Furthermore the teamproved our ability at the Kelsall Cup tournament in March. A rainy day with the weather against us, the girls were unaffected, making Mrs Juniper proud. Our last tournament as a teamwas not only a success, but a day of fun and laughter. Maintaining our place in the U19 Essex Cup was another achievement this season. Throughout the year the team worked hard to get ourselves into the final where we came runners-up, after an intense game withmany spectators. Our coordinated and feisty play, along with the support of the PE Department andmany parents, served as an amazing memory to our last game of the season. Of course there is no ‘I’ in ‘team’; and the 1st VII’s this year would not have been the same if we did not have even one of the girls with us. In the words of Mrs Juniper, “tenaciousness could be seen in all of our defenders”: Heather Young, Taaliyah Foster, Hannah Knightbridge and Cynthia Asiegbu. Taaliyah and Heather are certainly paralleled in their tight marking and their ability to remove their opponent mentally and physically from the game. Hannah and Cynthia, can be related by their fierce interceptions, their ‘fly ins’ and their excellent snatching of rebounds. I’m sure the younger girls will be missing Heather greatly in their upcoming season; she has certainly been helpful to say the least! We must credit a large amount of our success to our shooters of course, and the efforts of Niamh Mills, Isabelle Toms, Valencia Darby and Isobel Crichton have been extraordinary. Their movement this season has been flawless, the shots accurate and the girls rose to the challenge of any defender put in their way. I’m sure Niamh will be sorely missed in 2023, yet I have no doubt that the girls will rise to the challenge without their Upper Sixth GS! Sadie Wood has been excellent, persevering and has proved herself to be worthy of her joint Captaincy with Hannah Knightbridge in September. As a centre myself, Sadie has never failed to step up to the mark in attack! I’ve loved working with her as an attacking duo this season and I’m sure that she and Hannah will lead the team excellently next year. 101
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