Wins don't always come by beating the opposition

The Minxes U13s are a large squad and even with a few missing due to fatigue and homework we were still able to almost match Barker Butts. Throw in to the mix the ever growing Ashby U13s who we have been supported by and supported this season and our squad becomes even bigger.

So a match on a Sunday with many suffering from the fatigue of not getting home until just gone 01:00 Sunday morning after a day of cheering on the Red Roses at Twickenham AND the want to get each girl game time causing possibly too many substitutions equals our girls being truly tested.

The girls took their time to find their groove by which time Barker Butts had found theirs and scored a try or two already. Our girls, with every effort made by them, just couldn't step in to gear and with subs flying on and off every couple of minutes they just couldn't get the continuity needed to steady the ship and wake themselves up.

However, we are a club that enjoys setting the girls challenges/problems to fix and this was yet another case. You see we want our girls to be able to find solutions to the problems and to do so we have needed to create an environment where they feel able to try and fail and try again until they can find the solution. Then they become competent rugby players who not only have the knowledge but self taught knowledge which they own because they created it to identify the problem and overcome it.

To hear the girls ignore the positive comments from the coaches and head in to the changing room to have a chat about what went wrong and (for a coach this is the most rewarding part) how they could fix it before leaving all of the hurt and upset in the changing room was so rewarding. They knew that they hadn't performed well but they didn't throw a paddy or spit their dummies out, they showed maturity and a desire to be better by identifying the problems and offering solutions on how to fix them. I now type with a few more proud tears in my eyes. Not only did they do all of the above but they were able to leave the negativeness in the changing room to share a bit of food with their rugby family and left with a positive attitude.

Girls you may not have won the match, which I know will be hard due to the mountains of success you already have had this seasonbut you came together today, bonded and showed amazing teamwork to identify and problem solve. For me that makes me prouder than beating any team could.