Cheddar Rugby - Shirt Presentations

Flashback: Bristol Ladies in the Community

Cheddar Rugby - Shirt Presentations

 Earlier in the season, we took a trip to Cheddar RFC to present their newly formed women’s team with their new shirts. The club had organised a double header against Minehead RFC with the women taking to the field first, and the men’s team second.

The shirt presentations took place around 1pm, with Bristol and England players Sydney Gregson and Chantelle Miell presenting the shirts, alongside the clubs new sponsors.

Women’s coach Lee Iles was excited to have the girls there. ‘Thank you to Chantelle and Sydney for coming down – it was great to them at the game. It raised our profile in the local area and these girls are always an inspiration to our players, as to what you can achieve with hard work and determination’.

The game followed, and it was great to see grass roots rugby at its very best. The two teams were evenly matched, with end to end rugby and some fantastic tackles and breaks being made. Two Cheddar girls managed to cross the try line Emily Townsend  and Bristol Ladies very own Beth Turpin, who has been working with Cheddar to set up this women’s  side. Sadly these two scores weren’t enough as Minehead scored two of their own and completed the conversions.

Cheddar Women have been accepted into the Somerset Womens league next season, and we look forward to seeing how they get on and wish them the best of luck!

Photographs by Dan Ward.

Mascot

The next day we faced reigning premiership champions Saracens in a hotly anticipated clash. The two teams were equal on points in the table and both striving to show progress since the beginning of the season.

We also relocated to a new venue as the Portway was closed due to the Bristol to Bath Marathon, so Colston’s School became our home for the day.

The facilities were fantastic – the pitches were pristine, the changing rooms and pavilion got everyone settled in and focused on the game, and the spectators had a great view of the match.

We also welcomed our first mascot of the season, Grace Beet, who is also a Colston’s students – she walked out with Captain Izzy Noel Smith and joined the huddle before the game kicked off.  Grace is 8 years old and in Year 3 at Colston’s. ‘It was great to meet Izzy and the players. I really enjoyed watching Bristol play – the game was really exciting’

Sadly, Saracens put in a fierce performance, with former Bristol player Debs Fleming getting a hat-trick in the first half. Bristol turned up the pressure in the second half, with Sarah Bern scoring for the home side, but unfortunately we were unable to turn around the score deficit from the first half.

All in all, a great weekend of competitive rugby, with the results not going the way we’d hoped, but definitely showing the spirit of women’s rugby is alive and thriving in the South West!

Photograph by Rikki Teml