Ireland 0 England 56
THERE was to be no consolation for the defeat at Lansdowne Road at Stradbrook yesterday, where Ireland's women rugby players were routed by a talented England team that ran in ten tries. The Ireland supporters can be relieved only that England's all-round excellence was not matched by their goalkicking.
There were no weak links in the England side. Their mobile pack was able to lay on a stream of possession and, with Jo Yapp and Sue Appleby calling the shots with authority at half back, Ireland's defence was stretched constantly by the incisive running of the England threequarters. The lineout was also a disaster area for Ireland, so much so that kicking to touch was tantamount to handing possession over to England.
England were out of sight at the end of the first quarter, when Nicky Crawford had scored two tries and Chris Diver, Sue Day and Yapp had also crossed. The second half was equally shattering as England ran in five tries, courtesy of Day, with two, Nicky Ponsford, Jayne Molyneux and Teresa O'Reilly.
SCORERS: England: Tries: N Crawford 2 (2min, 6), C Diver (16), S Day 3 (19, 48, 74), J Yapp (38), N Ponsford (45), J Molyneux (53), T O'Reilly (78). Conversions: T Collins, V Huxford, C Frost.
Copyright (C) The Times, 1999
Source Citation
Johnston, Karl. "England's women deny Irish any consolation; Rugby Union." Times [London, England] 8 Mar. 1999
Showing posts with label International. Show all posts
Showing posts with label International. Show all posts
Monday, 8 March 1999
Friday, 26 February 1999
England's women rugby players have to beg for time off work to play for their country
The Spice Girls have a lot to answer for. Mention Girl Power and the images which spring to mind - certain minds anyway - are Geri's patriotic little number at the Brit Awards and Scary's tongue. Which is distinctly unfair on those 15 genuine Sportys, otherwise known as the England women's rugby team, putting their less famous bodies on the line for their country this weekend for less than the price of a free CD.
Never let it be said that all English international rugby players lead privileged lives. What would the national reaction have been had Martin Johnson prepared for last weekend's Calcutta Cup match by climbing mountains in the Lake District and paying his own way to Twickenham? Or if Mike Catt walked his neighbours' dogs to help with the rent?Their female equivalents have been doing precisely that this week, without a murmur of complaint. Every rolling maul at the Athletic Ground in Richmond, where England face Scotland on Sunday, will involve a role model for the women's game.
Take Teresa Andrews, the lock, winning her first cap at the age of 22. A talented athlete, she is one of the new faces being drafted in with an eye to the 2002 World Cup. Over six feet tall with pace befitting a former schoolgirl hurdler, she has all the physical attributes but her staggering commitment is what really gives the game away.
Her job as a trainee instructor at an outdoor centre near Coniston Water owned by the University of Birmingham necessitates whole days spent literally up hill and down dale, followed by evening training sessions at her club, Waterloo, which is over two hours' drive away. A fresh arrival on the England scene, she has yet to receive a penny in financial help and has to beg time off at weekends.
'I'll have to work every weekend after all this is over, but it's worth it,' she insists.
At least all that yomping must keep her fit?
'It's the wrong sort of fitness; walking up a mountain slowly doesn't give you the sort of power you need.'
The only Amazons in Lakeland used to be those contained within the pages of Arthur Ransome's Swallows And Amazons; these days they are for real.
Andrews's story is instructive all round. The daughter of an English father and Danish mother, she grew up in a completely 'non-sporty family. The only person they could find who might have been was a great aunt who died falling off a mountain.'
Until 1995 she had never played rugby. On Sunday she will share an England dressing-room with players of the stature of Gill Burns and Emma Mitchell, both involved at the inaugural World Cup in 1991.
Burns, 34, has been England captain for five years - 'I feel like I'm nearing the end' - and made her debut back in 1988. Her fairytale moment came in 1994 as a member of the World Cup-winning side which, all too briefly, generated as much nationwide publicity as New Zealand's triumph in Amsterdam last year did on the other side of the globe.
Burns has seen the game come on in leaps and bounds since 1988. 'It's just not recognisable. Watching the videos now . . . well, it isn't laughable but we've come on so much. We were really cross-country runners, athletes and hockey players who had come together and were trying to learn a new game.'
As with the men, the road ahead is paved with fitness targets. Rex Hazeldine has been offering advice from Loughborough and the WRFU's performance director Carol Isherwood confirms that Lottery funding of Pounds 200,000 will help towards, for example, gym fees, kit and physiotherapy. There is still a way to go. The England squad will only gather tomorrow, just 24 hours before playing the Scots, who beat them last year.
This is the first fully fledged women's Five Nations Championship, yet England have not played any com- petitive rugby since their 4411 defeat against New Zealand in the World Cup semi-finals last April.
Isherwood also reports difficulties in persuading employers to release players, even when their costs are all reimbursed.
'We have to change the way that people look at sport in this country,' she adds.
And that includes, as ever, the opposite sex. Are men still sceptical?
'Yeah, in a word,' says the Saracens and England fly-half Susie Appleby, currently walking other people's dogs prior to starting a job with the Metropolitan Police. Her father, Northumberland's representative on the Rugby Football Union committee, turns out to be an enlightened 'Old Fart' and she is working on the rest.
'There's still the old school that say women shouldn't play rugby. I don't know if they'll ever change. All I say to them is: come and watch a game.'
Andrews reports an equally mixed reaction.
'I've got a few rugby-playing male friends who are impressed. But you also get: 'Is it proper tackling, proper pitch, kit as well?' '
A few 'girlie' stories do still surface. The England A lock Linda Uttley was introduced to the game through a chance remark in her local hairdresser's; last year a second-row playing for Eastern Suburbs in Sydney complained of back pains after a game and was found to be pregnant.
Motherhood and rugby are scarcely perfect bedfellows, so three cheers for Maxine Edwards, mother of a six-year-old, who props for England A in Sunday's curtain-raiser. Could childbirth be any more demanding than playing in the front row?
'I said that,' laughs her team-mate Nicky Goodwin, 'but everyone goes: 'It's nothing like it, shut up'.'
But there is a serious side as the women's game approaches the next century, namely how much extra training young women, already juggling busy careers and social lives, can be asked to do for a sport which may leave them richer in body and soul but nowhere else.
'That's a problem for all international sports for women,' says Burns, a PE teacher. 'It's ridiculous, really, but I think most of the girls who play international rugby actually go to work in order to play. There are big sacrifices but, if people aren't prepared to make them, they're not committed enough.'
Posh and her mates would last five seconds, max.
Source Citation
"The poor woman's Five Nations: Forget overpaid pros, England's women rugby players have to beg for time off work to play for their country. Robert Kitson joins the former World Cup champions in preparation for Sunday's first Five Nations encounter with Scotland." Guardian [London, England] 26 Feb. 1999
Never let it be said that all English international rugby players lead privileged lives. What would the national reaction have been had Martin Johnson prepared for last weekend's Calcutta Cup match by climbing mountains in the Lake District and paying his own way to Twickenham? Or if Mike Catt walked his neighbours' dogs to help with the rent?Their female equivalents have been doing precisely that this week, without a murmur of complaint. Every rolling maul at the Athletic Ground in Richmond, where England face Scotland on Sunday, will involve a role model for the women's game.
Take Teresa Andrews, the lock, winning her first cap at the age of 22. A talented athlete, she is one of the new faces being drafted in with an eye to the 2002 World Cup. Over six feet tall with pace befitting a former schoolgirl hurdler, she has all the physical attributes but her staggering commitment is what really gives the game away.
Her job as a trainee instructor at an outdoor centre near Coniston Water owned by the University of Birmingham necessitates whole days spent literally up hill and down dale, followed by evening training sessions at her club, Waterloo, which is over two hours' drive away. A fresh arrival on the England scene, she has yet to receive a penny in financial help and has to beg time off at weekends.
'I'll have to work every weekend after all this is over, but it's worth it,' she insists.
At least all that yomping must keep her fit?
'It's the wrong sort of fitness; walking up a mountain slowly doesn't give you the sort of power you need.'
The only Amazons in Lakeland used to be those contained within the pages of Arthur Ransome's Swallows And Amazons; these days they are for real.
Andrews's story is instructive all round. The daughter of an English father and Danish mother, she grew up in a completely 'non-sporty family. The only person they could find who might have been was a great aunt who died falling off a mountain.'
Until 1995 she had never played rugby. On Sunday she will share an England dressing-room with players of the stature of Gill Burns and Emma Mitchell, both involved at the inaugural World Cup in 1991.
Burns, 34, has been England captain for five years - 'I feel like I'm nearing the end' - and made her debut back in 1988. Her fairytale moment came in 1994 as a member of the World Cup-winning side which, all too briefly, generated as much nationwide publicity as New Zealand's triumph in Amsterdam last year did on the other side of the globe.
Burns has seen the game come on in leaps and bounds since 1988. 'It's just not recognisable. Watching the videos now . . . well, it isn't laughable but we've come on so much. We were really cross-country runners, athletes and hockey players who had come together and were trying to learn a new game.'
As with the men, the road ahead is paved with fitness targets. Rex Hazeldine has been offering advice from Loughborough and the WRFU's performance director Carol Isherwood confirms that Lottery funding of Pounds 200,000 will help towards, for example, gym fees, kit and physiotherapy. There is still a way to go. The England squad will only gather tomorrow, just 24 hours before playing the Scots, who beat them last year.
This is the first fully fledged women's Five Nations Championship, yet England have not played any com- petitive rugby since their 4411 defeat against New Zealand in the World Cup semi-finals last April.
Isherwood also reports difficulties in persuading employers to release players, even when their costs are all reimbursed.
'We have to change the way that people look at sport in this country,' she adds.
And that includes, as ever, the opposite sex. Are men still sceptical?
'Yeah, in a word,' says the Saracens and England fly-half Susie Appleby, currently walking other people's dogs prior to starting a job with the Metropolitan Police. Her father, Northumberland's representative on the Rugby Football Union committee, turns out to be an enlightened 'Old Fart' and she is working on the rest.
'There's still the old school that say women shouldn't play rugby. I don't know if they'll ever change. All I say to them is: come and watch a game.'
Andrews reports an equally mixed reaction.
'I've got a few rugby-playing male friends who are impressed. But you also get: 'Is it proper tackling, proper pitch, kit as well?' '
A few 'girlie' stories do still surface. The England A lock Linda Uttley was introduced to the game through a chance remark in her local hairdresser's; last year a second-row playing for Eastern Suburbs in Sydney complained of back pains after a game and was found to be pregnant.
Motherhood and rugby are scarcely perfect bedfellows, so three cheers for Maxine Edwards, mother of a six-year-old, who props for England A in Sunday's curtain-raiser. Could childbirth be any more demanding than playing in the front row?
'I said that,' laughs her team-mate Nicky Goodwin, 'but everyone goes: 'It's nothing like it, shut up'.'
But there is a serious side as the women's game approaches the next century, namely how much extra training young women, already juggling busy careers and social lives, can be asked to do for a sport which may leave them richer in body and soul but nowhere else.
'That's a problem for all international sports for women,' says Burns, a PE teacher. 'It's ridiculous, really, but I think most of the girls who play international rugby actually go to work in order to play. There are big sacrifices but, if people aren't prepared to make them, they're not committed enough.'
Posh and her mates would last five seconds, max.
Source Citation
"The poor woman's Five Nations: Forget overpaid pros, England's women rugby players have to beg for time off work to play for their country. Robert Kitson joins the former World Cup champions in preparation for Sunday's first Five Nations encounter with Scotland." Guardian [London, England] 26 Feb. 1999
Monday, 23 March 1998
Chalmers gives Scotland World Cup inspiration
Scotland 8 England 5
SCOTLAND, the most improved of the home international sides in women's rugby over the last two years, will go to the World Cup in Holland in May as holders of the grand slam. They will do so thanks to a penalty goal kicked by Paula Chalmers, which earned them victory over England at Inverleith on Saturday, though the slim margin of victory does not indicate Scotland's all-round superiority.
Before the last women's World Cup in 1994, which they hosted, Scotland were among the newest of international contenders, but they have established a side that has now overtaken the two countries dominant in women's rugby in the northern hemisphere for the past 15 years, France and England, whose hopes of a successful defence in Holland of the title that they won in Edinburgh four years ago do not look well-founded.
In an error-strewn match, Scotland dominated the set-pieces, almost claiming a pushover try in the second half against an England side that formerly took pride in emulating the men's side in the power of their scrum.
There is, too, far more kicking in the women's game than used to be the case: it is a skill that they have learned to do well, but Scotland overused it on this occasion, for they had a back division with the legs of England.
They proved that in the first quarter, when Kim Littlejohn looped swiftly to retrieve a dropped ball and rounded the English cover. Yet, before the interval, England had made up for two missed penalty attempts from Gill Burns, Maxine Edwards leading a drive on the left before the backs at last sustained a handling movement to create space for Pip Spivey on the right.
