Tough day at the office

Barnes Women’s Mighty 2s travelled across to Staines Swans for their first league game of the season on Sunday. With a lot of fresh faces on the team sheet, we were raring to go as Coach Andy took the team through the warm up.

Fortunately, Swans weren’t salty about our last game against them and didn’t mention it once (but definitely more than once) as we set up on the pitch to play. It was a tough game with some very experienced players returning to the Swans line up who controlled the game well – special mention to their captain Amy who was not only their best player but also their nicest player.

Our defence was dogged and despite accumulating injuries and frustration over some of the decisions being called against both teams, I was incredibly impressed with the reserve and aggression that the team played with. The attitude of the team after the game, saying that they had wished for more time with ball in hand to take it to the opposition, speaks volumes about the character of the players who have joined us this season. We will regroup, get our heads down at training and build on the amazing things we accomplished during the game despite the heavy defeat.

We were so happy to have a few returning faces in the Barnes line up, with the one and only Lucy Baz Barron joining in after a spell away over the summer. And it was a huge return, her defence was exceptional, and she most certainly earned her forward of the match pint. Our favourite (second) rower was back in blistering form too, fresh from her injury rehab, as Bethan (now McGarva) fronted up to the big Swans forwards, bashing them down if they made their way in her direction. Jenn Pawley was also back in the fold following a summer off but you would never have guessed she had been away from the team with her work rate around the pitch and desire to carry into contact. She made a number of her impressive jabs at the Swans when we got the ball wide and her support play was phenomenal.

It wasn’t all about the returns though, as we again had a new name on the team sheet this week as Steph Sampson made her debut in the green and gold bands. Steph stepped in at hooker and did a superb job of marshalling the lineouts and most definitely got stuck in at scrum time, stealing at least one ball off the Swans - a great new addition to the club!

Our ever-reliable fullback Rochelle was tack-sharp as always, finding her voice in the team and calling the shots to get the best out of our defensive lines. Her tackling was as fearless as ever and she was worthy of her post match back of the game pint. Liv (Alpaca) Ponsford had another great run out too, taking on the big defenders with the ball in hand while winger Jane Yang did Jane Yang things in defense – namely taking on the biggest attacking players on the pitch and dominating the collisions. I certainly think the Swans were surprised by her power.

We all know how good Joss Martin’s fashion sense is and she wasn’t happy to accessorise her look only with a blue eye from all the massive hits she was putting in defensively, she made sure to have at least one blue knee to match! She was a machine, powering on through the pain. Jem Murray was an absolute workhorse on the pitch with relentless tackling and she seemed to be everywhere in the defensive line at one point, forcing Swans to move the ball because they weren’t getting through anywhere she popped up in the line. Sticking with the J’s, new addition Jam Torres played out of position and slotted in at 9, keeping the game flowing whenever we had the ball in hand, managing our attack well by playing some heads-up rugby and using great comms to boss the forwards around. Jam was our players’ player and definitely earned that accolade for her performance.

Tara Minto turned up ready to play as always, powerfully bouncing players off her in both attack and defense, carrying half of the Swans team towards the tryline at one point as they attempted to slow her down. And last, but by no means least as she was a true leader on the pitch and did a fantastic job of settling the team and putting her body on the line as an example to our newer players, was Kate (Smiler) Weighell.

There’s few things in life that are better than running out with this bunch of humans - I am sure the coaches will agree with me that they’re a special group of players with the biggest hearts and so much character. Despite the result, it’s always an enjoyable day when I am on the pitch with them and I am already looking forward to doing it all again with them next weekend, hopefully with a few tries of our own!

Thanks to our support crew, Jack, Izzy and Tati for cheering us on, carrying on the drinks in breaks in play and doing some social media bits – we love to hear you on the sidelines! And it goes without saying but a huge thanks to Andy for keeping the team focused and spirits high during a tough game.

Next Sunday the Mighty 2s are at home, playing on the B.E.S.T pitches opposite the clubhouse. Kick off is at 2pm so plenty of time to grab lunch and then head down to cheer the women on. If you are coming to spectate, please be advised that there is a strict 'no dogs and glass bottles' policy at the sports ground, so bring tinnies or a hip flask if you want to have a bevvie or two while you watch.