A complete freshers team came out in full force today against Royal Vets. We made metres when the ball was in our possession however a few breaks through our defensive line from the opposition put RVC a few tries up against our single try scored by our flyhalf Lottie. Nevertheless, we kept defending effectively with low tackles keeping the ball out of our try zone.

We were down 19-5 at half time and encouraging pep talk from our coach motivated us to keep going, the game was not over yet. Quick balls from the forwards and amazing carries from Kiera, Harry and Laura gave our organised back line the space they needed to get the ball out wide and score more tries from Lottie and Molly.

With less than 5 minutes to go we were still down by 4 points. A number of phases from the forwards put us on the opposition's 22 metre line and the backs did what they did best resulting in a third try from our amazing centre Molly !

​Well done to all the girls who played today, special mention to Lottie and Kasey for their responsibilities today and we wish RVC well for the rest of the season.

Forward of the match: Charlotte
Back of the match: Molly
Opposition's player of the match: Harry

​ 
On the 5th of November, KCL welcomed one of their old friends UCL on the Berrylands’ ground. The sun popped out exactly when our lionesses stepped on the pitch making this a hot affair, the crowd was ready for the show.
 
The game started off in UCL’s favour, kicking the ball towards Cecile’s direction who quickly caught it and ran straight to the opposition. Our scrummy Mina perfectly managed the calls and the forwards started attacking in a pretty strong way. Lock Nadia smashed through UCL defence making some good bits. Freshers Sophie and Zooni showed they were both unstoppable by destroying everything on their way.
 
Back-line coordinated really well with the forwards. Reagan was on fire, who knew one year ago today that she will be an amazing kicker, suprising us as always! It was also so good to have our Amy back on the pitch, running like sonii the hedgehog and making us proud. Lights on, Helen magical steps were as beautiful as Picasso’s art. Fresher Raphi beautifully stole the ball 2 meters away from UCL’s try line and passed it to Anya that scored her first try for KCLWRFC (many to come hehe). Center, Lottie also scored a try by hand offin’ every girl on her way and running half the pitch on her own!
 
Forwards’ practised their vocals in the scrums, Nadia and Cecile put those quads into action making the UCL step back. Su and Sofya had done a great job when it came to defence, stopping every UCL player with incredible tackles! Shout out to Rihannon, Ella and Cecile’s noodle arms for stealing every ball in the line outs. It was also good to see that our Captain Paz, retired wing, showed where she belonged, among forwards just smashing and having the time of her life.
 
Forward of the match: Zooni
Back of the match: Mina
Opposition's player of the match: Lottie

We were welcomed at Wimbledon rugby club for our first LUSL game of the season vs St George’s. The sun was shining and we were in high spirits ready to face our opponents. With the majority of our starting squad being freshers some girls were playing their first ever competitive rugby game but they did not let those nerves suppress them.

After a succession of phases, the ball was put over the line within minutes of the starting whistle by our very own captain. The gaps in St George’s defence meant that the backs could get creative with their set moves resulting in more tries by our flyhalf and centres.

Unfortunately we became a bit complacent which caused our concentration to drop allowing St George’s to score. However we quickly recovered and managed to get more girls new to rugby on the pitch playing their first game as well as mixing the back line around (Laura at centre, what??).

Forwards and backs worked equally together, making huge tackles, overturning rucks and making excellent carries. This bought the final score to 48-17 to King’s and it was well deserved.
​
Congrats to all the girls who played their first game and we wish St George’s all the best for the season.

Forward of the match : Nadia
Back of the match : Raph
Opposition's player of the match : Lottie

 
Our first game of the season took place at HOP this Saturday where our freshers and old girls confronted our lovely Alumni. Like every year, the Alumni started the game with confidence and challenged our team from the first seconds of the game. However, Captain Pazzy made sure that our current squad was on the same page, our eyebrows were on fleek and that’s when the show began.
 
 We started being more organised, our defence was stronger, newbies Nadia (4), Kasey (3) and Sophie (6) took Alumni right to the floor with amazing low tackles. When it was our time to attack, our fresher Molly (13) straight outta Merica surprised us with her strength and incredible runs. Uncontested scrums saved our forwards’ energy and hits were just getting bigger. Cheeky Laura (8) got out of the scrum slaying as always, made sure to keep the ball alive by passing down to Afaf (7) that made some braziu bits, hand-offin’ our lovely oldies and off-loaded the ball to Lottie (10) that simply smashed everything on her way, scoring her very first try for KCLWRFC. Alumni were impressed by our game and knew that the second-half was not going to be easy. That’s when our left wing, Amelia stormed down the pitch running like a cheetah which allowed us to score our second try. All our freshers showed real promising skills and perseverance throughout the game. Each of them added some spice in a unique way. We were all very proud of them!
 
After the match, the Joanne Smith Award for Dedication, Selflessness and Adversity in memory of alumni Alice and Emily Smith’s mother Joanne was handed in. The award was given to our current performance captain Jess Sparey. Joanne was immensely loved by the team and her support and kindness will continue to be part of the KCLWRFC spirit.
 
Finally, we won the title of “Most improved club” and social sec Reagan made sure the night-out was as good as the day we just had.
 
Joanne Smith Award for Selflessness, Dedication and Adversity: Jess.
Forwards of the match: Sophie.
Backs of the match: Amelia.
Opposition’s player of the match: Laura and Helen.
 