Only ten minutes remained when Chalmers, to the delight of Craig, her distinguished brother, who was among the spectators, kicked the penalty that won the game, leaving England with the game against Ireland at Worcester on April 4 to make hasty repairs to their World Cup defence.
SCORERS: Scotland: Try: Littlejohn (13min). Penalty goal: Chalmers (70). England: Try: Spivey (22).
SCORING SEQUENCE (Scotland first): 5-0, 5-5 (half-time), 8-5.
SCOTLAND: A McGrandles (Leeds); D Fairbairn (Murrayfield Wanderers), P Paterson (Richmond), K Littlejohn (Leeds, captain), M Cave (Saracens); R Lewis (Murrayfield Wanderers), P Chalmers (Murrayfield Wanderers); J Taylor (Edinburgh Academicals; rep: E Allsopp, Murrayfield Wanderers, 53), S Scott (Murrayfield Wanderers), K Findley (Richmond), L Cockburn (Edinburgh Academicals), M McHardy (Murrayfield Wanderers), J Afseth (Edinburgh Academicals), B McLeod (Murrayfield Wanderers), D Kennedy (Leeds).
ENGLAND: P George (Wasps); P Spivey (Clifton), S Day (Wasps), S Harris (Waterloo; rep: S Appleby, Saracens, 70), N Brown (Worcester; rep: J Molyneux, Waterloo, 70); G Pragnell (Wasps), E Mitchell (Saracens); T O'Reilly (Saracens), J Potter (Wasps; rep: J Smith, Wasps, 65), M Edwards (Saracens; rep: A O'Flynn, Waterloo, 65), L Uttley (Wasps), T Siwek (Richmond), J Ross (Saracens; rep: J Chambers, Wasps, 10-14, 38-40), G Stevens (Clifton), G Burns (Waterloo, captain).
Referee: P Sleeman (Wales).
Copyright (C) The Times, 1998
Source Citation
Hands, David. "Chalmers gives Scotland World Cup inspiration; Rugby Union." Times [London, England] 23 Mar. 1998
SCOTLAND, the most improved of the home international sides in women's rugby over the last two years, will go to the World Cup in Holland in May as holders of the grand slam. They will do so thanks to a penalty goal kicked by Paula Chalmers, which earned them victory over England at Inverleith on Saturday, though the slim margin of victory does not indicate Scotland's all-round superiority.
Before the last women's World Cup in 1994, which they hosted, Scotland were among the newest of international contenders, but they have established a side that has now overtaken the two countries dominant in women's rugby in the northern hemisphere for the past 15 years, France and England, whose hopes of a successful defence in Holland of the title that they won in Edinburgh four years ago do not look well-founded.
In an error-strewn match, Scotland dominated the set-pieces, almost claiming a pushover try in the second half against an England side that formerly took pride in emulating the men's side in the power of their scrum.
There is, too, far more kicking in the women's game than used to be the case: it is a skill that they have learned to do well, but Scotland overused it on this occasion, for they had a back division with the legs of England.
They proved that in the first quarter, when Kim Littlejohn looped swiftly to retrieve a dropped ball and rounded the English cover. Yet, before the interval, England had made up for two missed penalty attempts from Gill Burns, Maxine Edwards leading a drive on the left before the backs at last sustained a handling movement to create space for Pip Spivey on the right.
Only ten minutes remained when Chalmers, to the delight of Craig, her distinguished brother, who was among the spectators, kicked the penalty that won the game, leaving England with the game against Ireland at Worcester on April 4 to make hasty repairs to their World Cup defence.
SCORERS: Scotland: Try: Littlejohn (13min). Penalty goal: Chalmers (70). England: Try: Spivey (22).
SCORING SEQUENCE (Scotland first): 5-0, 5-5 (half-time), 8-5.
SCOTLAND: A McGrandles (Leeds); D Fairbairn (Murrayfield Wanderers), P Paterson (Richmond), K Littlejohn (Leeds, captain), M Cave (Saracens); R Lewis (Murrayfield Wanderers), P Chalmers (Murrayfield Wanderers); J Taylor (Edinburgh Academicals; rep: E Allsopp, Murrayfield Wanderers, 53), S Scott (Murrayfield Wanderers), K Findley (Richmond), L Cockburn (Edinburgh Academicals), M McHardy (Murrayfield Wanderers), J Afseth (Edinburgh Academicals), B McLeod (Murrayfield Wanderers), D Kennedy (Leeds).
ENGLAND: P George (Wasps); P Spivey (Clifton), S Day (Wasps), S Harris (Waterloo; rep: S Appleby, Saracens, 70), N Brown (Worcester; rep: J Molyneux, Waterloo, 70); G Pragnell (Wasps), E Mitchell (Saracens); T O'Reilly (Saracens), J Potter (Wasps; rep: J Smith, Wasps, 65), M Edwards (Saracens; rep: A O'Flynn, Waterloo, 65), L Uttley (Wasps), T Siwek (Richmond), J Ross (Saracens; rep: J Chambers, Wasps, 10-14, 38-40), G Stevens (Clifton), G Burns (Waterloo, captain).
Referee: P Sleeman (Wales).
Copyright (C) The Times, 1998
Source Citation
Hands, David. "Chalmers gives Scotland World Cup inspiration; Rugby Union." Times [London, England] 23 Mar. 1998
Sunday, 22 March 1998
Scotland v England
Scotland 8 England 5
STRANGE days at Inverleith, the old Edinburgh ground that is steeped in the proud history and the recent under-achievement of its home club, Stewart's Melville. On Friday, it played host to a Grand Slam by the Scotland A team and yesterday it provided another for Scotland's women, who completed their clean sweep with this battling win over England. Who says you don't see Scottish Grand Slams every day of the week?
Granted, the opportunity for another this afternoon has already been lost, but even if they were small in number, the crowd at this match could still savour their day. Scotland were not flattered one bit by the final scoreline and, from having been among the rabbits of the women's World Cup in 1994, they can now go forward to the next tournament, in Holland in May, with confidence soaring. The spirits of England, the reigning world champions, however, need urgent restoration.
Most of England's problems lay in the pack, where they lacked the co-ordination of their opponents. England's best attacks were ignited by Emma Mitchell, whose all-round excellence at scrum-half compensated for failings elsewhere. Not that Julie Potter, her hooker, would have been particularly appreciative when Mitchell's first kick of the game brought both boot and ball thumping into her midriff, but it would be true to say Mitchell probably kept England in the game during the first half.
Her assuredness was important when Scotland tried to raise the pace following their first try. That arrived in the 12th minute when Linda Uttley knocked on near her 22 and Scotland were awarded a scrum. Paula Chalmers moved the ball left and, although Michelle Cave and Pogo Paterson almost ruined the move with a fumble in midfield, Kim Littlejohn, the Scottish captain, both rescucitated the attack and finished it off, arcing around the defence to the left corner.
With more ball, Scotland might have capitalised further, for there was a wonderful eagerness about their play at that stage. England, by contrast, were leaden, and prone to horrible handling lapses all along the three-quarter line. Yet England took their example from Mitchell and fly-half Giselle Pragnell and it was through their composure that they clawed their way back into the game.
More significantly, they also hauled themselves onto the scoreboard before half-time, levelling the scores with a wonderful try. It came in the 32nd minute when a rumbling charge down the left touchline by Maxine Edwards drew in the Scottish defence, Mitchell switched play to the right and a looping move by Pragnell allowed Pip Spivey to sprint over by the right flag.
Yet the prospect of a punishing England effort in the second half quickly receded as England, so wonderfully aggressive when they won their 1994 trophy, seemed seriously short of appetite. Scotland, however, were ravenous. To the verve of Paterson at outside centre they could add the poise of Rimma Lewis, their stand-off. As the game wore on, moreover, it was clear the Scottish pack, and especially their brittle front row, were gaining the upper hand.
Some people still try to claim that women's rugby is a strange spectacle, but the only truly bizarre sight in this match was that of a Scottish scrum destroying English opposition. The Scots spent much of the third quarter camped on England's line, yet despite a clear advantage in the set piece - they also stole some priceless English lineout ball with the glee of the genuinely larcenous - they could not quite find the extra ounce of power to surge over those last few inches.
Indeed, Scotland seemed more sapped by the experience, as England swept back upfield with determination. Their attacks lacked conviction, however, and the Scottish defence picked them off around the fringes with comfortable ease. Then Gill Burns, the English No 8, was spotted stamping in a ruck and, when Scotland grafted their way back into English territory, it was more Burns footwork that again cost England dear. Foolishly, the English player had this time done the deed on her own 22, and Chalmers swept the penalty home.
The kick secured the win for Scotland and secured the status of a sport that has had more than its fair share of detractors in this part of the world. You could pick critically at some of the quality of the game, particularly the goal-kicking which was next-to abject throughout. But the attitude and spirit of the Scottish side was second to none, and when they travel to Holland in two months time they have every right to believe they could earn the same accolade.
Scotland
A McGrandles; D Fairbairn, P Paterson, K Littlejohn, M Cave; R Lewis, P Chalmers; J Taylor (L Allsopp 52min), S Scott (A McKenzie 40min), K Findlay, L Cockburn, M McHardy, J Afseth, D Kennedy, B McLeod (J Sheerin 40min).
England
P George; P Spivey, S Day, S Harris (S Appleby 71min), N Brown (J Molyneux 71min); G Pragnell, E Mitchell; T O'Reilly, J Potter (J Smith 63min), M Edwards, L Uttley, T Siwek, J Ross, G Burns, G Stevens.
Scorers: Littlejohn (T 12min) 5-0; Spivey (T 32min) 5-5; Chalmers (P 69min) 8-5. Referee: P Sleeman (Wales). Attendance: 1,000.
Copyright (C) The Sunday Times, 1998
Source Citation
Reid, Alasdair. "Scots savour grand victory; Rugby Union." Sunday Times [London, England] 22 Mar. 1998
STRANGE days at Inverleith, the old Edinburgh ground that is steeped in the proud history and the recent under-achievement of its home club, Stewart's Melville. On Friday, it played host to a Grand Slam by the Scotland A team and yesterday it provided another for Scotland's women, who completed their clean sweep with this battling win over England. Who says you don't see Scottish Grand Slams every day of the week?
Granted, the opportunity for another this afternoon has already been lost, but even if they were small in number, the crowd at this match could still savour their day. Scotland were not flattered one bit by the final scoreline and, from having been among the rabbits of the women's World Cup in 1994, they can now go forward to the next tournament, in Holland in May, with confidence soaring. The spirits of England, the reigning world champions, however, need urgent restoration.
Most of England's problems lay in the pack, where they lacked the co-ordination of their opponents. England's best attacks were ignited by Emma Mitchell, whose all-round excellence at scrum-half compensated for failings elsewhere. Not that Julie Potter, her hooker, would have been particularly appreciative when Mitchell's first kick of the game brought both boot and ball thumping into her midriff, but it would be true to say Mitchell probably kept England in the game during the first half.
Her assuredness was important when Scotland tried to raise the pace following their first try. That arrived in the 12th minute when Linda Uttley knocked on near her 22 and Scotland were awarded a scrum. Paula Chalmers moved the ball left and, although Michelle Cave and Pogo Paterson almost ruined the move with a fumble in midfield, Kim Littlejohn, the Scottish captain, both rescucitated the attack and finished it off, arcing around the defence to the left corner.
With more ball, Scotland might have capitalised further, for there was a wonderful eagerness about their play at that stage. England, by contrast, were leaden, and prone to horrible handling lapses all along the three-quarter line. Yet England took their example from Mitchell and fly-half Giselle Pragnell and it was through their composure that they clawed their way back into the game.
More significantly, they also hauled themselves onto the scoreboard before half-time, levelling the scores with a wonderful try. It came in the 32nd minute when a rumbling charge down the left touchline by Maxine Edwards drew in the Scottish defence, Mitchell switched play to the right and a looping move by Pragnell allowed Pip Spivey to sprint over by the right flag.
Yet the prospect of a punishing England effort in the second half quickly receded as England, so wonderfully aggressive when they won their 1994 trophy, seemed seriously short of appetite. Scotland, however, were ravenous. To the verve of Paterson at outside centre they could add the poise of Rimma Lewis, their stand-off. As the game wore on, moreover, it was clear the Scottish pack, and especially their brittle front row, were gaining the upper hand.
Some people still try to claim that women's rugby is a strange spectacle, but the only truly bizarre sight in this match was that of a Scottish scrum destroying English opposition. The Scots spent much of the third quarter camped on England's line, yet despite a clear advantage in the set piece - they also stole some priceless English lineout ball with the glee of the genuinely larcenous - they could not quite find the extra ounce of power to surge over those last few inches.
