Match Report
Kuwait Nomads Rugby Football Club Women’s Home Tournament
7 November 2008
The first tournament of the Women’s season saw unprecedented level of play for women’s rugby in the gulf. The 2nd tournament, the Kuwait Nomads RFC Women’s Tournament, only confirmed that fact. While the success of the tournament for Doha didn’t show in the final placing, it was a success for both teams on many other levels. The Oryx came out a lot stronger and had some excellent games against some tough competitors, and the Trojans gained some much-needed experience for the first-time players.
The first game of the day saw the Oryx demolishing the Dubai Exiles with a score of 44 to 0. Most of the scoring was done in the first half, bringing in tries from Claire Rimmer (1), Kathy Kilgallon (1), Amanda Pyle (2), and Hannah Webb (4). Kari Beauchamp put in 2 conversion kicks to top off the game. Late in the game Pyle suffered a hyper-extended knee which would put her out for the rest of the tournament – a big loss because of her dominating presence in the middle of the front line. Nonetheless, the game was a great start for the Oryx and it set the tone for the intensity of play for the rest of the day.
The Trojans’ first game was against the UAE falcons, who were expected to be a formidable opponent but the Trojans kept the Falcon’s score to a relatively small margin of 22-5. Vikki Horsburgh brought in the try for the Trojans and generally spirits were high with many of the players’ first game ever under their belt.
Immediately following, the Oryx took on the Hurricanes, reigning champs from last years’ season and a top finisher from the Oryx home tournament 2 weeks prior. The Hurricanes got in a few early scores putting Oryx on their heels, but a late surge from Molly Holt’s 2 tries brought the Oryx within striking distance. Unfortunately, time wasn’t in their favor and the Oryx finished with a 15-10 loss.
The Trojans’ next two games against the Sharjah Wanderers and the Abu Dhabi Harlequins were tough matches, losing both 27 to 0 and 50 to 0 respectively. The Trojans put forward a good effort though, with tackles, handling, and running improving with every minute.
The last game in the Pool stage for the Oryx was against the Kuwait Nomads, who had a much better team at home than the one they’d travelled with to the Oryx tournament. Tries came from Molly Holt (1) and Karen Lynn (1) but it proved not to be enough to beat the 24 points scored by Kuwait. Oryx suffered two more major injuries with Frankie Jones and Emma Traynor both being carried off the field, the former on a stretcher and the latter in Coach Damo’s arms!
After a hard fought day, both teams finished strong in their placement games. The first game for 7th/8th place saw the Trojans soundly beating the Exiles 21 to 10, with tries from Vikki Horsburgh (2), a first-ever try from Malvina Lagier (1) complete with a celebratory pirouette in the try zone, and 3 conversion kicks by Horsburgh to top it off. The Oryx followed immediately after in the 5th/6th place game against the UAE Falcons. Oryx pulled out on top even after being down 3 players with a score of 14 to 10. Karen Lynn and Claire Rimmer each had a try and Kari Beauchamp put up 2 great conversion kicks for the extra 4 points. Having the Trojans finish 7th and the Oryx finish 5th was the result of an overall excellent team effort for the Doha squads.
Many thanks to those who travelled with the girls to help out and of course to the support of the cheering vets on the sidelines, who had a game in Kuwait later on that day.