 

Hiii there,
Hope you all had a fantastic summer. It's now time to get back to uni with KCLWRFC !!
We will be at Freshers' Fair this Friday (22nd Sept, 11am-6pm) and Saturday (23rd Sept, 10am-5pm) at Barbican Center, so come say hi and meet the team! 
A word from the Prezzz ML: "We are all very excited for the new season and to welcome the new girls! Joining KCLWRFC was definitely the best decision I made at uni and I have no doubt that anyone who joins will feel the same way."
Important dates for the upcoming September Intake:

Sore, scraped, battered and bruised from Wednesday’s game (and our Friday weight session), the lionesses are on the prowl for a win against RVC. Although some of the team are suffering from injury, it’s nothing that meters of tape, a slather of deep heat and a sprinkling of banter can’t sort out. Come 2pm, we’re ready to smash.
 
King’s receive from the kick-off, and after a cheeky knock on, we compose ourselves and bring out the big guns for our scrummaging. Locks Afaf and Lucia put those squats into action and plough RVC backwards. Props Tash and Melissa decide to show RVC some muscle by mauling left right and centre! It’s absolute muscle mayhem.
 
Although we are raging bulls, RVC girls are also charging for a win – this is not going to be a walkover. RVC don’t make it easy for us in rucks and even manage to turn the ball over a couple of times. Our front row and American beauty, Joy, was not having any of this, and made sure that whenever she had the ball she came in like a wrecking ball.
 
Our team scientist, Chiara, left her cells for 80 minutes and put on her scrum-cap to score us some trys. Making it look easy, Chiara runs around pretty much every player that comes close to her, and pops the ball to our outside-centre, Marie-Lys, who proceeds to cha-cha-slide on the pitch to score her try.
 
Backs, Ree and Helen, give it the old razzle-dazzle, playing some solid rugby and of course, SCORING EVEN MORE TRYS. Captain Chloe converts almost every kick, but that’s not enough for her. Chlo takes a moment to think back to her footie days, then steps 3 players until she’s over the try-line. The cherry on top.
 
Scrummy, Emma, keeps the flow of the game going by digging through legs, boots and bums for sweet, sweaty victory. Emma passes the ball with every confidence to second row, Afaf, who takes no mercy and destroys anyone or anything in her path, often thinking fast and taking it blind down the wing.
 
With some great tackles and carries, Hooker, Harry, can’t keep her hands (or feet) off the ball and steals a good few of RVC’s balls in the scrum. When she’s not tearing up the back line, inside centre, Reagan, likes to dabble in a bit of flanking. Reagan isn’t afraid of getting involved in the action and loves to SMASH SMASH SMASH!!!
 
With a 59-5 score line, we were ready for a pint and some top-notch banter. There’s nothing like spending the day with your special friends.
 
Trys: Marie-Lys, Ree (2), Chiara (2), Chloe, Jess (2), Helen
Conversions: Chloe (7)
Opposition’s Player of the Match: Jess
Forwards of the Match: Afaf and Melissa
Backs of the Match: Ree and Chiara

(Credit to Social Sec and English Lit student Jess for this match report, left unedited to showcase her creative juices and high class banter) 
 

We returned to Berrylands for this nail-biting affair against the girls at Canterbury Christ Church College, and what an affair it was! Despite losing, with only one try in it, it was 'one the best games' the Ref or the opposition's coach had seen in a while! The hard-work and dedication we have put in as a team is outstanding, and the proof is in the pudding; it was only a few weeks ago that we lost to CCCC 27-0, showing just how far we've come in a relatively short amount of time. Lets get into the nitty gritty details of the game!

From the moment the whistle blew, kclwrfc started strong, dominating the pitch for the first half of the game. with an improved line speed, we flew up at the opposition causing them to fumble and allowing us to get our defensive gear in motion. Big tackles went in one after the other, and a special shout out to Mean Machine Joy and Capt. Chlo for their immense tackles. Defence stayed strong, leaving the opposition unable to make a considerable amount of ground. Once the ball was in our hands, we were on the attack from the get go. We carried the ball with confidence, and our 'pick and go's' were a thing of beauty, helping us to score the first try of the match! 

Of course CCCC came back with a vengeance in the second half, and despite our best measures in defence, they managed to slip through and score two tries. The final 10 minutes of the game were intense, with the ball remaining only a few metres from our try-line the entire time, and forward Rosie even managing to get the ball over the line and losing out due to it being held up. We persevered, continuously attempting to finally place the ball on the ground to even the score, however time was against us, and the whistle finally blew.

Regardless of the final score, we were in high spirits as the game ended due to the impressive quality of which we had played the match against a stellar competitor. With this, we hold our heads high and hope to continue playing with the same fierceness and skill as we showed in this exciting match. 

Oppositions Player of the Match: Chloe
Forward of the Match: Sarah 
​Back of the Match: Helen 

On this surprisingly sunny Wednesday in October we achieved our first win of the season; hurrah!! What's even better than that? We beat last year's league winners! Supported by our fellow team members and alumni, (Tara you babe), who made their way down to Berrylands despite being injured (we love you all), the team showed some of the greatest teamwork to date, with us winning an incredibly intense match! 

The game started off in our favour, with a strong push up against our competitors and an impressive defensive line, causing us to dominate the pitch for the first half of the game. Scrums stayed strong throughout the game, with us winning all of ours and even stealing theirs! Sussex increased the pressure in the second half and really gave us a run for our money, making this one of the most physical games we've played. However the girls showed immense perseverance with the forwards making strong tackles and the backs creating some great lines and scoring our winning try! 

In the last quarter of the game we held our own and stuck to the set plays despite Sussex's determination to score, and we have never been more grateful to hear a whistle blow! Phew! One of our hardest games to date, but we put up a fight and the win was one of the sweetest we've tasted. A big thank you to the Sussex team for a great game and for the amazing photographs of all of us in action! 

Tries: Chiara (1), Thiviya (1), Marie-Lys (1), Harriet (1) 
Conversions: Chloe (1)
Forward of the match: Melissa 
Back of the match : Chiara 
Oppositions player of the match: Chloe 

Credit to Al Craig for the photos!