PICTURE GALLERY: Stratford Ladies' Super Sunday tournament
STRATFORD Ladies coach Richard Pepperell hailed his team’s defensive effort as they hosted a Super Sunday tournament at Pearcecroft last weekend.
The Black and Whites hosted 11 teams on a sweltering day which saw an excellent standard of touch rugby on show.
While Stratford’s defence proved rock solid, Pepperell was left frustrated after his side failed to turn their possession into points.
They narrowly missed out on the Bowl prize on the day and Pepperell said: “Our placing was not a fair reflection of our success.”
“Every single member worked hard and gave it their all. The team all played well, the play looked structured and that is the best defensive team effort I have seen them play.
“Our biggest problem was not scoring enough tries and not converting enough of our possession to points.
“Three tries in five games is disappointing and not how the season has gone so far.”
The 11-strong squad, under the captaincy of Bec Charles, faced Balsall Coventrians in their opener.
For the first time this season, having been put through a tougher warm-up, Stratford were ready to play and won their first match.
A training ground move in the 5m ‘stand-off’ situation saw Rachel Browne open the team account.
Coventrians equalised before a lovely team move put Jessie Darling over for Stratford’s second to make it 2-1.
Next they faced Pershore, a strong team that under-performed at the last meeting.
Stratford played well bar a couple of breakaways from one fast player.
The attacking play was solid to get within reach of the try line but Stratford were unable to add to the scoresheet, losing 2-0.
The final game was against Bredon and Stratford again failed to capitalise on their chances as they slipped to a 3-0 defeat.
This saw Stratford finish third in the pool and they went on to play Old Laurentians and Ledbury for the Bowl.
Stratford played the better rugby and this time were able to convert a chance into a second try of the day for Browne.
They were put under pressure and played excellent defensive rugby to claim a 1-0 victory.
Ledbury were next and while the defensive display remained strong, the visitors grabbed the chance they were given to edge the contest 1-0.
Old Laurentians went on to beat Ledbury 3-1, which secured them the Bowl.
“We need to work on our composure and not try to force moves in the wrong part of the pitch,” Pepperell added.
“One real positive was that the extra fitness that the ladies have been undertaking showed. Our intensity did not drop off all day, despite the heat.”
Player of the tournament went to Rachel Browne for her consistent high standard of play and her game awareness.
There is now a summer break for the Midlands Ladies Touch League, with the next tournament on 9th September at Redditch.
Meanwhile, Wellesbourne were celebrating after being crowned as overall winners of the tournament.
Having topped their pool in the group stages, Bourne finished level with their rivals after claiming one win and suffering one defeat. However, Bourne finished on top thanks to a greater number of tries scored.
A nervous start against a young Ledbury, but an equal match, saw the score 0-0 at half-time following a disallowed try for Bourne.
A determined Bourne replied in the second half with a race down the touchline from squad newcomer Natalie Monaghan and a try in the corner.
Jacqui Dyer and Katherine Holian made some fantastic touches preventing the advance, and the solid defence was held, resulting in a 1-0 victory.
Drybrook were our next opponents, who quickly scored from the outset to set the tone for the match.
Once again, Bourne responded triumphantly with a scoop through the middle from Claire Davis, with Rachel Kendall in support with the touchdown to equal the score.
Jackie Proctor and Carol Fletcher were a force to be reckoned with in defence, enabling the squad to hold the score at a draw for some time, with the next try finally arriving from Monoghan to add to her tally, securing Bourne another win.
Wellesbourne topped the pool group stages and would play against the other top performing teams from the league.
First up were an experienced Bredon. Claire Davis as always showed consistent performance and landed her first, and well deserved, try of the tournament.
After conceding two tries, and needing something special, some excellent teamwork on a fast drive in their own half between Cathy Young and Amy Esposito, allowed Rose to scoop through the opposition resulting in a touch down for Young. Bredon once again replied with a try, taking the lead again.
Young continued to demonstrate her presence on the pitch refusing to allow them a further lead, chasing a player down the length of the pitch and making the touch right on the tryline. Bourne ran out of time to reply, with the end result an unfortunate 3-2 loss
The final match would be with previous tournament winners Camp Hill. Both squads were strong, but the first try came from Bourne. Catriona Rollason ran an excellent line and popped inside to Rose for the first touchdown.
Soon came another excellent dummy from Davis resulting in Dorothy Bartlett, whose defensive work had prevented many teams from scoring throughout the games, landing her first and deserved try of the day.
Camp Hill responded on both occasions with the score in the final few minutes at 2-2. With some quick thinking from Davis and Rose, and an excellent show of teamwork, communication and ball skills, they achieved the winning try.
