Ladies Youth Better Than Reading

By Hannah Greaves
April 30 2004

It was a hot sunny day which saw the Harlequins Youth team take to the pitch against Reading under-16s as a precursor to their more elderly counterparts’ league game.

The Quins side, bolstered by an injection of Camberley talent, certainly had the edge over the Reading opposition in terms of match experience – despite training for a relatively long period, the Reading side had yet to test themselves in a real game situation. This inexperience showed through, as Quins were quickly able to penetrate the Reading defence to score the first of what would become an impressive succession of tries.

With hard-hitting running in centre-field, and long-legged speed out wide, Harlequins managed to breach the Reading defence eleven times to cruise to a comfortable victory over their less experienced opposition. Extra points were provided by conversions from centre Sarah Trundle.

In spite of the heat, both teams battled hard right to the end of the game, with impressive defence from the Reading team throughout. However, it was not until the final quarter of the game that they were able to turn this into possession and challenge Quins in their own 22. 

Despite their tenacity and perseverance, however, Reading were unable to convert their pressure into points, and ended the game without a score. The final score for the Youth was 61-0, leaving the seniors a very hard act to follow.
Many thanks to all the girls who played, and to those who turned out to help or support.

Try scorers are as follows:
Sarah Trundle 2 (3 conv.)
Claire Turner 2
Hollie Blenman (c) 2
Davinia Monteiro 2
George Gabb 1
Emily Goddard 1
Rhiannon Edmunds 1