Millwall Venus XV

28th January 2007

Millwall Venus 7 Aylesford 24

Match report by Jodie Botha

George (Greekette), Jodie “Cyclops” Botha, Rimmer, Mistress Masi, Vicky Lawrence, Sharky, Antonia Branston, Toni “safety first” Cummins, Jo Richardson, Claire Higgins, Nicole “steam roller” Butts, Rachel “unlucky for some” Dipper, Mandy “another yank” Williams, Sarah “Private NHS” Hills, Trudie Clark

Millwall Try: Trudie Clark

Conversion: Toni Cummins

Special thanks to the support from:

Mr Masi, Brian “let's sort it out Venus”, Wiggy and John the Greek (sorry if I forgotten anyone), Sally “these boots were made for walking”, and of course Sean and Eoin.

I have to admit I was at a loss as to why we had doggedly insisted on playing a match. Surely the find that our proposed fixture against Ashford was a figment of our fixtures secretary's imagination should have been a case of amazing serendipity. Apparently not, a fixture with Thurrock was then hastily arranged only for them to pull out almost straight away. Anyway, Aylesford came to the rescue and I was led to wonder if all the cancellations were a bad omen when we couldn't leave the farm due to the red minibus door refusing to shut.

As a training type friendly we opted for 15 minute quarters and kicked off to the opposition, gamely chasing them from the off. It was apparent from the start that it was a different game from last weeks with a more organised and committed effort at the breakdowns. The benefits of this are apparent in the score line. Unfortunately I got smacked in the eye and lost a contact lens after about five minutes and had to play one-eyed for the remainder although it has been suggested that this improved my line out throwing mysteriously.

We lost Sarah Hills in the second quarter to injury which was a real loss given the tackles around the fringes she was putting in was a bit of a worry, who knows what the score had been had she not been crocked. Still, the rest of the team were making a better effort than normal in the contact area – bizarrely after a non-contact training session too.

Half time saw a change in the backs line up and this saw greater attacking opportunities for Nicole and her powerful attacking runs. The girl is a legend with her fearless ploughing through the opposition. I don't think she's ever been successfully tackled by less than two players, although more frequently by three. The try, coming in the last phase of play saw Trudie capitalising on a mess on the oppositions try line to steam through and drop on the loose ball. It was duly converted by Toni – anxious to keep her point scoring monopoly.

Although still a bit lazy in loose play the forwards had a better game and are beginning to show signs of maturing into a decent pack. Flankers Sharkey and Antonia really showed the advantages of having flankers with some quick decisive cutting runs.

The scrums were more difficult this week with the opposition clearly being experienced and strong in this field. My aching shoulders and neck (even on Tuesday) bear witness to the struggle that was going on although I am proud of my successful two-footed hook to win one against the head. We were rewarded for our patience in the scrums when the ref awarded us a penalty for the oppositions driving before the put in, the new scrum rules really taking it's toll on the stronger scrummers and their natural desire for a now illegal bit hit.

Masi proved her worth again in the line out as a receiver and a disrupter. The pack looked more confident generally in the line out and securing the ball although I would like to see a little bit quicker action in getting the ball out as at present we are giving the opposition too long to get organised and this does not help us when facing a side with more experience than us.

The whistle went after Cummin's conversion and while it may not have been a win it was a much-needed good game after the recent disappointments. Next stop – the Harlow double header. I'm sure Dipper will be putting us all on our best behaviour when driving down with her “boys” – she's such a spoilsport these days.

An Artists prediction of the forthcoming Venus and the Llamas road trip.

Click here to read the match reports from last season