Indeed, Scotland seemed more sapped by the experience, as England swept back upfield with determination. Their attacks lacked conviction, however, and the Scottish defence picked them off around the fringes with comfortable ease. Then Gill Burns, the English No 8, was spotted stamping in a ruck and, when Scotland grafted their way back into English territory, it was more Burns footwork that again cost England dear. Foolishly, the English player had this time done the deed on her own 22, and Chalmers swept the penalty home.
The kick secured the win for Scotland and secured the status of a sport that has had more than its fair share of detractors in this part of the world. You could pick critically at some of the quality of the game, particularly the goal-kicking which was next-to abject throughout. But the attitude and spirit of the Scottish side was second to none, and when they travel to Holland in two months time they have every right to believe they could earn the same accolade.
Scotland
A McGrandles; D Fairbairn, P Paterson, K Littlejohn, M Cave; R Lewis, P Chalmers; J Taylor (L Allsopp 52min), S Scott (A McKenzie 40min), K Findlay, L Cockburn, M McHardy, J Afseth, D Kennedy, B McLeod (J Sheerin 40min).
England
P George; P Spivey, S Day, S Harris (S Appleby 71min), N Brown (J Molyneux 71min); G Pragnell, E Mitchell; T O'Reilly, J Potter (J Smith 63min), M Edwards, L Uttley, T Siwek, J Ross, G Burns, G Stevens.
Scorers: Littlejohn (T 12min) 5-0; Spivey (T 32min) 5-5; Chalmers (P 69min) 8-5. Referee: P Sleeman (Wales). Attendance: 1,000.
Copyright (C) The Sunday Times, 1998
Source Citation
Reid, Alasdair. "Scots savour grand victory; Rugby Union." Sunday Times [London, England] 22 Mar. 1998
Sunday, 3 August 1997
England prepare for New Zealand tour
Louise Taylor talks to the England women's rugby union captain as the squad begin a tour of New Zealand
A CHILDHOOD punctuated by plies and demi-plies perfected at the barre of her mother's ballet school has accelerated the adult sporting career of Britain's premier female rugby union player.
Acknowledged as the world's best No 8, Gill Burns is England's captain and highest try-scoring forward. A Formby-based PE teacher, she is also a qualified dancing instructor boasting diplomas in ballet, tap and modern.
"Ballet has improved the rugby because it involves a lot of elevation, enabling me to jump so much further at lineouts," she explained. "It helps with co-ordination and technique too."
The England ensemble Burns is captaining on this month's tour of New Zealand are global champions and she admits being unable to envisage an existence beyond next May's World Cup defence in Holland.
That target now ranks as "my main focus in life" but things were vastly different 10 years ago when the then 23-year-old was persuaded to "give rugby a go". Cynical curiosity turned to addiction and Burns took just 12 months to metamorphose from novice to England debutant.
"My first international was against Sweden at my club, Waterloo and, and in the bar afterwards, a man admitted coming to see 'tits and bums' but, after five minutes, realised he was watching 'a bloody good' game of rugger."
Though strident chauvinism is in recession, she is still aware of discreetly muttered disapproval: "You get some funny comments about women's bodies not being built for contact. There are big impact tackles but no fisticuffs; women haven't got the same macho egos."
Men and women do share similar competitive instincts and Burns is also a UK-ranked shot-putter; although oval-ball commitments dictate that time devoted to athletics is severely curtailed.
Ditto household spending. Playing rugby costs internationals "around Pounds 3,000 a year", determining that England's captain is consequently unable to replace her E-reg Ford Orion which displays 170,000 miles on the clock.
Small wonder that she muses: "It would be great to have a sponsor who would buy us a few train tickets." Instead England are duly grateful to Berlei, providers of sports bras, and Puma, boot suppliers.
A little limelight would be welcome though. As Burns said: "I'll always remember stopping at a service station on the way back from the last World Cup in Edinburgh. The final had been on Grandstand and some men came up and said they'd enjoyed watching. It was nice to be recognised."
What a shame reactionary sponsors and cautious television producers are not disposed to help make it regular.
Copyright (C) The Sunday Times, 1997
Source Citation
Taylor, Louise. "Burns in step and on song; Rugby Union." Sunday Times [London, England] 3 Aug. 1997
A CHILDHOOD punctuated by plies and demi-plies perfected at the barre of her mother's ballet school has accelerated the adult sporting career of Britain's premier female rugby union player.
Acknowledged as the world's best No 8, Gill Burns is England's captain and highest try-scoring forward. A Formby-based PE teacher, she is also a qualified dancing instructor boasting diplomas in ballet, tap and modern.
"Ballet has improved the rugby because it involves a lot of elevation, enabling me to jump so much further at lineouts," she explained. "It helps with co-ordination and technique too."
The England ensemble Burns is captaining on this month's tour of New Zealand are global champions and she admits being unable to envisage an existence beyond next May's World Cup defence in Holland.
That target now ranks as "my main focus in life" but things were vastly different 10 years ago when the then 23-year-old was persuaded to "give rugby a go". Cynical curiosity turned to addiction and Burns took just 12 months to metamorphose from novice to England debutant.
"My first international was against Sweden at my club, Waterloo and, and in the bar afterwards, a man admitted coming to see 'tits and bums' but, after five minutes, realised he was watching 'a bloody good' game of rugger."
Though strident chauvinism is in recession, she is still aware of discreetly muttered disapproval: "You get some funny comments about women's bodies not being built for contact. There are big impact tackles but no fisticuffs; women haven't got the same macho egos."
Men and women do share similar competitive instincts and Burns is also a UK-ranked shot-putter; although oval-ball commitments dictate that time devoted to athletics is severely curtailed.
Ditto household spending. Playing rugby costs internationals "around Pounds 3,000 a year", determining that England's captain is consequently unable to replace her E-reg Ford Orion which displays 170,000 miles on the clock.
Small wonder that she muses: "It would be great to have a sponsor who would buy us a few train tickets." Instead England are duly grateful to Berlei, providers of sports bras, and Puma, boot suppliers.
A little limelight would be welcome though. As Burns said: "I'll always remember stopping at a service station on the way back from the last World Cup in Edinburgh. The final had been on Grandstand and some men came up and said they'd enjoyed watching. It was nice to be recognised."
What a shame reactionary sponsors and cautious television producers are not disposed to help make it regular.
Copyright (C) The Sunday Times, 1997
Source Citation
Taylor, Louise. "Burns in step and on song; Rugby Union." Sunday Times [London, England] 3 Aug. 1997
Monday, 20 January 1997
England v Scotland: preview
After seeing a women's rugby match Christian Dymond says England v Scotland will be a cracker.
If my experience is anything to go by, the women's rugby international between England and Scotland next weekend should be a cracker.
England women's team are the world champions and Scotland lost the fixture only 12-8 last year. The match takes place at Blackheath on Sunday and is preceded by a game between the two national women's A sides.
With England men's poor performance against Argentina still relatively fresh in my memory, I travelled to the outskirts of Newcastle upon Tyne to watch the women of Blaydon Barracudas entertain the might of Wharfedale.
This was by no means the top flight of women's rugby - Blaydon and Wharfedale are in the northern league of the third division - but both sides clearly had ambitions to take the game to each other in an entertaining and open way.
Blaydon Barracudas were also looking to improve their performance after their defeat in Yorkshire a few weeks before, and early evidence suggested enough bite to rattle the visitors. Scrummaging looked pretty solid, there was clean ball from the lineout and after five minutes Elizabeth Simpson, their nippy wing, should have gone over for a try but the final pass was way off target.
Gradually, though, Wharfedale got a grip on the game, their backs attacking with greater brio while their forwards seemed far more mobile around the pitch. By half-time they were leading 10-0. This increased to 20-0 before Blaydon replied with their solitary try. This galvanised them but only briefly, and, as they ran out of steam, so Wharfedale ran them ragged, the final result being 46-5.
It did emerge later that Blaydon had been decimated by sickness and had taken the field with two players who had never before experienced a full game.
Five of the eight Wharfedale tries were scored by one of the centres, which was indicative both of the way the match was played and of the way that women generally approach the game. Points from penal ties were conspicuous by their absence.
The match certainly impressed Tom Sarginson, 17, one of about 30 spectators hugging the touchline. A rugby player who had never watched a women's game, he said: "It was extremely entertaining, much better than I thought it was going to be. A lot of the tackling was excellent and there were some good moves and great handling skills."
The 30 players on the pitch at Blaydon were some of the 12,000 to 15,000 women who now play rugby in the British Isles. In the past few years the game has grown from 12 teams in 1983 to about 270 clubs, some with two or three sides. Rules are the same as for men.
Rugby generally has a higher profile and the growth in the women's game owes a lot to that. There is also the fact that England women won the World Cup in 1994, as I was told by Rosie Golby, the president of the Rugby Foot ball Union for Women, the governing body for the game in England.
A player for 13 years, she turns out as scrum half or centre for Old Leamingtonians in Leamington Spa. "I play because it's a team sport and a contact sport and because I enjoy it," she said. "I can't kick, so, when I do, everyone around me cheers," The side trains twice a week.
Blaydon Barracudas, formerly known as Northern Ladies, also trains twice a week. Tuesday night is for scrummaging, passing and practising set-piece moves; Wednesday evening is primarily for fitness.
Their 25-women squad ranges in age from a 17-year-old who is still at school to a 32-year-old mother of two. The captain and No 8 is Helen Greenwell, 28, one of three policewomen in the side. Many of the others are students. It is Greenwell's second season of rugby, although she had previously been a rower for ten years.
"I've always enjoyed watching the game, but a friend who started playing inspired me to take it up," she said. "Rugby's a good team sport and I think you can enjoy it at whatever level of fitness you are. It also makes for an enjoyable Sunday afternoon." Women's rugby is almost always played on a Sunday, otherwise there might be a clash of pitch and changing facilities with the men.
Three quarters of an hour before the kick-off against Wharfedale, Blaydon Barracudas were out on the field going through leg and arm exercises with Andy Ellis, their physiotherapist; 20 minutes later, having been split up into backs and forwards, they rehearsed moves with Tom Gilmour and Rob Thomson, their coaches.
"Some of the squad are very fit," Ellis said. "Others have come to the game with a basic level of fitness but with a good degree of strength and determination which we hope to build on. Fitness sometimes takes second place to the learning of the game because rugby is new to them."
HOW TO JOIN IN
THE women who play rugby at Blaydon pay a Pounds 20 subscription for the season and a Pounds 1.50 match fee. The social side is strong with evenings out and dances at the extremely impressive new Pounds 1.1 million clubhouse.
In wider terms, women's rugby is organised in national leagues: first and second divisions (Saracens, Richmond, Wasps and Leeds being four of the strongest sides), a third division with four regional leagues (North, Midlands, South East and South West), and fourth and fifth divisions with eight regional leagues apiece.
There is a sixth division which has leagues for new clubs and there are also knock-out cup competitions. A national development officer, Nicola Ponsford, was appointed last September, this is apparently women's rugby's first salaried post.
Last season saw the first home nations' championship involving teams from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. In March, after the 1997 championship, England will participate in the first women's seven-a-side tournament in Hong Kong.
* For more information on women's rugby contact: 01635 278177.
* For more information on Blaydon Barracudas contact: 0191-371 9901.
Blackheath on January 26: England A v Scotland A: kick-off, noon; England v Scotland: kick-off 2pm. Tickets: Pounds 5.
Copyright (C) The Times, 1997
Source Citation
Dymond, Christian. "A great way to spend a Sunday; Sport for All." Times [London, England] 20 Jan. 1997
If my experience is anything to go by, the women's rugby international between England and Scotland next weekend should be a cracker.
England women's team are the world champions and Scotland lost the fixture only 12-8 last year. The match takes place at Blackheath on Sunday and is preceded by a game between the two national women's A sides.
With England men's poor performance against Argentina still relatively fresh in my memory, I travelled to the outskirts of Newcastle upon Tyne to watch the women of Blaydon Barracudas entertain the might of Wharfedale.
This was by no means the top flight of women's rugby - Blaydon and Wharfedale are in the northern league of the third division - but both sides clearly had ambitions to take the game to each other in an entertaining and open way.
Blaydon Barracudas were also looking to improve their performance after their defeat in Yorkshire a few weeks before, and early evidence suggested enough bite to rattle the visitors. Scrummaging looked pretty solid, there was clean ball from the lineout and after five minutes Elizabeth Simpson, their nippy wing, should have gone over for a try but the final pass was way off target.
Gradually, though, Wharfedale got a grip on the game, their backs attacking with greater brio while their forwards seemed far more mobile around the pitch. By half-time they were leading 10-0. This increased to 20-0 before Blaydon replied with their solitary try. This galvanised them but only briefly, and, as they ran out of steam, so Wharfedale ran them ragged, the final result being 46-5.
It did emerge later that Blaydon had been decimated by sickness and had taken the field with two players who had never before experienced a full game.
