Within King's College London, the infamous King's vs. Medics (GKT) rivalry goes back a century or so. Thankfully, we could claim the victory for the third year in a row with a massive 36-5 win! The boys had had a close and intense game earlier, where they narrowly won, so we could definitely feel the pressure as we fought to keep our title.
We quickly made ground by punching through defense and got off to a good start with two tries by Amy C., one of them scored like this.
After this, GKT started to get back in the game and gave us some solid opposition, but we kept the pressure and forced knock-ons and bad passes from them. This gave us the chance for a great push in the scrum, where we managed to turn over some of their balls - one of them at their own try line, where the back line quickly realigned and the ball went out to Emma H to score.
As the last game of the season (and for some of us, last for King's), our eagerness to play began to show as we conceded many, many penalties (one of which was our very ex-Captain, Ms Lynn Januszewski - deserved Dick of the Day!). After 4 in a row, this meant that GKT challenged us at our own try line, but we stepped up our defense, kept the composure, turned over the ball and worked our way back. 
When slow ball, GKT were quick to engage in a maul, which probably was the only thing where they did have the upper hand. Hence, went back to structured game plan instead of quick ball. In the second half, we kept it wider and changed the point of attack more so as to keep the speed and aggression. This worked really well and in the last 20 minutes we were all over their try line, working incessantly, tiring the defense and scoring time and time again (Amy S., Hannah, Becky... you know who you are!). They did manage to sneak one around us, as we thought Hannah had scored another try, but the ref called knock-on while we were already celebrating. Ouch! But a good chase by Lucy, Emma H and Jas.
All in all, this was an awesome game where we played great rugby to all our strengths. Two things did make it bittersweet: Saying goodbye to our amazing leavers, Amy, Amy, Georgina, Katie, Jasmine, Gabbie, Philippa, Helena, Hannah, Hailey, Hanna and Fatima. Second, after the game it was announced that Zayn had just left One Direction. Tears were shed for both, but it didn't put a stopper for us to celebrate accordingly. We were in amazing spirit as we made our way to Walkabout in our scrubs fancy dress (where the old committee won the boat race - HA!).

Thanks for an amazing season - it's been a pleasure writing your match reports!
 - Celina, outgoing Media Sec.

Tries: Amy C. (2), Amy S. (1), Hannah (1), Becky (1), Emma H (1)
Conversions: Liz (3)
Player of the Match (Oppo): Liz
Back of the Match: Lucy
Forward of the Match: Amy S.
Dick of the Day: Lynn for getting SIN BINNED!
KCLWRFC is proudly sponsored by KPMG.

For this Wednesday's BUCS game, spring had finally come to Berrylands and moods were great during the warm-up. Of course, an annoying surprise had to sneak in as we found out that Brighton had only brought 12 players against our full squad. On top of this, they had requested an uncontested scrum. ARGH! 
As a result, first half was quite disrupted and patchy, as losing flankers and fullback made us a bit unsure of where to place ourselves on the pitch. A few opposition players did not play very nicely and they received many penalties for high tackles. Nonetheless, we scored three tries comfortably by powering through defense and pumping the legs as best as we could. It often took more than three defenders to take us down and even then, forwards had made their way to the try line and scored neatly - Amy and Lynn shoutout! When we used this technique and sucked in the defense, the back line had great space to unfold.
Here, Ana had gone to 10 in the absence of Becky and Claire, where she performed impressively. The back line was composed and speedy despite shortages and a foreign set-up (pun intended) and few balls were lost once it went into hands. In collaboration with a quick run from Philippa, two tries were scored this way.
Support play was great compared to previously, after a (muddy and wet) focus session last Monday. Off-loads and quick support for rucks worked better and we went further because of it. 
The last bit of the game was particularly enjoyable, as our prop captain Lynn went to 10 (previously only a joke, but no more!). Confidently, I can say that Becky and Claire have serious competition for the fly-half position.
Special shout-out to media sec and scrum-half for box-kicking the ball to touch (for the first time ever!!!) from our 22, which surely and most definitely took a great try opportunity away from Brighton.
Key improvements to take away from the game is to maintain the defense and trusting each other to make the tackle.

