Match Report
Dubai Hurricanes - 15 January 2010
The Sevens Ground
12 – 1 + (injury x passport) = Oh Dear!
And so after a long and eventful festive period the AGRFU Women’s Championship finally kicked into gear for the first tournament of 2010. Would a new decade bring in a new focus amongst the teams, and would the New Year’s resolutions ring true amongst the ladies. On the back of an outstanding Dubai 7s the Doha ladies were looking forward to their return to the Sevens Ground, albeit a slightly quieter and less decorated venue.
Prior to the tournament the Doha ladies were depleted in their numbers by selection issues and could only field a squad of 12 for this particular tournament. It is never the best situation to have to limit the number of travelling players but the coaching staff at the start of the season set out the benchmark of the Oryx being Doha Ladies main priority and that we had to get them the highest finishing position possible. A late withdrawal and the readjustment of players and positions led to four regular Trojans players making the step up to the first team squad, and this is testament to their hard work and committed attitude towards their rugby. Tracy Spragg, fresh from her belated birthday celebrations a week previous was joined by Sally Burnett in the front row, whilst Maggie Macleod and Lisa Kane completed an impressive replacements contingent.
Sadly the party did not depart positively with news that Malvina Lagier had forgotten her passport. Oryx captain Kari Beauchamp tried in vain to delay the take off through a series of negations that the UN would have be proud of, but unfortunately the flight schedule could not be adapted for our team member. A few phone calls and a valiant effort by her husband to dash across Doha in the Friday morning rush hour complete with punctured tyre could not get Malvina airbound for Dubai, and so the Oryx were down another player. Fate seemed to be striking a cruel and bitter blow on the ladies. Was this a sign for the rest of the day.
After a smooth flight and some extra special attention for Head Coach Paul Rimmer from the Qatar Airways staff the mood in the Doha camp seemed to be vibrant again, and somewhat jovial. The usual lengthy bus journey ensued (complete with petrol station visit for Darbi Roberts and her petrol price guide book) with the scenic sites of the Dubai skyline lining the journey to the Sevens Ground and affording the girls some quality rest and relaxation time. In fact the relaxation seemed to continue upon arrival at the ground with the majority of the squad having a little bit of shut eye on the sofas in the club house.
With the withdrawal of the Trojans, and also the distinct lack of our sandy chums The Kuwait Nomads the tournament was down to 6 teams; with Doha facing Abu Dhabi Harlequins and Sharjah in Pool One whilst the second was a Dubai affair featuring the Exiles, Toa and the Hurricanes. The team would only play three games and needed to get themselves into an appropriate frame of mind.
The girls prepared well for their first encounter until lady luck was once again routinely kicked into touch (pun intended) causing Tracy Spragg to suffer a freak training ground accident. Three simple steps resulted in a partially torn calf muscle and dramatically ruled her out of the opening game. Some quick physio and intense icing could not get her match fit and brought her tournament to a premature close. And much like the nursery rhyme of ‘ten green bottles’ the team were now down to nine. Although on a brighter note at least Kari Beauchamp now achieved the status of oldest player on the pitch.
The first game started well despite an early Harlequins score and the ladies settled into the game well, showing some great passing and exploiting gaps to break the game line. Abu Dhabi scored two more tries from interceptions before some quick thinking from scrum half Ashley Hayes led to a full length sprint and a score between the posts duly converted by Darbi Roberts. Abu Dhabi started the second half a lot stronger and ran in a succession of tries, but the final score of 29 – 7 did not reflect the pace of the game or the skill and flair of the Oryx. With new faces and first team debuts the Doha ladies could walk off the pitch with their heads held high and feel proud of how they bonded and played as a team.
Sharjah was also a challenging encounter with youth on their side and a real scrappy element to their playing style. Holding Abu Dhabi to a close score of 10 – 7 had filled them with a confidence that would have them come out in full force against Doha. Very similar to the previous game the Oryx passed the ball around and slowed the pace of the game down. This worked in their favour and helped gaps to appear with Kari Beauchamp, Karen Lynn and Sara Hugen making some solid breaks through the first defensive line. Unfortunately the ladies could not seem to capitalise on the efforts and the opposition managed to get some scores in to give them a comfortable lead going into half time. Emma Traynor had a surging run in the second half scoring in the far corner but Sharjah managed to settle the game with another two tries and a good display of ball retention.
Losing the two pool games pitted the ladies against the Exiles for the 5th and 6th playoff. A quick splash and dash had the ladies on the pitch after a 15 minute rest and the heat had begun to dwindle allowing for a cooler finish to the day. The Exiles afternoon had been similar to Doha’s with two heavy losses also placing them final in their pool. A few coaching words of wisdom from their esteemed leader had them with a real red mist in their eyes and a desire to go out and come away with something from the afternoon. Dubai began with a deep kick collected by Emma Traynor who began the movement along the line. Great handling kept the ball with the maroon’s and allowed for Sara Hugen to make a charge for the line and scoring under the posts. The Exiles found a renewed energy from somewhere and seemed to score everytime they had the ball in their hands. Doha were resilient to the end and tried desperately to get that elusive second score in the game, coming tantalisingly close in the dying minutes with another break from Ashley Hayes linking with Emma Traynor.
Despite three losses the girls played some fantastic rugby and the scores truly did not give an insight into the team spirit, camaraderie and dedication to the club. A great day complete with evening entertainment in downtown Dubai had exhausted the players so much that the return flight was a relatively quiet affair.
C.O.M. Tracy Spragg
M.O.M. Emma Traynor and Ashley Hayes