Beckenham U13 Girls have been growing in numbers this season, and Sunday (17 November) was to be their first opportunity to get in some competitive game time, partnering with Old Alleynians, in the Kent U13 Girls waterfall tournament. Unfortunately, we had to take a (literal) rain check on our trip to Folkestone, but with Beccehamians kindly offering to host a mini tournament of local clubs, we took the opportunity to get some game time in.

However, in the first game vs Sevenoaks, we didn't get off to a great start... After some missed tackles, dropped balls and poor rucking, the U13s were 4 or 5 tries down by half-time. Enter coach Andy, who (to quote fellow coach Jim) "gave a rousing half time talk on par with Henry V's pre-match gee-up at Agincourt". It must have worked, as the second half was a different story - the U13s went right after them, tackling, rucking and competing well. While Beckenham lost the second half 2-1, it was a much closer and more competitive game against a very good and well-drilled side.

Next up were Beccehamians - a game we thought might be a bit closer. It wasn't. Beckenham put in a fantastic team performance, with tackles flying in from all quarters, with terrific offloading and support play. Special mention to Martyna, making her debut for Beckenham, who was particularly outstanding, with a tremendous tackle count, and a performance which inspired the rest of the team to step up. Final score 8-2 to Beckenham/OAs, a great result.

Overall, a great team performance from the Beckenham girls - Biodun, Ellie, Grace, Izzy, Jemima, Martyna and Ruby - with every girl making a positive contribution. As coaches, it doesn't get any better than that. Big thanks to coaches Andy, Jim and Steve for their hard work and support on the day. A surprise, but useful, practice for the Waterfall Tournament which will now take place on 1 December.