Five of the eight Wharfedale tries were scored by one of the centres, which was indicative both of the way the match was played and of the way that women generally approach the game. Points from penal ties were conspicuous by their absence.
The match certainly impressed Tom Sarginson, 17, one of about 30 spectators hugging the touchline. A rugby player who had never watched a women's game, he said: "It was extremely entertaining, much better than I thought it was going to be. A lot of the tackling was excellent and there were some good moves and great handling skills."
The 30 players on the pitch at Blaydon were some of the 12,000 to 15,000 women who now play rugby in the British Isles. In the past few years the game has grown from 12 teams in 1983 to about 270 clubs, some with two or three sides. Rules are the same as for men.
Rugby generally has a higher profile and the growth in the women's game owes a lot to that. There is also the fact that England women won the World Cup in 1994, as I was told by Rosie Golby, the president of the Rugby Foot ball Union for Women, the governing body for the game in England.
A player for 13 years, she turns out as scrum half or centre for Old Leamingtonians in Leamington Spa. "I play because it's a team sport and a contact sport and because I enjoy it," she said. "I can't kick, so, when I do, everyone around me cheers," The side trains twice a week.
Blaydon Barracudas, formerly known as Northern Ladies, also trains twice a week. Tuesday night is for scrummaging, passing and practising set-piece moves; Wednesday evening is primarily for fitness.
Their 25-women squad ranges in age from a 17-year-old who is still at school to a 32-year-old mother of two. The captain and No 8 is Helen Greenwell, 28, one of three policewomen in the side. Many of the others are students. It is Greenwell's second season of rugby, although she had previously been a rower for ten years.
"I've always enjoyed watching the game, but a friend who started playing inspired me to take it up," she said. "Rugby's a good team sport and I think you can enjoy it at whatever level of fitness you are. It also makes for an enjoyable Sunday afternoon." Women's rugby is almost always played on a Sunday, otherwise there might be a clash of pitch and changing facilities with the men.
Three quarters of an hour before the kick-off against Wharfedale, Blaydon Barracudas were out on the field going through leg and arm exercises with Andy Ellis, their physiotherapist; 20 minutes later, having been split up into backs and forwards, they rehearsed moves with Tom Gilmour and Rob Thomson, their coaches.
"Some of the squad are very fit," Ellis said. "Others have come to the game with a basic level of fitness but with a good degree of strength and determination which we hope to build on. Fitness sometimes takes second place to the learning of the game because rugby is new to them."
HOW TO JOIN IN
THE women who play rugby at Blaydon pay a Pounds 20 subscription for the season and a Pounds 1.50 match fee. The social side is strong with evenings out and dances at the extremely impressive new Pounds 1.1 million clubhouse.
In wider terms, women's rugby is organised in national leagues: first and second divisions (Saracens, Richmond, Wasps and Leeds being four of the strongest sides), a third division with four regional leagues (North, Midlands, South East and South West), and fourth and fifth divisions with eight regional leagues apiece.
There is a sixth division which has leagues for new clubs and there are also knock-out cup competitions. A national development officer, Nicola Ponsford, was appointed last September, this is apparently women's rugby's first salaried post.
Last season saw the first home nations' championship involving teams from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. In March, after the 1997 championship, England will participate in the first women's seven-a-side tournament in Hong Kong.
* For more information on women's rugby contact: 01635 278177.
* For more information on Blaydon Barracudas contact: 0191-371 9901.
Blackheath on January 26: England A v Scotland A: kick-off, noon; England v Scotland: kick-off 2pm. Tickets: Pounds 5.
Copyright (C) The Times, 1997
Source Citation
Dymond, Christian. "A great way to spend a Sunday; Sport for All." Times [London, England] 20 Jan. 1997
Monday, 5 February 1996
England v Wales: report
Patricia Davies spends an afternoon at the mangle as the women rugby players of Wales are taken to the cleaners
We all have days like this: starting off full of hope and ending up mangled. At Welford Road, the home of Leicester, yesterday, Wales's women rugby players continued their losing streak against England; steamrollered into the mud, 56-3.
Wales were plucky. Near the end of the match, someone called for them to ``buck up'', a quaintly old-fashioned request, one you suspected the visitors' combative No7 would not have appreciated. She was spoken to by the referee after a swipe at an opponent early on there had been an elegant bit of lifting by England in the lineout, mind and late on she had been given a severe talking-to after some shenanigans in one of those forward melees civilians like me will never understand.
In any case, by then my attention had started to wander, my feet and hands were icing up and the match was too one-sided to be enjoyable as a contest. Not that England or their supporters minded the strains of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot were heard before the game even started and 1,205 hardy souls took a spirited interest in the proceedings. There were plenty of stewards on duty, looking rather under-employed because there was plenty of room for everybody and nobody felt inclined to streak on such a chilly afternoon.
This being a proper international, the teams lined up for the two anthems and sang as lustily as they were to play on a pitch one of the photographers described as being ``like glue''. Since he and his colleagues had to trawl up and down the touchline in it, he was not a neutral observer. The Wales players did not seem to run out of puff, however, even though it was 41-0 before they scored their only points a dropped goal from Amanda Bennett, their chunky stand-off half from Saracens.
Just before that England had elected to kick a penalty, which I found a trifle baffling since they were 38-0 up and in no danger of losing their 100 per cent record against Wales, extending now to 11 internationals. Then I realised why it was to allow Gill Burns, of Waterloo, the captain and No8, to show off her kicking technique from wide out on the right. She converted and the desultory chant of ``Boring, boring rubbish'' was replaced by appreciative cheers.
Burns, 31, is a school teacher, measuring 5ft 11in, weighing 12st 7lb (there is no modesty in a rugby programme) and Wales, whose No8 was 5ft 4in, could not hold her. She scored the first of her team's eight tries, rolling out of a tackle and then powering over the line in jubilation.
``Just like Deano,'' said a Leicester man used to the exploits of Dean Richards. Well, maybe a little faster.
Just before the try, there had been a lineout and I am sure the codeword was ``elephant''. Then, there had been a mix-up between the Wales full back and right wing, who went for the same high ball. The full back was furious. ``I called,'' she spat. Well, I did not hear her either. I have to confess I had called her a ``twit'' for not calling. Shows how wrong you can be from the sidelines.
There was plenty of that esoteric rummaging about and crunching tackles that made me realise I was too old and too timid to take up the game but there was lots of handling, too, some of it decidedly slick. However Wales, whose coach, Paul Ringer, looked on philosphically, tended to drop the ball at crucial moments and England would pick it up and charge off to notch up yet another try. There was nearly a charge-down reminiscent of the one at Twickenham the previous day and England made several interceptions; if my fingers had not seized up I might have made a legible note of how many had led to tries.
I have seen many men's club matches a lot less skilful and the spectators, a mix of young and old, male and female, were quick to applaud the passing moves the men's teams are often afraid to try in these win-at-all-costs days. ``I like their shirts better than the men's as well,'' commented one England supporter, obviously of the old, unadorned school.
It was well worth the detour even the beefburger, bought out of duty, was excellent, though the hot toddies had to wait until after the drive home.
Copyright (C) The Times, 1996
Source Citation
"Women happy to abandon the gentle touch; Rugby Union." Times [London, England] 5 Feb. 1996
We all have days like this: starting off full of hope and ending up mangled. At Welford Road, the home of Leicester, yesterday, Wales's women rugby players continued their losing streak against England; steamrollered into the mud, 56-3.
Wales were plucky. Near the end of the match, someone called for them to ``buck up'', a quaintly old-fashioned request, one you suspected the visitors' combative No7 would not have appreciated. She was spoken to by the referee after a swipe at an opponent early on there had been an elegant bit of lifting by England in the lineout, mind and late on she had been given a severe talking-to after some shenanigans in one of those forward melees civilians like me will never understand.
In any case, by then my attention had started to wander, my feet and hands were icing up and the match was too one-sided to be enjoyable as a contest. Not that England or their supporters minded the strains of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot were heard before the game even started and 1,205 hardy souls took a spirited interest in the proceedings. There were plenty of stewards on duty, looking rather under-employed because there was plenty of room for everybody and nobody felt inclined to streak on such a chilly afternoon.
This being a proper international, the teams lined up for the two anthems and sang as lustily as they were to play on a pitch one of the photographers described as being ``like glue''. Since he and his colleagues had to trawl up and down the touchline in it, he was not a neutral observer. The Wales players did not seem to run out of puff, however, even though it was 41-0 before they scored their only points a dropped goal from Amanda Bennett, their chunky stand-off half from Saracens.
Just before that England had elected to kick a penalty, which I found a trifle baffling since they were 38-0 up and in no danger of losing their 100 per cent record against Wales, extending now to 11 internationals. Then I realised why it was to allow Gill Burns, of Waterloo, the captain and No8, to show off her kicking technique from wide out on the right. She converted and the desultory chant of ``Boring, boring rubbish'' was replaced by appreciative cheers.
Burns, 31, is a school teacher, measuring 5ft 11in, weighing 12st 7lb (there is no modesty in a rugby programme) and Wales, whose No8 was 5ft 4in, could not hold her. She scored the first of her team's eight tries, rolling out of a tackle and then powering over the line in jubilation.
``Just like Deano,'' said a Leicester man used to the exploits of Dean Richards. Well, maybe a little faster.
Just before the try, there had been a lineout and I am sure the codeword was ``elephant''. Then, there had been a mix-up between the Wales full back and right wing, who went for the same high ball. The full back was furious. ``I called,'' she spat. Well, I did not hear her either. I have to confess I had called her a ``twit'' for not calling. Shows how wrong you can be from the sidelines.
There was plenty of that esoteric rummaging about and crunching tackles that made me realise I was too old and too timid to take up the game but there was lots of handling, too, some of it decidedly slick. However Wales, whose coach, Paul Ringer, looked on philosphically, tended to drop the ball at crucial moments and England would pick it up and charge off to notch up yet another try. There was nearly a charge-down reminiscent of the one at Twickenham the previous day and England made several interceptions; if my fingers had not seized up I might have made a legible note of how many had led to tries.
I have seen many men's club matches a lot less skilful and the spectators, a mix of young and old, male and female, were quick to applaud the passing moves the men's teams are often afraid to try in these win-at-all-costs days. ``I like their shirts better than the men's as well,'' commented one England supporter, obviously of the old, unadorned school.
It was well worth the detour even the beefburger, bought out of duty, was excellent, though the hot toddies had to wait until after the drive home.
Copyright (C) The Times, 1996
Source Citation
"Women happy to abandon the gentle touch; Rugby Union." Times [London, England] 5 Feb. 1996
Monday, 13 February 1995
England v Wales
Gerald Davies reports on a skilful women's international in which England beat Wales 25-0
The old world changes, and so do attitudes. Years ago, a friend of mine used to say, in his fashion, that, for so rough a game, he could not get over the extraordinary number of women who followed rugby. Were he still with us today, he would find that the women are not only there sitting beside him in the stand, but out there on the pitch, too. For so politically correct an age, this masculine view of the feminine world may be interpreted as dangerous talk. But there we are. We cannot deny the fact.
Quite what my old pal would say in seeing the women of England actually playing the game against the women of Wales, I am not sure. But knowing him, he would doubtless approve, particularly as he would have seen a match of high skill and wholehearted endeavour at Sale yesterday. He would have been less content, however, since he wore his Welsh heart so firmly on his sleeve, to see Wales go down to so disciplined and well-organised an England team by five tries without reply.
Those who object to women playing rugby are much the same as those who once objected to women running marathons: the over-protective male attempting to shelter what is perceived to be the sensitive femininity of a woman. This is the male chauvinist in patronising mood.
Jeff Probyn put his foot in it recently by wishing, at the first hint of danger and physical harm, to outlaw women from rugby altogether and giving scant acknowledgement that women, like men, can make up their own minds as to what is and what is not dangerous. Adopting such a posture is much like subscribing to Dr Samuel Johnson's view that ``a man is in general better pleased when he has a good dinner at his table, than when his wife talks Greek''.
Had the venerable good doctor known about rugby, he might have added the laws of rugby union as another subject to be kicked into touch. The dissection of rugby's intricacies can often seem like so much ``greek'' in any case.
While England were too powerful for Wales to make it a proper contest, the skills displayed and the overall commitment of both teams were qualities to admire. The feistiness with which women's rugby has been foisted on an unsuspecting and deeply suspicious public deserves to be richly rewarded. Unless that sounds too patronising.
The dominating personality was England's captain. Gill Burns dominated the lineout and like Dean Richards although comparisons are not wholly valid she drew her forwards around her to clear any threats at the base of the scrum. Not far behind her was Jenny Chambers. Suzy Appleby was a neat and busy scrum half, who, with an accurate pass, seemed to turn up everywhere when the need was called. These three set a high standard.
