Medway U12 Girls 80–10 Dartfordians/Aylesford

Friday Night Lights. What a night.

Medway hosted a combined Dartfordians and Aylesford team tonight in our first ever Friday Night Lights fixture, and the girls were absolutely buzzing to be playing under the lights in front of such a fantastic crowd.

In truth, tonight wasn't really about the score. It was about the occasion, the experience and the girls enjoying being part of something special.

There was dancing. There were huge smiles. There was plenty of laughter. And, most importantly, the girls bonded even further as a group.

This is a really tight squad, with friendships running throughout the team. The coaches and managers are incredibly proud of the way our Year 6 girls have integrated into the group, and equally proud of our Year 7 girls for how warmly they have welcomed them.

They have found that fantastic balance between having fun and taking their rugby seriously. They are genuinely a pleasure to coach.

Our visitors were brilliant throughout the evening and incredibly appreciative of the opportunity to play at Medway. However, from the start, the energy, aggression and skill of the Medway girls made it difficult for them to compete. Playing across four quarters, the game was effectively decided before half time.

But that actually created a very different challenge for the coaching and management team.

With a squad of 27 talented players, there are a lot of things to balance. We want to put on a spectacle worthy of the occasion and give our supporters the chance to see just how good these girls can be. At the same time, we need to make sure that all of our girls get meaningful game time. We know how much parents, grandparents and wider family members want to see their child play for this amazing team.

We also have to manage expectations and help the girls understand that, with such a large squad, they won't always be able to play every minute.

And tonight, we had another responsibility — looking after our opposition.

By the end of the third quarter, the visiting coaches were understandably concerned about their girls and were keen to bring the game to an end. After some discussion, we agreed to play a more relaxed, Barbarians-style final quarter, mixing the teams and allowing the girls to simply play rugby.

And what happened was brilliant.

The two groups integrated incredibly quickly and we saw some of the most competitive and enjoyable rugby of the evening. Girls who had been opponents minutes earlier were suddenly working together, passing, defending and enjoying the game side by side.

That, for us, is what youth rugby should be about.

There were plenty of try scorers tonight, but that wasn't the important part. The important thing was the spectacle the girls created, the atmosphere around the pitch and the enjoyment they took from playing together.

Despite the one-sided scoreline, our visitors never stopped trying. They scored two excellent tries themselves and came close to adding more, only to be denied by some incredibly aggressive Medway defence.

A huge thank you to our opposition for coming, playing and embracing the occasion.

And a special thank you to our parents and supporters. We know you want to see your daughter play as much as possible, and we also know that you understand the challenges that come with managing such a large and talented squad. Your patience and support make a huge difference.

The exciting thing is we haven't reached our potential yet.

After a short break next weekend, we head into a run of longer away fixtures against new — and hopefully much more challenging — opposition. Then, in November, we have our first competitive Waterfall fixture.

And before then, some of our Tigers girls will get the chance to go and show the boys how it's done, with a run of tournaments starting with the Medway Festival on Sunday.

We'll continue working hard during the week, developing this fantastic group and, most importantly, continuing to enjoy the journey together.

What a team. What a group. What a night.
Coach Si G