By Vicky Gallagher
June 7 2002

Over the Jubilee bank holiday, the MKI-sponsored Harlequin Ladies Youth squad headed to the New Forest for their 2002 tour, writes Vicky Gallagher.

The squad of 19, ably assisted by 4 U18’s players and 5 senior team members set off for what was to be a fun-packed weekend with visits to Bournemouth and Southampton thrown in. The “Barbie” tour headed straight down to Lampton Lodge in the New Forest, and having slept for a few hours, got up for team-building skills in the forest. Each group battled against each other in timed events, devised by their team-mates to test initiative and skill. This ended up with several members in the stream but each task was fought to the bitter end and all succeeded in accomplishing the tasks set. Sunday afternoon involved a short drive to nearby Bournemouth, where the Youth squad completed the further challenges of burying each other in sand & building human pyramids, whilst the senior members of the squad took time for a little relaxation & working on suntans.

Monday was the main event, where the teams took part in the RFUW National 7’s competition at Southampton University and Southampton Institute. Having worn themselves out the day before, a good night’s sleep was had and all were prepared for the games ahead. Two Harlequins teams were entered, U16 & U18 and, due to the volume of Quins players participating, joined forces with Camberley, to form a U16’s “Quimberley” side.

There were only 4 squads in the U18s competition, which meant that teams had to play each other twice. After a slow start, the Quins side put together some fine back-to-back wins to ensure a great show-down with Scorpions in the final game. With an immensely speedy winger playing for Scorpions, Quins struggled to prevent the repeated attacks and were on the back-foot for the first few minutes of the game. However, the gritty determination of the side showed when Quins worked the ball back up the field and a well timed switch between Leah Carey and Leonie Webster broke a gap in the Scorpions defence and led to a try. With the 2 teams drawing on number of wins at the end of the competition, it was down to points scored, where Quins came a very close 2nd to the strong Scorpions side.

The Quimberley side struggled to gel having never trained together, but fought hard to reach the quarter finals of the plate competition. The other U16s fared better with the help of so much training over the season and got to the semi-finals of the Cup. Along the way, they managed to see off some stiff competition in their pool games from Rickmansworth “B”, Oxford Barbarians and old rivals, Avon. The Avon game was the last of the pool games and one which both sides were wanting to win in order to finish top of their group. The match was a hard-fought affair, with Quins coming out on top, 7-5, thanks to the determination of all on the field. The _ finals saw them pitched against Rickmansworth “A” side, but Quins took the lead in the first few minutes and never looked back. The semi-final was an end-to-end game and possibly one of the best U16s games we saw all day. Quins took an early lead thanks to strong attacking running from Abi Mowbray & Tina Lee and powerful defence penetration from Moya Carey & Laura Quinn. Quins were in the lead at half time, but Petersfield fought back hard in the second half to go ahead by 2 points. Quins recycling of the ball was at it’s best when a multi-phase attack and good discipline ensured that they were camped on the Petersfield 5m line with only 2 minutes to go. Rachel Mowbray’s quick thinking from the breakdown grabbed what was thought to be a match-winning try with less than a minute left on the clock. However, Quins were to be denied after the restart when the Petersfield fullback broke through the defence to score a last-gasp try. The conversion denied Quins a place in the final, although credit must go to the U16’s team for the skill, discipline and spirit they showed throughout the day.

The weekend was rounded off with an amazing fashion show back at the lodge and then a trip to the rapid pools the next day for a bit of hydro-therapy for some tired bodies. The tour was immensely successful and strengthened the team spirit which has been displayed all season. The results in the National 7s competition has put the Harlequin Ladies Youth team firmly on the women’s rugby map. Congratulations to all who took part to ensure that this tour was one of the most successful ever.

The Harlequin Ladies are always on the lookout for new players. Whether an old-hand or a complete novice, we look forward to hearing from you. During the season, Harlequin Ladies train on Wednesday and Friday nights from 7.30pm to 9pm on the training pitch behind the 1st XV pitch at The Stoop. The U16’s squad trains on Friday nights from 6pm till 7pm at the same venue.

For further press opportunities or more information about the Harlequin Ladies contact Jo Everett, Press & PR Secretary on 0796 782 3544 or everett_jo@hotmail.com.