For Wales, Amanda Bennett, at stand-off half, seemed to have studied the videos of when Wales's factory was in full production. She had a fine game, as did Lisa Jones at No8.
Sara Wenn's try from a drive at the lineout close to the Welsh line and Burns's push-over try gave England the half-time lead. Superior power in attack led to three more tries after the interval by Mills, Appleby and Edwards.
Now that England and Scotland are associate members of their respective rugby unions, with Wales and Ireland soon to follow, the future of women's rugby can be nothing less than bright. Any remaining prejudice must fly out of the window.
SCORERS: England: Tries: Wenn, Burns, Mills, Appleby, Edwards.
ENGLAND: P George (Wasps); J Molyneux (Waterloo), J Edwards (Blackheath), A Wallace (Leeds), A Cole (Saracens); D Mills (Richmond), S Appleby (Novocastrians); J Mangham (Waterloo), N Ponsford (Clifton), E Scourfield (Leeds), J Chambers (Richmond), S Wenn (Wasps), H Stirrup (Wasps), H Clayton (Waterloo), G Burns (Waterloo). Cole replaced by L Mayhew (Leeds, 68min). Burns temporarily replaced by K Henderson (Clifton, 56).
WALES: K Richards (Old Leamingtonians); A Lewis (Ystradgynlais), P Evans (Swansea), W Shaw (Aberystwyth), K Yau (Waterloo); A Bennett (Wasps), B Evans (Cardiff); J Watkins (Cardiff), N Griffiths (Cardiff), C Lloyd (Cardiff), J Morgan (Cardiff), S Jones (Cardiff), K Knoak (Swansea), S Butler (Richmond), L Jones (Cardiff). B Evans replaced by C Thomas (Waterloo, 28); Griffiths replaced by B Jones-Evans (Waterloo, 68), S Jones replaced by H Carey (Swansea, 56).
Referee: J Fleming (Scotland).
Copyright (C) The Times, 1995
Source Citation
"National pride dispels prejudice; Women's Rugby." Times [London, England] 13 Feb. 1995
The old world changes, and so do attitudes. Years ago, a friend of mine used to say, in his fashion, that, for so rough a game, he could not get over the extraordinary number of women who followed rugby. Were he still with us today, he would find that the women are not only there sitting beside him in the stand, but out there on the pitch, too. For so politically correct an age, this masculine view of the feminine world may be interpreted as dangerous talk. But there we are. We cannot deny the fact.
Quite what my old pal would say in seeing the women of England actually playing the game against the women of Wales, I am not sure. But knowing him, he would doubtless approve, particularly as he would have seen a match of high skill and wholehearted endeavour at Sale yesterday. He would have been less content, however, since he wore his Welsh heart so firmly on his sleeve, to see Wales go down to so disciplined and well-organised an England team by five tries without reply.
Those who object to women playing rugby are much the same as those who once objected to women running marathons: the over-protective male attempting to shelter what is perceived to be the sensitive femininity of a woman. This is the male chauvinist in patronising mood.
Jeff Probyn put his foot in it recently by wishing, at the first hint of danger and physical harm, to outlaw women from rugby altogether and giving scant acknowledgement that women, like men, can make up their own minds as to what is and what is not dangerous. Adopting such a posture is much like subscribing to Dr Samuel Johnson's view that ``a man is in general better pleased when he has a good dinner at his table, than when his wife talks Greek''.
Had the venerable good doctor known about rugby, he might have added the laws of rugby union as another subject to be kicked into touch. The dissection of rugby's intricacies can often seem like so much ``greek'' in any case.
While England were too powerful for Wales to make it a proper contest, the skills displayed and the overall commitment of both teams were qualities to admire. The feistiness with which women's rugby has been foisted on an unsuspecting and deeply suspicious public deserves to be richly rewarded. Unless that sounds too patronising.
The dominating personality was England's captain. Gill Burns dominated the lineout and like Dean Richards although comparisons are not wholly valid she drew her forwards around her to clear any threats at the base of the scrum. Not far behind her was Jenny Chambers. Suzy Appleby was a neat and busy scrum half, who, with an accurate pass, seemed to turn up everywhere when the need was called. These three set a high standard.
For Wales, Amanda Bennett, at stand-off half, seemed to have studied the videos of when Wales's factory was in full production. She had a fine game, as did Lisa Jones at No8.
Sara Wenn's try from a drive at the lineout close to the Welsh line and Burns's push-over try gave England the half-time lead. Superior power in attack led to three more tries after the interval by Mills, Appleby and Edwards.
Now that England and Scotland are associate members of their respective rugby unions, with Wales and Ireland soon to follow, the future of women's rugby can be nothing less than bright. Any remaining prejudice must fly out of the window.
SCORERS: England: Tries: Wenn, Burns, Mills, Appleby, Edwards.
ENGLAND: P George (Wasps); J Molyneux (Waterloo), J Edwards (Blackheath), A Wallace (Leeds), A Cole (Saracens); D Mills (Richmond), S Appleby (Novocastrians); J Mangham (Waterloo), N Ponsford (Clifton), E Scourfield (Leeds), J Chambers (Richmond), S Wenn (Wasps), H Stirrup (Wasps), H Clayton (Waterloo), G Burns (Waterloo). Cole replaced by L Mayhew (Leeds, 68min). Burns temporarily replaced by K Henderson (Clifton, 56).
WALES: K Richards (Old Leamingtonians); A Lewis (Ystradgynlais), P Evans (Swansea), W Shaw (Aberystwyth), K Yau (Waterloo); A Bennett (Wasps), B Evans (Cardiff); J Watkins (Cardiff), N Griffiths (Cardiff), C Lloyd (Cardiff), J Morgan (Cardiff), S Jones (Cardiff), K Knoak (Swansea), S Butler (Richmond), L Jones (Cardiff). B Evans replaced by C Thomas (Waterloo, 28); Griffiths replaced by B Jones-Evans (Waterloo, 68), S Jones replaced by H Carey (Swansea, 56).
Referee: J Fleming (Scotland).
Copyright (C) The Times, 1995
Source Citation
"National pride dispels prejudice; Women's Rugby." Times [London, England] 13 Feb. 1995
Monday, 19 December 1994
England v Netherlands: report
Oliver Holt
England 30, Holland 5
BIG LOUIS the barman was rushed off his feet. The players poured out of the changing rooms, enveloped by steam, and headed for the long bar looking out over the pitch where the faces of past club presidents gazed down from the wall. It was one of the smoke-filled rooms you read about in tales of power and male prejudice and it was thronged with women.
Louis had only seen anything like it once before. There was a women's rugby A international at the Wasps ground in northwest London last year, but this was the Real McCoy. Still, he treated it as routine. There is nothing novel about women's rugby any more; England's win in the World Cup in Edinburgh, in April, saw to that. After establishment, though, comes consolidation and progress.
That process began under the light of a watery sun here yesterday when the survivors of the team that beat Russia, Canada, France and the United States to win the world title played their first game since their triumph. Despite the disruption caused by the presence of five new caps, they coasted to a 30-5 victory over Holland.
It was not a game to banish the creeping cold with endless thrills. The 80 minutes were bedevilled by a series of handling errors and a glut of inconsequential rucks and misplaced passes. Still, a 30-5 victory on the back of a patchy performance is not bad and everyone, even the world champions, can have an off day.
What continues to irk team members, though, is the supercilious tone taken by some commentators. Some devote themselves to searches of northern England, supposedly a bastion of male prejudice, for the remnants of those who scorn the idea of women playing what has always been seen as a man's game; others continue to attempt comparison with men's rugby. Both approaches marginalise the players and demean women's rugby.
The idea of sport, after all, is to try to compete at the highest level, to compete fairly and to try to win. The 500 or more who braved the cold yesterday were rewarded by the sight of 15 England players, representing the pinnacle of their particular discipline.
That the level of skill on show here was below that of the men who play rugby was irrelevant. Few question the brilliance of Steffi Graf or compare her with Pete Sampras. Equally, any who bothered to watch could only admire the athleticism of the English captain, Gill Burns, the speed and trickery of Jacqui Edwards and the tackling ability of Suzie Appleby.
Nor could anyone question the commitment and courage of Sarah Wenn, who started the game despite a bad nose injury, only to retire after 26 minutes.
Mills kicked a penalty to put England ahead in the eleventh minute and Coles atoned for an earlier error when she went over in the corner. Edwards, who had set up that try, scored the second herself five minutes after the interval.
Abbenbroek gave the Dutch some hope with a fine try midway through the second half but Burns put the match beyond doubt with England's third try, Stirrup adding a fourth in the last minute.
There are now more than 6,000 women playing rugby in Britain and the ground here yesterday was dotted with coats swearing allegiance to various clubs. Burns, happy with her first match as captain, was optimistic about the future of the game. ``It was a bit of a scrappy match in parts,'' she said. ``I think there were a few butterflies early on from the new caps. But it is behind them now and there is a lot for us to build on.
``This was the beginning of a new era for us after the World Cup. We are getting more and more coverage. We have made it beyond curious pieces on the women's pages to the point where we are forcing the game on to the sports pages. We can't worry about that too much, though, we just want to keep winning.''
ENGLAND: J Mangham (Waterloo); N Ponsford (Clifton), E Scourfield (Leeds), S Wenn (Wasps), H Stirrup (Wasps); J Chambers (Richmond), H Clayton (Waterloo), G Burns (Waterloo), S Appleby (Novacastrians), D Mills (Richmond), A Coles (Saracens), A Wallace (Leeds), J Edwards (Blackheath), J Molyneux (Waterloo), H Hulme (Clifton). Wenn replaced by T Sivek (Richmond), 26min.
HOLLAND: L Schoone; S Veltkamp, M Hibma, M Van Den Hoger, A Van Waveren; D Van den Berg, M Schmutzer; M Veldscholten, B Terpstra, E Lichtenbeld, K Abbenborek, H Van Mens, O De Bruin, G Hamilton, C De Greef.
Referee: J Fleming.
A 62nd-minute try from Sandra Williamson gave Scotland a 5-0 victory over Wales in a women's rugby international at the Brewery Field, Bridgend, yesterday.
Copyright (C) The Times, 1994
Source Citation
"England take advantage of margin for error; Rugby Union." Times [London, England] 19 Dec. 1994
England 30, Holland 5
BIG LOUIS the barman was rushed off his feet. The players poured out of the changing rooms, enveloped by steam, and headed for the long bar looking out over the pitch where the faces of past club presidents gazed down from the wall. It was one of the smoke-filled rooms you read about in tales of power and male prejudice and it was thronged with women.
Louis had only seen anything like it once before. There was a women's rugby A international at the Wasps ground in northwest London last year, but this was the Real McCoy. Still, he treated it as routine. There is nothing novel about women's rugby any more; England's win in the World Cup in Edinburgh, in April, saw to that. After establishment, though, comes consolidation and progress.
That process began under the light of a watery sun here yesterday when the survivors of the team that beat Russia, Canada, France and the United States to win the world title played their first game since their triumph. Despite the disruption caused by the presence of five new caps, they coasted to a 30-5 victory over Holland.
It was not a game to banish the creeping cold with endless thrills. The 80 minutes were bedevilled by a series of handling errors and a glut of inconsequential rucks and misplaced passes. Still, a 30-5 victory on the back of a patchy performance is not bad and everyone, even the world champions, can have an off day.
What continues to irk team members, though, is the supercilious tone taken by some commentators. Some devote themselves to searches of northern England, supposedly a bastion of male prejudice, for the remnants of those who scorn the idea of women playing what has always been seen as a man's game; others continue to attempt comparison with men's rugby. Both approaches marginalise the players and demean women's rugby.
The idea of sport, after all, is to try to compete at the highest level, to compete fairly and to try to win. The 500 or more who braved the cold yesterday were rewarded by the sight of 15 England players, representing the pinnacle of their particular discipline.
That the level of skill on show here was below that of the men who play rugby was irrelevant. Few question the brilliance of Steffi Graf or compare her with Pete Sampras. Equally, any who bothered to watch could only admire the athleticism of the English captain, Gill Burns, the speed and trickery of Jacqui Edwards and the tackling ability of Suzie Appleby.
Nor could anyone question the commitment and courage of Sarah Wenn, who started the game despite a bad nose injury, only to retire after 26 minutes.
Mills kicked a penalty to put England ahead in the eleventh minute and Coles atoned for an earlier error when she went over in the corner. Edwards, who had set up that try, scored the second herself five minutes after the interval.
Abbenbroek gave the Dutch some hope with a fine try midway through the second half but Burns put the match beyond doubt with England's third try, Stirrup adding a fourth in the last minute.
There are now more than 6,000 women playing rugby in Britain and the ground here yesterday was dotted with coats swearing allegiance to various clubs. Burns, happy with her first match as captain, was optimistic about the future of the game. ``It was a bit of a scrappy match in parts,'' she said. ``I think there were a few butterflies early on from the new caps. But it is behind them now and there is a lot for us to build on.
