Many of the girls have been together now for three years with over twenty girls attending training on Thursdays and Sundays. Chester is one of the few teams in the region capable of fielding a full fifteen (plus subs) so these are exciting times for this group of girls.

This season has brought some significant changes for the group in terms of the laws. The RFU has adapted the girls’ game to bring it in line with the boys’ game and have changed the age banding from U13 to U14. This has meant there has been no player movement this season and the girls are now playing fifteen a side on a full-size pitch.

These changes have afforded us some great opportunities in terms of developing the team spirit and giving us time to develop some of the core skills that are needed. It is fair to say the girls have embraced these opportunities and the most satisfying result is the development of their personalities and leadership qualities coming to the fore across the group. Girls are starting to also find their positions and this is giving them ownership and determination to perform their roles within the team.

Our group of five coaches brings a huge amount of experience and different perspectives on the game – manifesting itself in the variety of sessions and the observation / feedback sessions provided to the girls.

Core to what we do emanates from the RFU values of Teamwork, Respect, Enjoyment, Discipline and Sportsmanship. (TREDS). TREDS underpins our theme for the season of “Heartbeat”. We discuss heartbeat from time to time. Questioning, what is heartbeat? What does heartbeat mean? How can we create heartbeat moments? What are those heartbeat moments? The answers to these questions become our “heartbeat moments” and we have had plenty of these. From a player putting their arm around a teammate and encouraging them to keep on going, to some big tackles and scores - every player has had their own heartbeat moments this year.

It’s been a busy season up to Christmas for the girls with several games home and away. There have been so many highlights that it is hard to pick a few, but some standout moments come to mind. The performance at Sandal festival was impressive with an unlucky loss to one team in the group stages. Away at Oswestry the girls showed how far they had come as a team by controlling the play and working moves off nine, ten and twelve. Our recent pitch up and play event at Winnington at the end of October showed how the girl’s game has developed in the region with around twenty girls in the U13 bracket and close to fifty in the Under 14 age group.

The new year brings us more games and a potentially exciting end to the season with a tour planned and a girls’ festival at Chester RUFC – we can’t wait!