The National Cup U16 Girls vs Pulborough.

Views from the Side line - a spectators journey into the world of U16 Hove Girls Rugby. The National Cup ( Hove v Pulborough ) at Home.

Forget the overnight weather and yesterday down pours, the early alert that only fixtures would take place and that we would keep the club bar and cafe open (phew!!!). The main message was that the game was on and we had to win convincingly, why? Simple -these results counted because these points would cascade upwards towards the RFU. A little bit of pressure then… so let’s take this another way… it can’t be easy to lose to a side 63-7 in the league and then face the same side a week later.

As a parent on the previously winning side, at home and with the club open.. all felt calm this morning. Ground soft, no rain, team out with their confidence high, the opposition team listening to some motivational pumping sounds and for some reason looking meaner and taller than last week. The whistle blew and ball high in the air…

As expected with such a well drilled Pulborough started their fight back with gusto and determination. The ground thundered with the weight of expectation and certainly this wasn’t the side that Hove faced last week. The first 10-12 minutes - because it took that long for the first try - felt like an extremely close contest. They defended well and absorbed pressure, breaking out and certainly making us put in some daring tackles. Had they switched their entire squad or brought in some ringers… I thought to myself.. small beads of sweat forming. .. it’s a funny thing being a Hove parent with such a dynamic team.. it takes about 3-4 tries before you start relaxing.

Action on the pitch, action off the pitch and a busy physio. The first half saw some great plays and tactics coming off - it’s one hell if a compliment when other parents and coaches comment that they can’t tell the difference between our backs and our forwards. We move the ball fast and definitely play to win. It’s not the size of the dog in a fight it’s the size of the fight in the dog after all. We ended the first half in a strong position with Pulborough yet to score. Were we heading for a repeat of last week?

It didn’t look like it … as Pulborough came charging at us. They started with the second half with fire, grit and passion with some pretty good rugby. Game on, more beads of sweat. One could hear our coaches ( all 5 of them ) yelling out from different sides of the field..wake up!

Pulborough mounted some considerable pressure on our 5 m lines which ended with them scoring but missed their conversion. Points on the board and a probable come back. More pressure, more effort, loads of rucks, scrums, battles and injuries.

Hove absorbed the pressure defended like they meant it and suddenly switched gear. The last quarter resulted in try after try and conversions. Final score 51 Hove - 5 Pulborough. A game of spirit, speed, defiance and delivery. As usual the coaches did an exceptional job and the Hove U16 Girls go from strength to strength. Stay humble but win anyway UTH.