Maybe I shouldn’t have done it! When in Holland in August I watched the Ladies of Tilburg in a rugby tournament. I struck up a conversation with their coach and we agreed to have an exchange of fixtures, the first of which took place on Sunday. Having struck the deal I then learned they were the second strongest women’s rugby team in Holland

The Dutch players, when they arrived, were both pretty and friendly. Folkestone had arranged a welcome dinner for them and in retrospect that was the highlight of our girls’ weekend. It was full of enjoyment and fun.

The match itself was a different story. Folkestone had to summon players back from university to make up their numbers. Two of their better players were taken by Kent County and Saturday was also the night for Halloween parties. All took their toll and a virtually scratch side took on a slick, well-coached rugby machine.

The Folkestone girls tried hard but the Tilburg Ladies knew how to offload in the tackle, how to rip the ball from the opposition, how to take their passes running flat out and how to tackle. They were also ferociously quick to win the loose ball.

The first try came after 2 minutes, but the Stones girls then held their own for a long period. But most of the Stones efforts were by individuals and quickly petered out, whereas the Tilburg efforts were as a team and they showed wonderful handling and backing up skills. The timing and weight of their passes was a joy to behold. After 20 minutes the floodgates opened and tries were created and scored with metronomic regularity. At half time it was 0 –32 and at full time it was 0 – 68.

Mick Jones was a competent referee and his own fitness must have improved trying to keep up with the Tilburg Flyers.

I think the experience was good for the Folkestone girls and shows what they can aspire to. All were looking forward to the return match and told me they “will be ready” for that match

But they need more strength in depth and would like to attract more players. So, if you think you can run fast and handle a ruby ball or have the strength to be a forward come to Folkestone on a Tuesday or Thursday evening and give it a try. Who knows you might be the star in Tilburg next spring.

Folkestone Rugby Club

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