``This was the beginning of a new era for us after the World Cup. We are getting more and more coverage. We have made it beyond curious pieces on the women's pages to the point where we are forcing the game on to the sports pages. We can't worry about that too much, though, we just want to keep winning.''
ENGLAND: J Mangham (Waterloo); N Ponsford (Clifton), E Scourfield (Leeds), S Wenn (Wasps), H Stirrup (Wasps); J Chambers (Richmond), H Clayton (Waterloo), G Burns (Waterloo), S Appleby (Novacastrians), D Mills (Richmond), A Coles (Saracens), A Wallace (Leeds), J Edwards (Blackheath), J Molyneux (Waterloo), H Hulme (Clifton). Wenn replaced by T Sivek (Richmond), 26min.
HOLLAND: L Schoone; S Veltkamp, M Hibma, M Van Den Hoger, A Van Waveren; D Van den Berg, M Schmutzer; M Veldscholten, B Terpstra, E Lichtenbeld, K Abbenborek, H Van Mens, O De Bruin, G Hamilton, C De Greef.
Referee: J Fleming.
A 62nd-minute try from Sandra Williamson gave Scotland a 5-0 victory over Wales in a women's rugby international at the Brewery Field, Bridgend, yesterday.
Copyright (C) The Times, 1994
Source Citation
"England take advantage of margin for error; Rugby Union." Times [London, England] 19 Dec. 1994
Wednesday, 12 February 1992
Wales v England: feature
William Greaves
In three hours they would be striding out on to the hallowed ground of Cardiff Arms Park, the ancestral home of Welsh rugby where Gareth Edwards and J.P.R. Williams once reigned supreme. But now the track-suited forwards were sitting, lounging and crouching on and around the double bed of room 213 at the city's Angel Hotel, listening to coach Jonathan Moore telling them what to expect from the much-vaunted English pack.
``When they're in our 22 they'll attack off the back row and look to work a switch with the centres, so watch the blind side,'' he said, in a jargon which was instantly understood by an audience of thoughtfully nodding heads. ``If the back row start running it's your job, Bess, to get out there tackling...''
From the corner, Belinda Davies, a 29-year-old sales manager from Llandrindod Wells, felt moved to offer her view of her opposing prop forward, Sandy Ewing: ``She's happy when she's allowed to look good running around the park but give her a bad time in the scrum and she's knackered.''
The tension eased. This was fighting talk and just the kind of thing 25-year-old Bess Evans, hooker, vice-captain and chairman of the Welsh Women's Rugby Football Union, needed to hear to quell the big match nerves which had kept her awake for most of the night.
As the host organiser of the sixth clash between the women of Wales and England, she knew better than anybody the significance of the next few hours. This was much more than a game of rugger. It was the day when the audience response would determine whether her sex had really made its mark on the most intimately physical of all outdoor team sports.
I had come, full of joy and rich in mixed metaphor, to watch jolly hockey sticks replacing the blood and bruises of the real thing.
There would never be a better chance to challenge such chauvinist prejudices. Although their first club sides date back to the late 1970s and the Women's Rugby Football Union (WRFU) was formed nine years ago, last Sunday was the first time they had been allowed to use a national stadium for a home international match.
And if that were not milestone enough, the game was to be refereed by Derek Bevan, who took charge of last year's World Cup final in which Australia and England could have filled Twickenham many times over.
Would such an eloquent vote of confidence from one of the most respected officials of the men's game produce the kind of spectator attendance which was so desperately needed?
That all this was haunting the Welsh chairman's mind through those fitful hours of darkness was confirmed first thing on the morning of battle by her roommate Tania Wear, a 26-year-old engineering undergraduate, loose head prop forward and new cap. ``Every time I rolled over, I was aware of Bess lying there wide awake, staring at the ceiling,'' she said.
Miss Evans, an athletic and irrepressibly cheerful postgraduate student of the University of Wales, where she is studying for an M.Phil in sports physiology, agreed that it had been a disastrous night. ``The trouble was that I was wearing two hats. As a player I badly want to beat England but I'm also concerned that the whole day is a success. Because we are playing at the Arms Park, I thought it was important to keep up the stature of the occasion by booking the two teams into good hotels nearby. The Welsh Rugby Union gave us the ground but we have to pay for the security stewards and although both the Grand and the Angel hotels have generously given me time to settle their accounts, I'll be in big trouble if we don't get enough through the turnstiles.''
With 130 club sides but no major sponsor, women's rugby is both the fastest-growing team sport in Britain (according to the Sports Council) and a shoestring survivor. That one of its star players should have to lift her eyes from the scrum and anxiously count the paying punters comes as no surprise to Karen Almond, a PE teacher from Hertfordshire who is the England visitors' captain, fly half and a veteran of 20 internationals. ``We've always had to pay for our own travel and hotels and we even have to buy our shirts and socks out of our own pocket,'' she said without a hint of complaint. ``We had our own world cup competition last year and England lost to the US in the final. We'd love to go over there to play a return but it's an awfully long way away.''
By 6.30am, Miss Evans gave up the unequal struggle against insomnia, got dressed and went out to pace the Cardiff pavements. Three hours later she joined her teammates for a carbohydrate breakfast of pasta and a lemon and lime energy drink which Carol Thomas, a wing forward with eight previous caps but today one of the replacements on the bench, said tasted much better with vodka in it. Everyone laughed a bit too loudly. Badinage was clearly an approved antidote to ever-tightening nerves.
Afterwards in room 102 ``just give me five minutes to tidy away yesterday's knickers'' (more laughter and several ribald comments) Miss Evans laid newspaper on the bed to get down to the chore of boot-cleaning. ``I never had any feminist ambition to knock down barriers,'' she said. ``I was introduced to the game at college and wanted to play it because unlike hockey and netball it was a young, growing sport and I suppose the physical contact side of it appealed to me, too.''
With an hour to go before kick-off, both teams were changed and out on the turf for team pictures. Edginess was everywhere as each player found her own method to calm a pounding heart. Miss Wear looked up at the empty stands. ``You can almost feel them filled with people, can't you?'' she said. ``It's a dream come true. At college a lot of the boys talk about one day playing at Cardiff Arms Park well I've beaten them too it.''
The crowd, including guests, built up to about 3,000 and the all-important turnstile receipts to Pounds 6,500 ``certainly enough to cover the hotel and security bills'', said a much relieved Miss Evans afterwards. If it was not exactly the capacity 53,000 that would have graced the comparable men's international clash, by the time the band had played the national anthems, there was no shortage of partisan clamour.
And within about 20 minutes at least one male spectator was aware of a strange attitude conversion. England's fleet-footed Deborah Francis had gone over for a try in the corner; at the other end Welsh flanker Jackie Morgan had taken advantage of an appalling defensive mix-up to touch down the equalising points; the crowd, equally divided in allegiance, bayed its encouragement and the field was no longer full of women but of rugby players locked in mighty conflict.
The game ebbed and flowed with Miss Almond and her opposing Welsh fly-half, Samantha Porter, exchanging a couple of penalty goals each. A lengthy period of English pressure in the last half hour brought a spectacular try from full-back Jane Mitchell and a winning margin of 14-10.
Back at the hotel, Rosie Golby, a player herself and the secretary of the WRFU, laughed at my reaction. ``That's what nearly everyone says when they watch for the first time that they soon forget that we are women,'' she said.
Last to arrive at the reception was Miss Evans delayed by having two stitches in a badly cut lip.
`I went in to tackle Jill Burns, the English No8, and her head popped up and caught me,'' she said philosophically. ``It doesn't look very pretty and I'm afraid it's ruined my chances for tonight.''
Her mother, Jean Evans, put a consoling arm around her. ``She's had black eyes, terrible bruises and one broken leg and I always seem to end up taking her to hospital,'' she said.
``But I never worry. Our whole household is given over to women's rugby and she's doing what she wants to do.''
Copyright (C) The Times, 1992
Source Citation
"Hard tackles on a shoestring; Life and Times." Times [London, England] 12 Feb. 1992
In three hours they would be striding out on to the hallowed ground of Cardiff Arms Park, the ancestral home of Welsh rugby where Gareth Edwards and J.P.R. Williams once reigned supreme. But now the track-suited forwards were sitting, lounging and crouching on and around the double bed of room 213 at the city's Angel Hotel, listening to coach Jonathan Moore telling them what to expect from the much-vaunted English pack.
``When they're in our 22 they'll attack off the back row and look to work a switch with the centres, so watch the blind side,'' he said, in a jargon which was instantly understood by an audience of thoughtfully nodding heads. ``If the back row start running it's your job, Bess, to get out there tackling...''
From the corner, Belinda Davies, a 29-year-old sales manager from Llandrindod Wells, felt moved to offer her view of her opposing prop forward, Sandy Ewing: ``She's happy when she's allowed to look good running around the park but give her a bad time in the scrum and she's knackered.''
The tension eased. This was fighting talk and just the kind of thing 25-year-old Bess Evans, hooker, vice-captain and chairman of the Welsh Women's Rugby Football Union, needed to hear to quell the big match nerves which had kept her awake for most of the night.
As the host organiser of the sixth clash between the women of Wales and England, she knew better than anybody the significance of the next few hours. This was much more than a game of rugger. It was the day when the audience response would determine whether her sex had really made its mark on the most intimately physical of all outdoor team sports.
I had come, full of joy and rich in mixed metaphor, to watch jolly hockey sticks replacing the blood and bruises of the real thing.
There would never be a better chance to challenge such chauvinist prejudices. Although their first club sides date back to the late 1970s and the Women's Rugby Football Union (WRFU) was formed nine years ago, last Sunday was the first time they had been allowed to use a national stadium for a home international match.
And if that were not milestone enough, the game was to be refereed by Derek Bevan, who took charge of last year's World Cup final in which Australia and England could have filled Twickenham many times over.
Would such an eloquent vote of confidence from one of the most respected officials of the men's game produce the kind of spectator attendance which was so desperately needed?
That all this was haunting the Welsh chairman's mind through those fitful hours of darkness was confirmed first thing on the morning of battle by her roommate Tania Wear, a 26-year-old engineering undergraduate, loose head prop forward and new cap. ``Every time I rolled over, I was aware of Bess lying there wide awake, staring at the ceiling,'' she said.
Miss Evans, an athletic and irrepressibly cheerful postgraduate student of the University of Wales, where she is studying for an M.Phil in sports physiology, agreed that it had been a disastrous night. ``The trouble was that I was wearing two hats. As a player I badly want to beat England but I'm also concerned that the whole day is a success. Because we are playing at the Arms Park, I thought it was important to keep up the stature of the occasion by booking the two teams into good hotels nearby. The Welsh Rugby Union gave us the ground but we have to pay for the security stewards and although both the Grand and the Angel hotels have generously given me time to settle their accounts, I'll be in big trouble if we don't get enough through the turnstiles.''
With 130 club sides but no major sponsor, women's rugby is both the fastest-growing team sport in Britain (according to the Sports Council) and a shoestring survivor. That one of its star players should have to lift her eyes from the scrum and anxiously count the paying punters comes as no surprise to Karen Almond, a PE teacher from Hertfordshire who is the England visitors' captain, fly half and a veteran of 20 internationals. ``We've always had to pay for our own travel and hotels and we even have to buy our shirts and socks out of our own pocket,'' she said without a hint of complaint. ``We had our own world cup competition last year and England lost to the US in the final. We'd love to go over there to play a return but it's an awfully long way away.''
By 6.30am, Miss Evans gave up the unequal struggle against insomnia, got dressed and went out to pace the Cardiff pavements. Three hours later she joined her teammates for a carbohydrate breakfast of pasta and a lemon and lime energy drink which Carol Thomas, a wing forward with eight previous caps but today one of the replacements on the bench, said tasted much better with vodka in it. Everyone laughed a bit too loudly. Badinage was clearly an approved antidote to ever-tightening nerves.
Afterwards in room 102 ``just give me five minutes to tidy away yesterday's knickers'' (more laughter and several ribald comments) Miss Evans laid newspaper on the bed to get down to the chore of boot-cleaning. ``I never had any feminist ambition to knock down barriers,'' she said. ``I was introduced to the game at college and wanted to play it because unlike hockey and netball it was a young, growing sport and I suppose the physical contact side of it appealed to me, too.''
With an hour to go before kick-off, both teams were changed and out on the turf for team pictures. Edginess was everywhere as each player found her own method to calm a pounding heart. Miss Wear looked up at the empty stands. ``You can almost feel them filled with people, can't you?'' she said. ``It's a dream come true. At college a lot of the boys talk about one day playing at Cardiff Arms Park well I've beaten them too it.''
