Kingston, Home (19-12 win)

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.