3/5/13

Women’s Rugby

Chloe Edwards

As this was the third annual Ladies Day competition, everyone attending knew what to expect- a lot of banter, laughs and good fun had by all, whilst trying to master sports that most individuals had stopped playing after Year 11 for a reason. With hockey, lacrosse, netball, football and touch rugby on offer, the skill sets required for the day were very broad and it would be a battle to see who wouldn’t lose by the most.

Touch rugby is probably the sport attempted on Ladies Day that is furthest from the sport normally played at Weetwood on a Wednesday afternoon. With the game lacking scrums, line-outs and tackles, anyone could play this version, however, it didn’t really work out in the rugby’s favour. The skill level shown by a lot of the competitors was a happy surprise with a quick grasp of the rules and many a girl looking strong with the ball in hand. Everyone gave it their best shot and played really well (five rugby girls managed to push back 14 netball girls).

This day always proves to be great; with competitiveness and rivalries between sports becoming more apparent as they are given props such as lacrosse and hockey sticks to show off with, things can get a bit messy, however the spirit is always the same – everyone is there to have fun and enjoy the sunshine.

A big thank you goes out from the rugby girls to the netballers who organised the event in particular Georgia Bostock for her time and effort in making this year’s ladies day just as amusing as previous years.

Nick Gandy

Sports Editor

As an outsider viewing this event one cannot help but be impressed by the sheer number of people taking part in a charity tournament so close to exams.

The whole tournament was in honour of Emma Sumaria, a member of Hockey who sadly passed away last year. All participants made donations to epilepsy charities in her honour and over £150 was raised in her memory.

The casual nature of the day did nothing to calm down the competitive nature of these girls. Admittedly when Football and Hockey were tied together in the touch rugby the rugby girls were quick to offer the rules and some guidance but quick to punish their ignorance when they came to play them.

The entire day was a great show of talent and force from all teams involved but in the end one team had to win.

Hockey gave Lacrosse a bit of schooling with their quick mastery of the game, they didn’t quite beat the most successful team in the Union but they give them more of a scare than most University teams can.

Netball came out as overall victors of the competition, a fitting reward for the perseverance it must have taken for them organise.

This was not the first year that Ladies Day has graced the Weetwood pitches and with the high quality of sport, and indeed fun, that was experienced on Wednesday we can all hope that it won’t be the last.