| Two Good Wins at Strathaven in NDL |
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| Tuesday, 12 February 2008 | |
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Oban Lorne Ladies RFC travelled to Strahtaven RFC on Sunday 10/2/08 to participate in another National Development League Fixture.
The weather was dry and sunny for once and the pitches in good condition. Other teams in attendance were Cartha,Morgan,RDVC and home side Strathaven. Due to various commitments,the Oban Ladies could only field 8 players and appeared to be dwarfed by the now much larger sides of Strathaven,Morgan and RDVC.However in the spirit of the NDL,Oban were accommodated and were to play their first match at 7 a side against Cartha. With Glasgow Hillhead Aloysius Ladies teams in difficulty,Cartha had inherited some of their players,which looked to be a very strong combination. Before their match the Oban Ladies studied the form of Cartha as they played Strathaven and were amazed to observe some unnecessary skirmishes and confrontations.One of the Strathaven girls sustained what appeared to be an unstable neck injury and was immobilised on the pitch awaiting evacuation. It was decided therefore that as the game was to be played at 7 aside then it would be played across the pitch with the halfway and 5 metre lines being the touchlines.Cartha were the first to make a break an one of their pacey players broke free from the ruck and was the first to score.Cartha made a few more speedy breaks but had forgotten about the 5m line being the touchline and took the ball into touch without realising it. Oban used the mauls well and with a combined gargantuan effort in particular from Lindsay MacDonald drove Cartha about 20 yards up the pitch and over the line.Unfortunately the ball was dropped just as it passed over the try line.Nippy scrum half Audrey Barr made a sneaky pick up from a ruck and sprinted over the line to score Oban's first try.Forwards Rochelle MacDougall,Lesley Whyte and Kate Ritchie used their strength to continue to hit the mauls,and make ground up the pitch. Two further amazing tried were scored by Donna Smith who was able to outsprint and dodge the opposition with a degree of class.After half time another try came from Dee Bradbury,as by this time the teams had changed ends and there was a noticeable downhill gradient to the advantage of the Oban team.Since the match was played across the pitch,no posts were available,and therefore no conversions taken. Final score:Oban 20,Cartha 5. After a lengthy break, the Oban girls were to play RDVC at 10 aside.Cartha had agreed to assist with lending players to augment the Oban team of 8.The combined team of Oban/Carth gelled well and it proved to be a very evenly matched game.RDVC benefitted from a strong pool of players.There was no score in the first half and in the second half of the game the weather deteriorated badly with the mist closing in fast and the light fading fast.It looked as though there would be no score in this contect until in literally the last 10 seconds,Donna Smith broke free from the pack and scored Oban's only try.Due to the fact that the posts had disappeared into the mist,the conversion was not successful. Final score Oban 5,RDVC 0. As usual Oban would like to express their gratitude to the Cartha players who volunteered to play for them. The National Development League table has not yet been updated ,but it is anticipated that the Oban Ladies are very near the top of the league.This is a tremendous achievement given the few numbers of players and the distances travelled to fixtures. Next NDL fixture will be on 2/3/08 at Stirling County. The one and only home fixture for the Oban ladies is on 30/3/08 at Glencruitten.Supporters are more than welcome.This will be preceded by a Youth Coaching course on 28/3/08 and Joint Foundation and Refereeing course on 29/3/08. Oban Ladies are very keen to hear from any females who may be interested in playing rugby,and training is held at Glencruitten,Friday nights,6-8pm. |
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