The crowd, including guests, built up to about 3,000 and the all-important turnstile receipts to Pounds 6,500 ``certainly enough to cover the hotel and security bills'', said a much relieved Miss Evans afterwards. If it was not exactly the capacity 53,000 that would have graced the comparable men's international clash, by the time the band had played the national anthems, there was no shortage of partisan clamour.
And within about 20 minutes at least one male spectator was aware of a strange attitude conversion. England's fleet-footed Deborah Francis had gone over for a try in the corner; at the other end Welsh flanker Jackie Morgan had taken advantage of an appalling defensive mix-up to touch down the equalising points; the crowd, equally divided in allegiance, bayed its encouragement and the field was no longer full of women but of rugby players locked in mighty conflict.
The game ebbed and flowed with Miss Almond and her opposing Welsh fly-half, Samantha Porter, exchanging a couple of penalty goals each. A lengthy period of English pressure in the last half hour brought a spectacular try from full-back Jane Mitchell and a winning margin of 14-10.
Back at the hotel, Rosie Golby, a player herself and the secretary of the WRFU, laughed at my reaction. ``That's what nearly everyone says when they watch for the first time that they soon forget that we are women,'' she said.
Last to arrive at the reception was Miss Evans delayed by having two stitches in a badly cut lip.
`I went in to tackle Jill Burns, the English No8, and her head popped up and caught me,'' she said philosophically. ``It doesn't look very pretty and I'm afraid it's ruined my chances for tonight.''
Her mother, Jean Evans, put a consoling arm around her. ``She's had black eyes, terrible bruises and one broken leg and I always seem to end up taking her to hospital,'' she said.
``But I never worry. Our whole household is given over to women's rugby and she's doing what she wants to do.''
Copyright (C) The Times, 1992
Source Citation
"Hard tackles on a shoestring; Life and Times." Times [London, England] 12 Feb. 1992
Monday, 10 February 1992
Wales v England
JANE Mitchell, the Saracens full back, maintained England's unbeaten record over Wales by scoring the match-winning try in injury time yesterday in the first women's rugby international to be staged at Cardiff Arms Park (a Special Correspondent writes). England won 14-10.
Deborah Francis, the Richmond wing, gave England the lead with the opening try of the game, but Wales hit back courtesy of a try by their Pontypool flanker, Jackie Morgan.
The first of two penalty goals by Samantha Porter, the Cardiff stand-off half winning international honours in her third sport, gave Wales the lead, but Karen Almond, her opposite number, made it 7-7 at the interval with a penalty of her own. Porter's second successful kick, ten minutes into the second half, raised Welsh hopes in front of a 2,500 crowd, but Almond tied the scores again with her second penalty goal.
SCORERS: Wales: Try: Morgan. Penalty goals: Porter (2). England: Tries: Francis, Mitchell. Penalty goals: Almond (2).
WALES: J Thomas (Bedford); W Shaw (Lampeter), J Jones (Blaenau Gwent), E Davies (Richmond), P George (Richmond); S Porter (Cardiff), J Decaux (Cardiff); T Wear (Cardiff), B Evans (Cardiff), B Davies (Lampeter), K Eaves (Wasps), F Margerison (Cardiff), J Morgan (Pontypool), L Burgess (Saracens, captain), C Mann (Cardiff).
ENGLAND: J Mitchell (Saracens); C Stennett (Wasps), J Edwards (Blackheath), G Prangell (Richmond), D Francis (Richmond); K Almond (Wasps, captain), E Mitchell (Saracens); J Mangham (Waterloo), S Wachholz (Richmond), S Ewing (Wasps), H Stirrup (Wasps), S Wenn (Clifton), G Burns (Waterloo), M Edwards (Blackheath).
Referee: W D Bevan (WRU).
Copyright (C) The Times, 1992
Source Citation
"Mitchell maintains an unbeaten record; Rugby Union." Times [London, England] 10 Feb. 1992
Deborah Francis, the Richmond wing, gave England the lead with the opening try of the game, but Wales hit back courtesy of a try by their Pontypool flanker, Jackie Morgan.
The first of two penalty goals by Samantha Porter, the Cardiff stand-off half winning international honours in her third sport, gave Wales the lead, but Karen Almond, her opposite number, made it 7-7 at the interval with a penalty of her own. Porter's second successful kick, ten minutes into the second half, raised Welsh hopes in front of a 2,500 crowd, but Almond tied the scores again with her second penalty goal.
SCORERS: Wales: Try: Morgan. Penalty goals: Porter (2). England: Tries: Francis, Mitchell. Penalty goals: Almond (2).
WALES: J Thomas (Bedford); W Shaw (Lampeter), J Jones (Blaenau Gwent), E Davies (Richmond), P George (Richmond); S Porter (Cardiff), J Decaux (Cardiff); T Wear (Cardiff), B Evans (Cardiff), B Davies (Lampeter), K Eaves (Wasps), F Margerison (Cardiff), J Morgan (Pontypool), L Burgess (Saracens, captain), C Mann (Cardiff).
ENGLAND: J Mitchell (Saracens); C Stennett (Wasps), J Edwards (Blackheath), G Prangell (Richmond), D Francis (Richmond); K Almond (Wasps, captain), E Mitchell (Saracens); J Mangham (Waterloo), S Wachholz (Richmond), S Ewing (Wasps), H Stirrup (Wasps), S Wenn (Clifton), G Burns (Waterloo), M Edwards (Blackheath).
Referee: W D Bevan (WRU).
Copyright (C) The Times, 1992
Source Citation
"Mitchell maintains an unbeaten record; Rugby Union." Times [London, England] 10 Feb. 1992
Sunday, 8 April 1990
Brother and sister internationals
Colin Calder
A BROTHER and sister from Biggar, Lanarkshire, are setting a record in the male-dominated world of rugby, writes Colin Calder.
Forget about the Hastings brothers; the latest family duo to represent Scotland is Darren and Anna Burns.
Darren, 17, yesterday played for the Scottish under-18 XV against Japan. Big sister Anna, 19, is in the pool for the Scottish women's game against north-east England later this month.
Women's rugby is becoming more popular, particularly at universities. Anna, who is studying at St Andrews, took up the sport in October, and with the help of Darren's coaching, has developed into an effective second-row forward.
She admitted tying her long, blonde hair back to prevent it being pulled by opponents, although she had witnessed ``little evidence of dirty play. I have only heard of a couple of cases of biting during a ruck''.
The only injury Anna has received in the scrum is a sore face from the stubble of other girls who shaved their legs]
Copyright (C) The Sunday Times, 1990
Source Citation
"Girl in the scrum; Scotland." Sunday Times [London, England] 8 Apr. 1990
A BROTHER and sister from Biggar, Lanarkshire, are setting a record in the male-dominated world of rugby, writes Colin Calder.
Forget about the Hastings brothers; the latest family duo to represent Scotland is Darren and Anna Burns.
Darren, 17, yesterday played for the Scottish under-18 XV against Japan. Big sister Anna, 19, is in the pool for the Scottish women's game against north-east England later this month.
Women's rugby is becoming more popular, particularly at universities. Anna, who is studying at St Andrews, took up the sport in October, and with the help of Darren's coaching, has developed into an effective second-row forward.
She admitted tying her long, blonde hair back to prevent it being pulled by opponents, although she had witnessed ``little evidence of dirty play. I have only heard of a couple of cases of biting during a ruck''.
The only injury Anna has received in the scrum is a sore face from the stubble of other girls who shaved their legs]
Copyright (C) The Sunday Times, 1990
Source Citation
"Girl in the scrum; Scotland." Sunday Times [London, England] 8 Apr. 1990
Monday, 6 March 1989
Great Britain v France: report
Chris Thau
In a match that displayed most of the features of the men's encounter at Twickenham skill, purpose, commitment and dedication the British women (England, with two Welsh reinforcements) scored a historic 13-0 first win over France by a goal, a try, and a dropped goal to nil at Roehampton on Saturday .
The progress of women's rugby under the competent coaching of Jim Greenwood is astonishing. The British forwards, admirably led by Lisa Burgess, controlled the game, which was sponsored by Carlsberg, from the outset.
They produced a steady stream of good-quality possession, allowing Karen Almond, the stand-off half and captain, to shine again. She contributed to a long-awaited, well-deserved win with a try, a dropped goal and a conversion.
SCORERS: Great Britain: Tries: E Mitchell, K Almond. Dropped goal: K Almond. Conversion: K Almond.
Copyright (C) The Times, 1989
Source Citation
"Almond bears most fruit in women's game; Rugby Union." Times [London, England] 6 Mar. 1989
In a match that displayed most of the features of the men's encounter at Twickenham skill, purpose, commitment and dedication the British women (England, with two Welsh reinforcements) scored a historic 13-0 first win over France by a goal, a try, and a dropped goal to nil at Roehampton on Saturday .
The progress of women's rugby under the competent coaching of Jim Greenwood is astonishing. The British forwards, admirably led by Lisa Burgess, controlled the game, which was sponsored by Carlsberg, from the outset.
They produced a steady stream of good-quality possession, allowing Karen Almond, the stand-off half and captain, to shine again. She contributed to a long-awaited, well-deserved win with a try, a dropped goal and a conversion.
SCORERS: Great Britain: Tries: E Mitchell, K Almond. Dropped goal: K Almond. Conversion: K Almond.
Copyright (C) The Times, 1989
Source Citation
"Almond bears most fruit in women's game; Rugby Union." Times [London, England] 6 Mar. 1989
Monday, 13 February 1989
England v Wales
England 38 Wales 4
England took the upper hand very quickly in their women's international match at The Reddings in Moseley yesterday. Wales did not have the fitness to meet the onslaught from England's smooth-running backs.
Led by their stand-off half, Almond, England repeatedly ran through the Welsh defence. Almond was the linchpin in much of the play, scoring two tries herself and kicking five conversions. The English wingers outpaced their opponents MacLaren scoring once and Stennett going over three times.
A five-metre scrum gave the stronger English pack a pushover try by their No.8, Purdy. Wales, however, were not deterred despite increasing tiredness and the lock forward, Eaves, scored a last-minute consolation try.
SCORERS: England: Tries: Stennett (3), Almond (2), MacLaren, Purdy. Conversions: Almond (5). Wales: Try: Eaves.
ENGLAND: Shapland; Ponsford, Watts, Ross, Burns; Cockerill, Whalley; Purdy, Mitchell, Almond, MacLaren, Robson, Harris, Stennett, Mitchell.
WALES: Davies; Harvey (rep: Lloyd), Bowen, Eaves, Margerison; Carey, Thomas; Burgess, Hayley, Bennett, Williams, Samson, Phillips, Wyatt, Longstaff.
Source Citation
"Almond commandeers England onslaught; Women's Rugby Union." Times [London, England] 13 Feb. 1989
England took the upper hand very quickly in their women's international match at The Reddings in Moseley yesterday. Wales did not have the fitness to meet the onslaught from England's smooth-running backs.
Led by their stand-off half, Almond, England repeatedly ran through the Welsh defence. Almond was the linchpin in much of the play, scoring two tries herself and kicking five conversions. The English wingers outpaced their opponents MacLaren scoring once and Stennett going over three times.
A five-metre scrum gave the stronger English pack a pushover try by their No.8, Purdy. Wales, however, were not deterred despite increasing tiredness and the lock forward, Eaves, scored a last-minute consolation try.
SCORERS: England: Tries: Stennett (3), Almond (2), MacLaren, Purdy. Conversions: Almond (5). Wales: Try: Eaves.
ENGLAND: Shapland; Ponsford, Watts, Ross, Burns; Cockerill, Whalley; Purdy, Mitchell, Almond, MacLaren, Robson, Harris, Stennett, Mitchell.
WALES: Davies; Harvey (rep: Lloyd), Bowen, Eaves, Margerison; Carey, Thomas; Burgess, Hayley, Bennett, Williams, Samson, Phillips, Wyatt, Longstaff.
Source Citation
"Almond commandeers England onslaught; Women's Rugby Union." Times [London, England] 13 Feb. 1989
Tuesday, 18 October 1988
Breaking clear of the Cinderella image
Chris Thau charts the popularity of women's rugby and the steps it is taking to win even more friends
England's 40-0 victory over Sweden in Waterloo at the weekend was another landmark in the short history of the women's game in Europe.
The women's international, sponsored by Chelsfield plc, was part of an international schedule agreed at a preliminary meeting of the representatives from European countries last April.
The meeting, attended by delegates from Britain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain has decided to form an international women's confederation similar to the International Rugby Board to coordinate and promote the women's game worldwide. The first meeting of the newly-formed body is scheduled for this month in Paris.
The conference was organized during the first European women's cup in Bourg-en-Bresse in France. French women beat Great Britain 8-6 in a closely fought contest to win the first tournament. France is the leading European nation, but both the US and Canada have strong teams and they would be expected to join the WIRB.
One of the first decisions of the WIRB was to organize a second European tournament in England in 1991, the year of the men's second world cup. Naturally the glamour and the media build-up surrounding the senior event would help the publicity of the women's game.
