A blustery, wet morning didn't stop the Heath Rugby Girls from pulling off three fantastic wins against local Sussex opposition. The U12s took on Burgess Hill, the U14s played Crowborough away and the Under 16s took on East Sussex Barbarians at Whitemans Green.

Heath Girls U12s played their penultimate league game of the season against local rivals Burgess Hill. After a thrilling first half in which both teams scored some excellent tries through strong running and tireless support play, the weather took a turn for the worse, the girls having to play the second half through lashing rain, freezing temperatures and high winds. Heath U12s made the best of the conditions, running in several more tries on their way to a 13-6 victory. The game was played with incredible commitment and spirit by both sides. Special mention to Heath’s I.Redford who scored seven tries despite carrying an injury sustained in the opening minutes of the match.

Meanwhile Heath U14 girls travelled to Crowborough to conclude their first phase of the Sussex league and put in a strong performance to secure a 32-0 win. This match had twice been rearranged due to the recent terrible weather, and would have been in the balance again had kick off been an hour later, with the latest stormy weather rolling in. However, there was enough time before an early abandonment after 40 minutes for Heath-Uckfield to record six unanswered tries, with three from stand-in fly half S.Speight, a wonderful 70 yard solo effort from a Crowborough kick off from flanker M.Turenko and further tries from centre K.Harada and full-back E.Tennant.

The Crowborough girls showed real grit throughout to resist the pressure of an increasingly confident and dominant Heath-Uckfield team, who did not let the weather stop them playing with ambition, with accurate and well-timed passing helping them find strong attacking positions and committed defence and counter-rucking keeping the possession level high. The victory was the Heath-Uckfield girls' fifth out of seven in the league and secured their place in the upper half of the Sussex league table, meaning they will be competing with Hove, Horsham and the East Sussex Barbarians for the waterfall league and cup titles during the remainder of the season.

Not to be left out of the winning streak, the Heath U16 Girls squad played some excellent rugby against East Sussex Barbarians (ESB) as they too secured a memorable hard-fought win. Captain K.Camarra set the tone from the start, charging down the opening kick with S.Mainzer going on to score the opening try. Some excellent drives and rucking kept the pressure on ESB throughout, with another try for Mainzer and then again for Camarra. ESB got one back, followed by tries for E. Brotherton-Smith, L.Pearson and I. De Luca. Brotherton-Smith had her kicking boots on with a hat-trick of conversions. ESB came back with another try followed by two quick fire tries from S.Flower. A fantastic team effort with excellent runs, solid tackles and support from I.Williams, A.Oliver, S.Watson, W.Peck, despite the cold, challenging conditions – a performance that gave everyone a positive vibe on a wet January day.

A memorable day for Heath Girls squads and the first when all three age groups secured wins with strong performances from the whole Girls section. Any girls interested in trying rugby for the first time, Heath welcomes new players for any of the three age groups at any time. For more information contact rugby@hhrfc.co.uk.

Heath U12 Girls squad: - I.Redford, L.Bugden, L.Elston, C.Keddie, T.Unruh

[Image] Victorious Heath U14 Girls Squad - K.Aldridge, D.Blight, S.Bromley (c), C.Dodkin, C.Funnell, K.Harada, A.Kean, C.Langley, T.Laska, I.Morton, Z.Piper, C.Rayner, S.Speight, E.Tennant, L.Timson, M.Turenko, L.Turner, A.Wetton, E.White-Francis