Today's PUP hosted by Longton saw the U12 Girls paired against Market Drayton. The game was played in three periods, two of 20 minutes and a final 10 minutes to round out the game. The team performance was fantastic and there were ever more phases of total rugby being produced. The girls are quickly becoming a tight knit group showing a cohesion that is impressive for a team who only started training together in September. Today's performance shows the hard work they are putting in at training is producing results. Each period of the game was hard fought and played at a very intense pace. Tries were run in at both ends and from Lichfield we saw defenders being drawn in and passes made to release players down the wings. Equally impressive was the tight game in the middle of the field which saw the girls taking the game to Market Drayton and fronting up physically. To have every single player score at least once was testament to how well the team worked together for the entirety of the match.

Led from the outset by Amelia whose her energy levels never once dropped throughout and repeatedly sought the smallest of gaps in the opposition defence to exploit. Eveie returned from injury to continue showing off her strength going forwards by dragging a lot of defenders in to create space outside for her team mates. Megan had another strong game on the wing and took the opportunities that came her way to show her speed and test the defence. Phoebe continued to break the defence with her strong direct running lines and came away with a hat trick of tries. Molly delivered on the other wing and had a number of breaks as she ran past defenders to take advantage of the space out wide. Ellamai yet again showed her versatility both in contact where she was hard to bring down but also her turn of speed to test the defence. Her five tries were all very well taken. Caitlin had an exceptional game and repeatedly took knocks and kept getting back up for more. She was an excellent link player releasing other girls to score on more than one occasion with her direct running and accurate passing. A well deserved player of the match!

Thanks to Longton RUFC for hosting and for all parents and guardians for bringing the players. Hopefully the rugby made the long afternoon worth it.