The French have about 30 clubs organized since 1972 on a league system. The French women's federation is affiliated to the FFR and is recognized by the French sports ministry, therefore receiving a subsidy from the Government.
During the last five years the women's game has soared in popularity in Britain. There are more than 60 teams, mainly in England and Wales, and the league structure has operated since 1985.
A five-year development plan has been devised to increase the number of players, raise the playing standards and encourage more women, former players to become involved in administration, refereeing and coaching. The plan is to be submitted to the Sports Council by the new WRFU coaching and development officer, Carol Isherwood.
Until last season, Miss Isherwood was both the secretary of the WRFU and, as a tireless loose forward, the captain of both England and Great Britain.
Sidelined by injury, she has been replaced by Wales's Carolyn Mann as the WRFU secretary and by Karen Almond as the England captain repectively. Karen Almond, a product of Loughborough University, the cradle of women's rugby in Britain, is a gifted stand off half and she was the leading try scorer in the game against Sweden with 16 points (two tries and four conversions).
Miss Almond, a PE teacher in Potters Bar, near London, cherished the occasion though according to her, she never regarded herself as a natural leader.
She believes that women's rugby is still facing an uphill struggle in its attempt to establish itself and cut through prejudice and preconceived ideas.
``It will take a long time before the women's game will lose its present image as a kind of Cinderella sport,'' Miss Almond said.
``But every time we play somewhere new we make new inroads.
``A lot of the men spectators at Waterloo never saw women play before. To their credit, they were full of praise after the game. Even the president of the Waterloo Rugby Club was heard saying that he would support the formation of a women team within the club. I have to admit that we encountered the same reluctance from ordinary members when we joined Wasps. However, nowadays we are accepted as just another team of the club.''
Source Citation
"Breaking clear of the Cinderella image; Women's rugby." Times [London, England] 18 Oct. 1988.
England's 40-0 victory over Sweden in Waterloo at the weekend was another landmark in the short history of the women's game in Europe.
The women's international, sponsored by Chelsfield plc, was part of an international schedule agreed at a preliminary meeting of the representatives from European countries last April.
The meeting, attended by delegates from Britain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain has decided to form an international women's confederation similar to the International Rugby Board to coordinate and promote the women's game worldwide. The first meeting of the newly-formed body is scheduled for this month in Paris.
The conference was organized during the first European women's cup in Bourg-en-Bresse in France. French women beat Great Britain 8-6 in a closely fought contest to win the first tournament. France is the leading European nation, but both the US and Canada have strong teams and they would be expected to join the WIRB.
One of the first decisions of the WIRB was to organize a second European tournament in England in 1991, the year of the men's second world cup. Naturally the glamour and the media build-up surrounding the senior event would help the publicity of the women's game.
The French have about 30 clubs organized since 1972 on a league system. The French women's federation is affiliated to the FFR and is recognized by the French sports ministry, therefore receiving a subsidy from the Government.
During the last five years the women's game has soared in popularity in Britain. There are more than 60 teams, mainly in England and Wales, and the league structure has operated since 1985.
A five-year development plan has been devised to increase the number of players, raise the playing standards and encourage more women, former players to become involved in administration, refereeing and coaching. The plan is to be submitted to the Sports Council by the new WRFU coaching and development officer, Carol Isherwood.
Until last season, Miss Isherwood was both the secretary of the WRFU and, as a tireless loose forward, the captain of both England and Great Britain.
Sidelined by injury, she has been replaced by Wales's Carolyn Mann as the WRFU secretary and by Karen Almond as the England captain repectively. Karen Almond, a product of Loughborough University, the cradle of women's rugby in Britain, is a gifted stand off half and she was the leading try scorer in the game against Sweden with 16 points (two tries and four conversions).
Miss Almond, a PE teacher in Potters Bar, near London, cherished the occasion though according to her, she never regarded herself as a natural leader.
She believes that women's rugby is still facing an uphill struggle in its attempt to establish itself and cut through prejudice and preconceived ideas.
``It will take a long time before the women's game will lose its present image as a kind of Cinderella sport,'' Miss Almond said.
``But every time we play somewhere new we make new inroads.
``A lot of the men spectators at Waterloo never saw women play before. To their credit, they were full of praise after the game. Even the president of the Waterloo Rugby Club was heard saying that he would support the formation of a women team within the club. I have to admit that we encountered the same reluctance from ordinary members when we joined Wasps. However, nowadays we are accepted as just another team of the club.''
Source Citation
"Breaking clear of the Cinderella image; Women's rugby." Times [London, England] 18 Oct. 1988.
Saturday, 21 November 1987
Great Britain v Netherlands: preview
Great Britain women's rugby team will step out onto Richmond Athletic ground tomorrow afternoon looking for their first victory in international arena when they face The Netherlands. The majority of the team is drawn from the two alondon clubs, Wasps and Richmond. Copyright (C) The Times, 1987
Source Citation
"Sport in Brief: Crucial game; Rugby." Times [London, England] 21 Nov. 1987
Source Citation
"Sport in Brief: Crucial game; Rugby." Times [London, England] 21 Nov. 1987
Sunday, 20 April 1986
Great Britain v France: report
NORMAN HARRIS
Great Britain .......... 8pts France ................ 14pts
Dr Johnson, who thought it sufficient for a dog to walk on its hind legs or a woman to preach, never mind whether it was done well, should have been at the Athletic Ground, Richmond, yesterday. There, women not only played their first rugby international in this country but played with a fervour and commitment that echoed many of the battles between these rugby-playing nations.
The principal difference was that they kicked many fewer penalties and, recognising their limitations in this respect, ran and passed much more often than do their male counterparts.
Indeed, the game started with Britain's scrum-half fielding the French kick-off and releasing her centres at the opposition; and then, at the breakdown, the French getting the ball to their left wing. It was a cracking start.
Initially, the French scrum was disconcertingly superior and the British women, pushed off the ball for the second successive time, had to yield a try.
For a time, the pattern of play held echoes of Twickenham and the Parc des Princes: the French overpowering the opposition up front and their backs looking adroit and pacy; the English forwards occasionally surging back at them with sheer cussedness - and winning penalties for French infringements and backchat.
But the home side also managed to get back on terms at the scrummage - a monumental achievement in itself. They did it, explained their captain later, by making sure they got themselves well set before the sides engaged.
Karen Almond of Wasps was Britain's most powerful and effective player. She came scything through on to a break by scrum-half Hill (another outstanding player who always made the ball available) and from five yards out had too much momentum to be halted. Then, on the outside of a blind-side move, she swept around the French flank for a second try and an 8-4 lead.
If the first half was splendid, with Britain apparently forging ahead, the second was somewhat anticlimactic. Eventually the French ended the stalemate when their left winger rounded the defence and, with all the players tired, there was no coming back for the British. Increasingly there were errors, and the referee picked up all of them.
Indeed, if anything came badly out of the game it was the laws, now seen in all their overkill glory, as innocent mistakes produced a stream of penalties.
The British women were able to react to the final whistle with elation, however, as they hugged each other. They had done well, and so had women's rugby.
GREAT BRITAIN: V Moore (Wasps); P Atkinson (Loughborough University), S Robson (Loughborough), A Benett (Loughborough), D McLaren (Finchley); K Almond (Wasps), S Hill (Wasps); J Talbot (Swansea University), K Lee (Loughborough), J Watts (Finchley); T Durkin (Bromley). T Moore (Finchley); J Gedrych (Finchley), C Isherwood (Leeds University, capt). L Burgess (Loughborough).
Tries: Almond (2).
France: C Fenoll (Tulle); F Saudin (Le Creusot), M Fraysse (Toulouse, capt), S Rival (La Teste), A Fenoll (Tulle); A Hayraud (Romagnat), M Gracieux (La Teste); V Champeil (Tulle), M Lugrand (La Teste), S Girard (Bourg); P Merlin (Le Creusot), C Henry (Bourg); N Amiel (Narbonne), B Pagegie (Tulle), C Marbleu (La Teste).
Tries: Gracieux, A Fenoll. Pagegie; Conversion: Hayraud.
Referee: C Leek (East Midlands). Copyright (C) The Sunday Times, 1986
Source Citation
"Rugby: French women have it." Sunday Times [London, England] 20 Apr. 1986.
Great Britain .......... 8pts France ................ 14pts
Dr Johnson, who thought it sufficient for a dog to walk on its hind legs or a woman to preach, never mind whether it was done well, should have been at the Athletic Ground, Richmond, yesterday. There, women not only played their first rugby international in this country but played with a fervour and commitment that echoed many of the battles between these rugby-playing nations.
The principal difference was that they kicked many fewer penalties and, recognising their limitations in this respect, ran and passed much more often than do their male counterparts.
Indeed, the game started with Britain's scrum-half fielding the French kick-off and releasing her centres at the opposition; and then, at the breakdown, the French getting the ball to their left wing. It was a cracking start.
Initially, the French scrum was disconcertingly superior and the British women, pushed off the ball for the second successive time, had to yield a try.
For a time, the pattern of play held echoes of Twickenham and the Parc des Princes: the French overpowering the opposition up front and their backs looking adroit and pacy; the English forwards occasionally surging back at them with sheer cussedness - and winning penalties for French infringements and backchat.
But the home side also managed to get back on terms at the scrummage - a monumental achievement in itself. They did it, explained their captain later, by making sure they got themselves well set before the sides engaged.
Karen Almond of Wasps was Britain's most powerful and effective player. She came scything through on to a break by scrum-half Hill (another outstanding player who always made the ball available) and from five yards out had too much momentum to be halted. Then, on the outside of a blind-side move, she swept around the French flank for a second try and an 8-4 lead.
If the first half was splendid, with Britain apparently forging ahead, the second was somewhat anticlimactic. Eventually the French ended the stalemate when their left winger rounded the defence and, with all the players tired, there was no coming back for the British. Increasingly there were errors, and the referee picked up all of them.
Indeed, if anything came badly out of the game it was the laws, now seen in all their overkill glory, as innocent mistakes produced a stream of penalties.
The British women were able to react to the final whistle with elation, however, as they hugged each other. They had done well, and so had women's rugby.
GREAT BRITAIN: V Moore (Wasps); P Atkinson (Loughborough University), S Robson (Loughborough), A Benett (Loughborough), D McLaren (Finchley); K Almond (Wasps), S Hill (Wasps); J Talbot (Swansea University), K Lee (Loughborough), J Watts (Finchley); T Durkin (Bromley). T Moore (Finchley); J Gedrych (Finchley), C Isherwood (Leeds University, capt). L Burgess (Loughborough).
Tries: Almond (2).
France: C Fenoll (Tulle); F Saudin (Le Creusot), M Fraysse (Toulouse, capt), S Rival (La Teste), A Fenoll (Tulle); A Hayraud (Romagnat), M Gracieux (La Teste); V Champeil (Tulle), M Lugrand (La Teste), S Girard (Bourg); P Merlin (Le Creusot), C Henry (Bourg); N Amiel (Narbonne), B Pagegie (Tulle), C Marbleu (La Teste).
Tries: Gracieux, A Fenoll. Pagegie; Conversion: Hayraud.
Referee: C Leek (East Midlands). Copyright (C) The Sunday Times, 1986
Source Citation
"Rugby: French women have it." Sunday Times [London, England] 20 Apr. 1986.
Saturday, 19 April 1986
Great Britain v France: preview
Today Great Britain play their first women's rugby international against the ferocious femmes of France. Despite the intimidating thought of playing such names as Marie-Paule Gracieux and Christelle Henry, the British are in bullish mood for their match, which will be at Richmond Athletic Ground at noon. 'The bad weather could help us', said Tricia Moore, a dashing forward from Finchley. 'Frenchmen hate soggy pitches, and I hear the women are the same. ' Copyright (C) The Times, 1986
Source Citation
"Sports Diary: Hit and miss." Times [London, England] 19 Apr. 1986. InfoTrac Custom Newspapers. Web. 24 Dec. 2009.
Sunday, 5 January 1986
Great Britain v France: announcement; Sponsorship of women's rugby
A first-ever women's international between England and France will be played at the Richmond ground on April 19, despite the loss of a pounds 12,000 sponsorship deal which the newly-formed Women's Rugby Union thought was all wrapped up.
The wine company Piat d'Or had approached the women's union, and a season's programme had been agreed, culminating in the France international, before Piats parent company cried off - the reason being that it had been unable to arrange a parallel deal with men's rugby.
For the women, who feel they were 'left in the lurch', it was a dismal reminder of their dependence on men's rugby. But they will stage the international anyway, even if the visitors have to pay their own fares.
Source Citation
"Rugby Round-Up." Sunday Times [London, England] 5 Jan. 1986. InfoTrac Custom Newspapers. Web. 24 Dec. 2009.
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