectures, work and placement in order to be able to play, meaning some subs did not even make the pitch during the game. Lynn's knee injury meant that Ana was new captain, putting her screaming commands to good use.
The first 20 minutes of the game were scrappy at best, with players fumbling for the ball and not going to ground, resulting in risky off-loads that only paid off because of Brighton's lax defense. This did allow for line breaks and snappy ball switches, which Ally took advantage of as she powered through and quickly scored and Camille echoed a few minutes later by same technique.
Ball possession was mostly ours which was fortunate as our defense still needs sorting out, though better than previously. Counter and defensive rucking was on point throughout the game, which benefitted us because of a slightly indecisive ref on the rucks. When we gained the ball and (finally) began running forwards, it paid off in tries raining from us, why the score was 29-0 by half-time.
Brighton players were big, strong and fast, emphasised by their prop simply picking up Helena and running 10 metres with her and the ball. This meant that they gained two tries on us in the beginning of the second half, which really could have been prevented by more defense. We had rolling subs because of our massive squad, which meant that Emma H and Cathy had the chance to score their very first tries (see incredibly well-filmed videos below)! Paz was there as well.
Afterwards, we were all knackered after a great and entertaining game of creative (!) rugby, supporters and players alike. It was a droopy-eyed team that got on the 1.5 hour train back to Victoria, but with a big win, it's safe to say that it was worth it.
To conclude, we really should have scored more tries as our team was having a great day and could have utilised the opportunities without performing penalties or knock-ons.
Key points for improvement:
Support the ball carrier - run at least as fast as she is!
Look where you pass as you pass.
A flat defensive line really means flat. As an iron board. Or the media sec's wallet.
Run forwards when you catch the ball!

Tries: Ally (2), Camille (2), Philippa (2), Emma H (1), Cathy (1), Amy C. (1)
Conversions: Liz (2)
Opposition's Player of the Match: Ana
Forward of the Match: Amy C.
Back of the Match: Philippa (who played as wing!)
Dick of the Day: Alice (for doing the most hilarious flop drop on an opposing player that left the media sec in tears from laughing)