Welwyn players help East Region to national glory

Eight Welwyn players were in the East Region Girls' Under-18s squad which has won a national title. A hugely successful weekend for the East was capped with the U18 side claiming the 12-team Regional Festival crown at Litchfield RFC. The squad of 22 picked up their first national regional title since 2004.

In the group stage the East finished top after beating Ospreys, the Wales regional representatives, 7-0 and South East by the same score. The semi-final saw the East defeat the South West 19-5. Against the South in the final, the East won a fierce game 15-3, including one try each from Welwyn players Alex Robertson and England Women's Under-20 player Megan Williams.

The previous day East Under-15s had taken part in their age-group's version of the competition and matched their best ever performance, in 2006, by finishing runners-up out of 12 teams.

Their squad of 20 included 10 Welwyn players. The Welwyn players involved were Abbie Maxwell, Charlie Faloona, Scarlett Cooper-Wall, Courtney Arberry, Bryony Pomfret, Shira Kilgallon, Lotte Clapp, Sidney Nurthen, Rachel Mccullough and Amber King.

East U15s finished top of their group by narrowly beating South West South 10-7, then getting into gear with an impressive 27-0 win over North East. In the semi-final South West North were steamrollered 31-0, to set up the final against Wales regional winners Cardiff Blues. East were 10-0 down within five minutes, but clawed back to level at 10-10 with tries from Amber King and Courtney Arberry. However, they fell to defeat after conceding a converted try in the last minute. The loss left the players disappointed, but proud of their overall achievement.