Weston College Girls' Success
Weston-super-Mare is excited to see Weston College’s new state-of-the-art Health and Active Living Centre (HALC) open.
This was an outstanding achievement, far surpassing the expectations of players and staff but also fully deserved for the players’ efforts throughout the season and the outstanding performances they produced on the day.
Their qualification match against Welsh opponents Gower College saw the Weston team 44-0 winners, qualifying alongside a group which also included Pembrokeshire College and four-times winners Ysgol Dyffyryn Aman. Both these games were tightly contested with Weston winning the first 28-0 and then scoring a last minute try to defeat Ysgol Aman and make the knock-out rounds.
In the quarter-finals, the girls came up against Sint-Jan Berchmans college from Belgium. Despite losing two key players to injury, they held on and finished 17-15 winners to set up semi-final against Epsom College. This proved quite a challenge with the opponents racing to a 10-0 lead. However, Weston replied with some of the best rugby of the day, scoring three unanswered tries to win 21-17.
In the final, Weston produced another outstanding display, which allowed Amy Coles to score four tries and the team crowned champions.
Lois Bird, Weston captain, said: “It feels surreal to be national champions. We went expecting to win two or three matches, and didn’t even imagine being in the final.
“This win is huge for girls’ rugby in Somerset and getting the victory is going to draw more people into the sport.”
Team Coach and Sports Academy Assistant Manager, Jack Gadd, said: “The girls only had one specialist 7s session a week, for five weeks, in preparation for the tournament, which makes it an even greater achievement.
“Seeing the bond between the players grow was probably the most important part for me – as well as seeing rugby at its purest and history made by winning the cup for the first time.
“The college’s new facilities will enable us to continue to grow our strong sports provision. Just having a place to call home with outstanding facilities, both indoor and outdoor, will offer lots more to our learners.”
