Tournament Summary
The Valkyries faced five strong sides at the 10-a-side Girls' Festival of Rugby at RAF Halton. The day brought five defeats, but the girls improved as it went on.

Gosford All Blacks were first up and proved too strong, 0-24.

The second game, against Enfield Ignatians, was a very close contest that finished 5-10, with Tahliyah scoring from a barging run from the 5m line off a penalty.

Ellie and Marina crossed against Bishops' Stortford (12-22), and Clara scored in the 5-24 defeat to Eton Manor.

The best performance came last, against Welwyn, who beat the Valkyries 10-49 in a friendly two weeks ago. This time it finished 26-31, with Emily scoring the first try and Clara completing a hat-trick, and the Valkyries were within a single try of the win. Playing sides of this quality is exactly how we want to test ourselves, and the progress on show by the end of the day was a credit to the whole squad.

Results
Gosford All Blacks — lost 0-24
Enfield Ignatians — lost 5-10
Bishops' Stortford — lost 12-22
Eton Manor — lost 5-24
Welwyn — lost 26-31

Try Scorers
Clara — 4 (one v Eton Manor, hat-trick v Welwyn)
Tahliyah — 1 (v Enfield Ignatians)
Ellie — 1 (v Bishops' Stortford)
Marina — 1 (v Bishops' Stortford)
Emily — 1 (v Welwyn)

Players of the Tournament
Forwards — Tahliyah: no left button, no right button, just straight ahead. The 5m line didn't stand a chance.
Backs — Clara: a four-try day that fell on her father's birthday (backs coach Leo)