SEVEN players from Royal Wootton Bassett Ravens helped Dorset & Wilts U15 girls record a clean sweep of victories in their county campaign on Sunday.
After securing wins against Berkshire and Buckinghamshire in the past couple of weeks, the Bassett Ravens and their teammates saw off Somerset 28-12 to make it an unforgettable 2022.
Playing at North Dorset Rugby Club in Gillingham, Dorset and Wiltshire produced a highly skilful and determined display in their final fixture, racing into an early 14-0 lead thanks to two converted tries from Chippenham’s Lauren C.
But Somerset fought back thanks to some excellent power from the forwards and running from the backs which put pressure on the D&W defence.
The visitors’ reward came not long after D&W had returned to full strength following a sin binning, with Somerset scoring their only try of the first period.
Both teams made significant changes at the break, but that didn’t diminish the quality of play on display and the large crowd of family members and supporters were richly entertained.
Somerset scored early in the second period to reduce Dorset and Wiltshire’s lead to just two points.
But once again the hosts showed impressive confident to continue playing some expansive, attacking rugby which culminated in Chippenham’s Hayley J crashing over for a converted try to make the score 21-12 at the end of the second period.
More changes were made at the start of the third period with some players being forced to play out of position due to injuries.
But again the standards and attitude never dropped, D&W crossing the line early with Maisy H scoring a brilliant individual try after a fantastic run from near the half-way line.
After the try was converted, a number of further attacking moved were created without success.
Club officials said: “The victory was a fitting end to a fantastic few weeks and much credit must go to the coaches who brought the team together earlier this year.
“Their confidence has grown week by week and there’s great excitement about what they will achieve next year.”
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