Photos by Becky.

Tries: Philippa (2), Lynn (1), Amy S. (1)
Conversions: Liz (2)
Opposition's PotM: Amy S.
Forward of the Match: Tara
Back of the Match: Ana
Dick of the Day: Lynn for finally realising her lifelong dream of playing fly-half.
KCLWRFC is proudly sponsored by KPMG.

Finally, our first BUCS game of 2015 after a couple of reschedules and frozen pitches. We have had trainings instead so we really felt the need to kickstart again with all we have been working on and to unleash our inner lionesses by some good old tackling.
The last time we went all the way to Brunel University we lost by quite a lot, so it was a thrill to return to central London with this big a victory, almost matching our 2014 Macadam win.

The first half started out with great confidence as we broke the game line continuously across the board and we scored within few minutes. Big breaks were made and maintained, and it often took more than 3 opposition players to take us down because of our momentum. We also had the chance to try what we had practiced in training as Brunel weren't very aggressive in ruck or defense, so ball possession was ours through most of the game.

Because we were constantly on the attacking side, our energy was conserved for the second half, where we tried more creative back line balls. Brunel did gain considerable ground on us, mostly because of a nippy fullback, who sneaked in a try at one point (though we mostly managed to chase her down - shoutout to winger Helena!). We did otherwise defend strongly at our own try line and managed to turn over a ball, run it down the pitch and score a solid try - that's how we like it! We maintained cool heads and reminded ourselves of not doing a 'Wales' by throwing it all away in the second half as seen in the Six Nations match last week ...

Brunel were not as composed as we had experienced in our game against them in November, which did mean that we could get away with some minor weaknesses. The key improvements to take from this game is clearing out and securing rucks, not drifting and trusting each other to do our jobs in defense and attacks - some gained ground was lost because we became rushed in our euphoria and didn't pass the ball out, which really is too bad!

At the end of the day, the list of try scorers is nicely spread out across the squad, which really shows that our performance was a shining beacon of team play and effort. Everyone truly had a great game and picking Players of the Match was extremely hard, as our Captain said afterwards.

Tries: Liz (2), Claire (1), Amy S. (1), Philippa (1), Helen (1), Helena (1), Hannah (1), Camille (1)
Conversions: Liz (4)
Oppo Player of the Match: Liz
Forward of the Match: Helen
Back of the Match: Cathy
Dicks of the Day: Claire for scoring her first try and Ana (who wasn't even playing) for running onto the pitch to congratulate her and jumped into her arms headfirst, receiving a bloody nose.
KCLWRFC is proudly sponsored by KPMG.

We are always happy to play a great match, this time against our friendly neighbourhood rivals, LSE, who are awesome girls with great spirit for the game (as opposed to their male counterparts, cough cough).
There was clear dominance from KCL squad from the beginning, despite our minuscule squad. We were edging on 17 players because of a few injuries, RFU development sessions and some players actually having a life apart from rugby (did we teach you nothing!?). So without throwing the term around lightly, the first 20 minutes was a breeze for KCL, smashing and pacing as best as we could. Amy C. scored within few minutes and Helen echoed shortly afterwards. Next, LSE began to gain more confidence and less fear of our massive forwards pack and were able to challenge us at our own try line.
Hannah and Camille did a great joint try just before second half. Particularly wingers had a strong game, since LSE's defense was lax and not very spread. This paved way for back line, forwards and scrum-half to utilise Cathy, Emma H and Helena, who had a chance to show off their strength and agility and made many metres. Quote Helena: 'This is the most fun game I've played in years!'. 
Support play was much better, especially in the first 20 minutes. We have established and trained a great back row which, despite a few changes because of injuries, were continuously rucking, supporting the backs and the tight five ball carriers, of whom Helen and Amy C. stood out (or, as LSE called her, 'the black eye'). Despite an illegal LSE try (YOU CAN'T ROLL AND SCORE AFTER BEING TACKLED, REF!!!!!!! - sincerely, tackling media sec), we stayed on top of our game and finished the match with Captain Lynn neatly laying down the law with a great try.
Everyone played excellently and to their strengths. I can confidently say that almost all positions have been opened for competition after today's match as many played above expectations. Shout-out to LSE for suggesting the match, for being great sports and fun to play.

