Proud Salopians start their competitive rugby journey
More than two years after their first training session, South Shropshire side Clee Hill Ladies played their first ever game.
Clee Hill gathered a group of mostly new players in October 2019, with their first fixture due in March of 2020. The pandemic then put paid to that plan. Undeterred, the players continued training when the rules permitted and managed to play touch against both Bromyard and Bridgnorth.
Then for their first match of 15-a-side rugby, a squad of 18 turned out, playing in their traditional blue and maroon checks, with a team of three from the North Midlands referees society, including two Young Match Officials, brothers Jack and Liam Foley fresh from the ERRA course assisting referee Patricia Sutton.
A crowd of over 100 supporters cheered them on, an impressive number given that the town of Clee Hill itself has a population of just under 1,000.
The first quarter was played as a touch fixture to allow those getting their first taste of competitive rugby time to settle, only two of the Clee Hill pack having experience previously in a competitive scrum. The rugby family ethic was helped by the fact that Clee Hill fielded sisters Lydia and Emma Martin at loose-head and tight-head prop, with cousin Ellen Vernalls playing hooker.
Clee Hill head coach Paul Brick was pleased that his side "fronted up and did what they needed to do" against an experienced opposition, and both home captain Sadie Hall and Bridgnorth Women chair Nerys Arch looked to the future with optimism around the growing number of women's teams in the West Midlands.
"To be able to just hop in the car half an hour down the road is really good," Arch said, with Bridgnorth playing in an NC 1 Midlands league that currently stretches from Derby to Leamington Spa. There are plans also to organise fixtures with fellow newcomers Kidderminster and, despite the challenges presented by Covid, women’s teams still seem to be taking off in the North Midlands and beyond.
Chippenham recently played an inaugural match and Stamford also experienced competitive rugby for the first time. As the women’s game continues to grow, England Women’s upcoming Six Nations campaign and the Rugby World Cup later this year in New Zealand will undoubtedly inspire more developing teams at grassroots level.
