A Day for the History Books

Roll back the clock one year and G’s Women were rounding up on their first year in the NC3 league after 10 years of not being a part of any official league. The 2021/22 season saw the women finish 4th in their table; for this season, however, it's a very different story. This Sunday was a momentus day in the womens history as they took on Camberley with the ambition of becoming league champions. On the back of a 4-match winning streak, the women were raring to go and boy did they put on a show for the raucous East Grinstead home crowd!

Keen to gain possession in Camberleys half on kick off, G's were strong on the chase down with McCarthy and Kraus quickly up on Camberley. Like in many of G's previous games, the first few minutes presented a chaotic style of rugby with possession flitting back and forth as both teams fiercely competed for the ball. Nevertheless, G's managed to edge closer towards the try line with a series of crash balls from Thompson and Basterfield. Utilising the backs, the ball was shipped down the line to Shackel who was just short of the line after some excellent tackling from the opposition. Fortunately, Carrick was quick on Shackel's tail and swiftly scooped up the ball to dot it down directly over the ruck to score the G's first try of the match! With the sun beaming, this conversion was narrowly missed by Lewis (N).

Kick off saw the ball in the dangerous possession of Cox-Goodsell, who carried hard to create gaps for Shackel on her shoulder. Determined to get over the line this time, Shackel sped down the wing and with some great footwork, weaving back inside the Camberley defence to run the ball under the posts for an easy conversion for Lewis (N). The next 15 minutes saw some great rugby from both sides, with Camberley beginning to look threatening as they gained possession utilising their speedy wingers. However, G's matched their speed with Gayle defending strong down the wing with Cox-Goodsell once again quick on the jackal, regaining possession. A series of well-controlled phases from Quirin at 9 allowed G's to work their way back toward the opposition try line - Could they extend their lead before half time?

With Oliver powering down the wing, it appeared so, but she was caught short 10m out from the line with another great tackle from Camberley. Nevertheless, Oliver was supported by Kraus, who stormed through the last defender to dot the ball over the line. Under pressure from Camberley, this try translated to a difficult conversion for Lewis (N), which unfortunately was missed.

Despite the three try lead, G's did not begin to relax, especially with only 14 women on the pitch after Cox-Goodsell received a yellow card. However, regardless of being a woman down, the G's maintained a strong defensive line and continued on their try rampage with Wallis utilising her iconic speed and footwork to weave through the broken defense to score G's fourth try of the match, which was successfully converted by Lewis (S). With the scoreline 24-0 at half time, the league title was firmly in the sights of the team - Could G's maintain a clean sheet in the second half?

With possession in hand, Lewis (N) explored the back field with an excellent cross field kick. With Carrick on the chase down the wing, G's looked dangerously close to scoring another try. However, Carrick was stopped in her tracks but the ball was quickly shipped down the hands to Kraus who powered through for her second try of the game, with a narrowly missed conversion by Lewis (S). Off the back of some strong scrummaging from Teasdale, Addaway and Sutton, G's continued to dominate the match and with another set of quick hands to Gayle, she paced down the wing, flirting with the touchline, but with great strength she held off the defence to score in the corner. The next 30 minutes of play saw very similar dominance in play from the G's with Muggeridge, Cleary, and McCarthy consistently breaking through the line with various team mates offering support for quick off-load play to work up the pitch. This style of play earned G's not one, not two, but three additional tries with another for Shackel and two more for Wallis.

With 7 minutes left to go and a scoreline of 58-0, Camberley opted to finish the game early in light of them having another game next week. This was swfitly followed by singing and corks popping, symbolising the beginning of a series of celebrations for the East Grinstead women as they acknowledged not only a great win, but also becoming league champions! With 8 wins out of 10 this season, a 4 point lead and a staggering 199 points difference, the women have had a season to be incredibly proud of. Big congratulations to all of the ladies and to Cox-Goodsell for her POTM performance, BOTM Wallis and FOTM Carrick.