Can anything stop ICUWRFC?

ICUWRFC saw the end of an incredible season before Easter, being promoted to the BUCS South Eastern 1A division and winning the LUSL league with an impressive win against UCL placed 2 BUCS leagues above IC. Not only this, but Imperial were also crowned BUCS South-Eastern conference cup champions for the second year in a row after another tense bout against old rivals King’s College Medics. Given all of these successes, the team would have been forgiven for taking time out this term to rest and recuperate. However, it wasn’t long before the girls were back on the rugby pitch, this time trying out their skills in 7s and 10s tournaments.

On May 1st the team headed out to Esher, Surrey, for the RFU May Day Women’s 10s tournament. This is a newly organised summer social event and Imperial turned up happy to enjoy the sun and see how far they could go. After a slightly rusty start in the opening half of their first pool match against Chichester, Imperial soon eased into the game again, remembering the solid plays and team work that had won them their titles this season. It wasn’t long before the team were back on fine form despite the lack of time to practice much 10s. With confidence restored after beating Chichester, the team then faced St George’s who dominated in the scrum, forcing Imperial to rethink their positioning in the pack. Scramble defence, notably from next year’s captain Pip Heggie, helped us hold St George’s off from the try line despite several close calls. In the final pool match, Imperial faced Southampton, winning confidently thanks to breakaway runs from current captain Yasmin Edwards and Amy Humphreys. With three wins from three and coming top of their pool, Imperial qualified for the final played on the main stadium pitch. IC conceded an early try to Surrey but equalised with a last minute try from winger Sammy Ardi bringing the score to 7-7 at full time. It then became a tense golden try situation and IC worked as a team to dominate the game. The reward was a try beneath the posts by Lucy Olliff after crashing through the Surrey defence with style. IC won the competition and were awarded the cup by England Women’s scrum half La Toya Mason.

Just 3 days later, IC once again headed out to play some more Rugby, this time to Richmond where they entered the Middlesex Ladies 7s Bowl. They reached the final of the tournament which was played in front of a crowd in the main stadium and faced Richmond Saxons, a team of considerably older and more experienced players. IC had already played this team twice in the tournament, losing the first game and winning the second so everything was to play for. IC started strong, keeping possession of the ball and smashing through the Saxons’ defence, and were rewarded with a try scored by Yasmin Edwards. Entering the second half, IC’s defense was strong with notably impressive tackles made by Lucy Olliff causing the crowd to roar. The forwards worked well to turn over the ball and regain possession, passing it out to the back line and scoring two more tries by Carolanne Vouriot and Sammy Ardi. The final score was 17-0 and IC were chuffed at their success against such stiff competition.

With these results, ICUWRFC have won all 5 competitions entered this year and are relishing the new challenges posed by promotion in the BUCS league for next year. In the meantime, the team will be heading to the Newquay Surf 7s tournament at the end of June to enjoy the sun, sea and to try and keep the winning streak alive!