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Millwall Venus XV Fullerians 68 Millwall Venus 5
Claire Rimmer, Trisha, Carmel Sheil, Vicky Lawrence, Toni Cummins, Lindsey Henshall, Jodie Botha, Trudie Clarke, Mandy, Sally Probett, Nicole Buts, Kasia, Special thanks to the three girls who came over and played for us. I apologise for not remembering your names but you were all excellent in the scrum.
Millwall Try
Jodie Botha (ME!!)
From a potential squad of 16 we ended up travelling to deepest darkest Watford with 12. Not the most encouraging starts to a game that I have to admit I was looking forward to, mainly from a doling out of hurting. My sinister plan to mercilessly track and destroy the oppositions prime evil player was knocked on the head when I was presented with the number 9 jersey. Nuts. Tracking the ball meant I had no opportunity to pursue my own dastardly plan, I'd actually have to play instead. I was cheered somewhat by the donation of 3 players from the opposition so we could play 15's. Fortunately they weren't Fullerians but rogue mercenaries out for a game, willing to sell their allegiance for a pint. I have to admit despite being a stern anti smoker I was cheered by Smoky lighting up in the warm up, certainly a true rugby player.
The game started and I was haunted with the knowledge that favourable comparisons to George Gregan would be entirely misplaced. Once I got into my stride a bit and realised that a moving scrum was actually easier to work with than a static I managed to feel a bit more like a scrum half. However, try's began to come and not from us. The score line doesn't reflect the game sadly. We actually played quite well and defended fairly well for most of the time. Sadly the opposition had all it's speed out wide and we had our less experienced players out wide which makes it harder to defend. Still everyone put in a good effort, it was just the determination of the opposition that meant they were going to put points on the board.
The second half started with captain Cumming's familiar cry of “let's have a try”. This time, instead of her providing the try herself one of her team mates and fellow Venus original provided. All I can say is that despite leaving it a bit late in the season to be top try scorer with two tries in two games I think my long standing try drought is over. I was seriously thinking about hypnotherapy to solve the problem but the fear of showing myself up in front of the lads seems to have done the trick more effectively and has been a lot cheaper too. I'm not quite sure what happened except one minute I'm bullying the maul from the line out, next thing I'm popping to Smoky and then following her and taking the ball back again and realising that if the Fullerians tiny winger stops me from scoring I'm going to puke with embarrassment. There was more than a tear and if I dwell on the congratulations of my team mates who've all committed to help me get rid of the mantle of “highest cap player without a try” this season then I'd weep again. That's the reason I play, the support and pride in all the girls playing a game they probably would never have dreamed of. It's beautiful. Sniff.
Sadly we took our foot off the pedal and more Fullerians try's followed fairly rapidly. We also started to get a bit frustrated with prime evil and her less than pleasant tackle avoidance. One day someone is going to play her better at the bullying game and I know she won't like it (I hit her hard in the home game and she did cry about it). Not only was her conduct appalling but having to watch her be rewarded with man of the match for her efforts was pretty tough to swallow, well that is if you could swallow after she had smacked you in the gullet.
Trisha put in a good effort in the second half once she got used to being passed the ball and got some confidence in running forwards. Similarly Kasia had a good couple of good little runs, perhaps next time someone needs to put a muzzle on Chico though. “Baby bear” is going to get roughed up now and again and I can't be her personal minder. Mandy developed a highly effective technique of tackling which involved running into the opposition. She toppled a fair few without even having to get her hands to them. Excellent work! The star of the day was undoubtedly Henshall who is in serious danger of becoming a rugby player. She was everywhere she needed to be and despite having to puke shortly before half time actually lasted the whole game. I also thank her for the donation of her shorts which I have to say I found pretty roomy, not sure why she doesn't need them anymore! The centre pairing of Sally and Nicole never really got a chance to get going which is I think a great shame. I think it has a lot of potential and hope it gets used more in the future.
On the negative, we squandered possession in the first half with poor handling and panic passing. Ownership of the ball was seriously lacking in the second half as we began to tire in what was a warm game. Defensively we allowed the wings to be drawn in and leave channels to become exposed but this is basics and can be corrected with confidence and practice.
Special thanks to the opposition scrum half who helped us by donating her physio skills despite being asked not to. Definitely more in the spirit of the game than others on the day.
A swift trip to the bar and it was team manager Claire's turn to collect her 25 th cap. It seems my 22 marshmallow record is going to stand for quite some time to come as no-one has come near it. Still it's good to see more girls getting their 25 th game as we draw to the end of our second season at Millwall. The race is on for the 50 th !
Mike Tyson prepares to make his debut at centre after hearing there is an outside centre that packs more “punch” than him . Click here to read the match reports from last season
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