Long Eaton U14s Girls 25 - Casuals U14s Girls 19

Two very evenly matched teams faced off at West Park on Sunday as Casuals Under 14s Girls were hosted for a local derby at Long Eaton. Due to injuries and several players being unavailable, we had many players in new positions that they weren't used to.

The first half saw Casuals take the lead early with a well worked team try finishing with Daisy stretching over the line. Much of the first half was characterised by big carries from the Casuals forwards and strong defensive work across the team. Some very strong counter-rucking from LE kept Casuals at bay, however, forcing several turnovers. The two teams went back and forth throughout the half with Long Eaton scoring twice, but Casuals heading into the half ahead thanks to a try from Phoebe that she then converted.

The second half saw a resurgence from Long Eaton with three tries spaced out across the half and Casuals finding it increasingly difficult to protect the ball at the ruck. Casuals did some effective counter-rucking of their own, but struggled to keep their opponents under pressure. A determined final attack over many phases saw Indie drive over for a try in the dying seconds. Evie OW converted the try to leave Casuals agonisingly close.

Overall it was a fantastic team performance that showed some brilliantly structured play from Casuals. Our thanks go out to Long Eaton for a characteristically close game played in the best spirit of rugby. We look forward to welcoming them back to Canalside in January for the return fixture!

Special mentions this week go to our Players of the Match, Orla and Indie - Orla for some amazing work at fullback, making several try saving tackles on very quick LE backs; and Indie for some brilliant ball carries that drove the defenders back. Also, a special mention goes to our TREDS Player of the Match, Poppy, for showing great leadership and teamwork throughout the game as well as putting in some devastating ball carries!

Finally, we have special mentions for Kayleigh, Beth, Eva and Millie who played for Long Eaton at various points during the match, to allow a full 15v15 match. All of them showed the best of the rugby values by giving their all no matter who they were playing for.