The Ross-on-Wye Ladies team took part in a rugby tournament at Berry Hill at the weekend, and they finished the day with 21 tries for, and only one against, and they won the tournament on the number of tries scored.

It is the first tournament that Ross Ladies have ever won, and it shows the progress they have achieved over the past five years, from finishing eighth out of 8 or 9 to finally winning.

Ross 3 -- Luctonians 0

The first game got off to a great start, as Sarah Bevan intercepted a great ball and ran half the length of the pitch for a great individual effort.

Some highly-organised defending showed that Ross were very much on their game, especially from the Ladies in the centre of the park, Kim Parker and Amy Yates.

The second half showed off the team’s fast hands, which stretched the opposing team’s defence, and Helen Taylor-Davies finished off a fantastic passing move for the second score.

More attacking from Ross saw a great draw and pass by Helen, to put captain Nicola Richardson-Wall in for the third try of the game. A great attacking display, but also a great defensive display by holding the score to nil.

Ross 4 -- Bredon 0

A very tight first half saw Nicola scoring after another a great draw and pass by Helen. The defence was yet again awesome, with Mel Germaney and Vic Mince working hard in defence to keep a clean sheet.

The second half saw some quick footwork and a great dummy to see Nicola score a fantastic individual try, and pretty much repeated the feat for her third try of the game.

Laura Kendal-Seal out-foxed the Bredon defence with a sidestep out of the top drawer, but was unfortunate not to score. However, toward the end of the game, Nicola read a looped pass with an interception and scored her and Ross’s fourth of the match.

Ross 1 -- Pershore 1

Against the team that has won every tournament for over two years, the Ladies went into the game brimming with confidence. The combination of Helen and Nicola saw a great pass which put Nicola in, to go one score up.

The defence by the whole team was absolutely brilliant, and looked incredibly organised, right until the last play of the game, where a Pershore winger managed to stand on the touchline unnoticed to create an overlap that the team thought they had covered, which allowed them to score in the corner.

The Ross Ladies, however hadn’t been beaten and they knew they were so close to beating them.

Ross 8 -- Berry Hill 0

Knowing that the tournament winners could be decided on tries scored, Ross played some of the best attacking rugby to date and produced an amazing try fest.

Ross opened the scoring within the first minute, with a great truck and trailer by Mel, Vic and Laura, with Laura putting in a great sidestep to send her defender off balance and open the scoring.

Nicola scored the second with a fantastic passing move and then a great dummy to add to the score.

Helen was next to score, with a great couple of side steps and then running half the length of the pitch for a great individual try.

Laura added again to the score with another great sidestep and Ross were cruising.

Before the first half had finished, Ross scored again through a Nicola side step and then a great draw and pass by Mel saw Nicola run in and very unselfishly passed the ball back to Mel for a well deserved try.

The second half saw a great passing move involving the whole team, started by Aidie Batt on to Kim Parker, who released Laura for a great team try. The game was finished off nicely by Vic who, through a great dummy to the tiring Berry Hill defence, sprinted in for the eighth and final try.

Ross 4 -- Greyhounds 0

With a slightly nervous first quarter, knowing a win would probably secure the team’s first ever tournament win, the defence remained as tight as it had been all day, and the communication from each player and the sheer determination ensured that the defensive line would not be breeched.

Nicola then sold a great dummy sidestep combination to run in a beautiful try to get the show on the road.

Helen, not to be outdone, then showed some great vision, picking a gap and sidestepping brilliantly to score the second. Nicola then took the ball from her own wing and with pace to burn ran round the whole Greyhounds team to score in the opposite corner of her wing.

The last try of the tournament summed up the whole day with the whole team working as one, with Sarah making great yardage, off loading to Mel, a quick pass from Vic to Laura who dived for the line to score the final try of the game.

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The player of the tournament was Laura Kendal-Seal who was gracious in winning the award and dedicated it to the whole squad which seemed fitting after a truly fabulous day. As the League stands, Ross are in second place just one point adrift from Pershore.