Photos by Hailey, match report by Celina (who finally got some action shots of herself - thanks, Hailey!).

Tries: Amy C. (1), Helen (1), Hannah (1), Lynn (1)
Opposition's PotM: Amy C.
Forward of the Match: Helen
Back of the Match: Cathy
Dick of the Day: Coach Nat for 'accidentally' putting a 16th player, Bethan, on the pitch, only to carry her off because of injury approximately 30 seconds after kick-off.
KCLWRFC is proudly sponsored by KPMG.

For RVC, we had to battle all the elements: post-Christmas fitness, remote location halfway to Cambridge and the immense cold of the North.
The game started with a clear dominance from KCL and a thirst for a win which paid off after 10 minutes. Strong forwards game smashed through the game line repeatedly and Amy S. was quick to notice a gaping hole in RVC's defense, placing a solid try.
RVC was not one to go down without a fight and posed a real challenge to us for the remainder of the first half, pushing us to our own try line. The lack of fitness started to show as RVC was very aggressive in the ruck and we were not. That's definitely something to work on in the new year (along with general fitness). This did mean that we lost the ball quite a lot compared to what we should have, even though we were clearly the dominating and ball-carrying team. The muddiest pitch of the season did not help the least. By half-time, the score was 7-5. 
We had lots of changes in the scrum and later uncontested, which made it difficult to achieve the stability that we're used to from our scrummage, as always. Despite this, when we did have momentum, we absolutely powered through, forwards and backs alike. Particularly the backs had an awesome game, dominating the score line and the breaks in the second half. Speed, composure and pressure paired with decisiveness made awesome impact. Ana successfully laid down the ball after a rehearsed backs move (the first time it ever worked - yay!). Similarly, Hannah (just returned from the colonies) quickly picked up a dropped RVC ball and was at the try line in three easy steps, effectively ending the game.
A great game with great weather, great view and a great start to 2015.

Tries: Amy S. (1), Ana (1), Hannah (1)
Conversions: Liz (2)
Opposition's Player of the Match: Jas (as she had gone on honeymoon, Celina graciously and gratefully took one for the team)
Forward of the Match: Lynn
Back of the Match: Ana
Dick of the Day: Amy S. for scoring her very first try.
KCLWRFC is proudly sponsored by KPMG.

First of all: We never deserved a win more.
Secondly, this was a game which emphasised our flaws, the opposition's strengths and came down to stupid mistakes.
We knew we needed to win in order to advance, so we came very early, prepared, super focused and concentrated on the last game of the term and the biggest yet. Compared to previous games, both warm-up, training and match was characterised by composure, resoluteness and concentration. 
As the game commenced, we quickly moved to RH's try line, effectively surprising the strong  squad and scoring within 10 minutes. The concentration and lack of panic meant a clinical try quickly laid down by Philippa and we were over the moon. But unbeaten Royal Holloway are not used to losing and would not go down without a fight. Their constant push in the scrum, defense and ruck meant that while we had ball possession 70% of the game, we could not utilise our chances probably. An offload gone wrong meant that Holloway's super quick 15 made a run to our try line and evened the score line.
As mentioned, ball possession was ours constantly and we had no injuries, compared to RH, so we really should have utilised our opportunities to flip the result our way.
At the end of the game, we were at their try line, received a penalty and tried to land it, but unfortunately was held up. This end mirrored the entire match: A clear dominance from KCL, which was almost there but not quite, though enough to give unbeaten Royal Holloway the scare of the season.

Special mention and thanks to Ally and Maighread for playing for and with us this half term. You guys have made such a huge and positive impact on the team, how will we survive without you?

Tries: Philippa (1)
Oppositions Player of the Match: Alice
Forward of the Match: George
Back of the Match: Becky
Dicks of the Day: Our study abroads Ally and Maighread who are leaving us to go back to Washington D.C. and Liverpool, respectively. MAJOR DICKS!
KCLWRFC is proudly sponsored by KPMG.

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.

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.