The U12 girls returned to the scene of last weeks Kent cup win, playing Bromley for the second week in a row, but as a curtain raiser on Saturday for Bromley’s VP day lunch. Now both teams knew each other and their capabilities, Bromley were hoping to perform for the larger than normal attendance for a youth game. Unfortunately for Valley we were back to the usual bare 12 for a match day, Saturday commitments and some illness having ravaged the squad.
The u10s girls were also in attendance and set the tone for the day with a convincing win! Much to the bemusement of our coaching team Bromley’s u12s seemed to be put through there paces and warm up over an hour before kick-off, was this setting their intent or would it cost them with fatigue in the second half of the match.
The U12s coaching team is blessed with strength in depth within the coaching team, with Head coach Damian playing Dad / supporter for the day (A rare treat!). Shelley Hoyle stepped up (Me and Dan probably ducked!) into the breach to lead the day. GIRL POWER!!
With a scratch team and no subs this meant full game time for all girls, including some of the smaller and lesser experienced girls in the squad. Tactical masterclass from Shelley however paired each player up with a “minder” on each side of the pitch to give them piece of mind that we would never be alone. Arianna looking after Olivia on one side and Cara with Emily on the other. To say it did the trick is an understatement.
Pre match team talk was to ensure that we started with intent, Bromley with the home crowd would be tails up to make up for last weeks loss. Intent is one way of describing the first five to ten minutes, devastation is another. Valley were out of the blocks and scoring for fun, kicks from the start deep into Bromley’s territory were hunted down by Valley immediately putting Bromley under pressure. The bonus point was secured in the first half with tries from Arianna, Cara 2 and Fran.
Phase play and control were what the half was about and Valley looked comfortable. Considering we had a try put down short of the tryline unopposed (no names mentioned!) and 3 tries held up over the try line. Bromley were working hard but as good as there defence was Valley had answers for it.

Second half was more of the same but Bromley were tiring and despondent, they resorted to Kicking the ball instead of receiving. This however came back to bite them as Tilly scooped up one such kick and promptly ran it straight back at them scoring in the corner!
Whilst the second half was a try fest for Valley, Bromley did get one back with their player of the day Autumn scoring. What impressed most in the second half was Olivias confidence with her inevitable more time on the ball. She proved herself to be a safe pair of hands and a great decision maker, choosing to pass at the right time whilst also having the confidence to surge forward and take contact when the opportunity arose. A great addition to the squad.
Emily also found her inner fire that we have all seen before but has been awry of late, she was back with a bang tacking contact and making runs unexpected from someone of such slight build. Valley were unfortunate with injuries in the second half with Arianna out with an ankle injury, Emily out with nasty stud marks on her finger Valley played on with 10 players. When Tilly went down momentarily Emily wasn’t having the team down to nine and valiantly went back on. Bromley tired in the second half, not really making an impact whilst playing against ten. Perhaps over working in the warm up could be an attributing factor or the main cause?
Second half tries Freya 2, Arianna 2, Cara, Fran and Tilly
Today showed exactly what Valley is about both with the way the girls play on the field and how girls rugby is supported off of it. This team doesn’t know when to quit and we have winners across the squad. Sophia was absent today and as one of our consistent try scorers we would expect to miss those tries, last week against Bromley Darcey scored a hat trick this week none but she absolutely dominated the centre field and the scrum. Trys come from across the girls but rugby games are not won by scoring alone. Our defence was relentless today and the workrate from the girls was immense. The opposition coach came over at the end of the game to ask what drills we do for our defensive line and to be honest apart from telling the girls to get off the line and put the oppo under pressure there was nothing to tell him. These girls are just hungry to get the ball back and do most of that of their own accord.
An unfortunate incident I feel needs to be pointed out and shows the difference at Dartford Valley. A Bromley coach reduced his player to tears by calling out her “perceived” lack of effort aas the reason they lost the game. I am afraid that he was wrong on two counts. One: that player was our player of the day, a consistent threat to us and ultimately.
An eleven to one loss is not an individual player issue, Two: More importantly irrespective of the reason you do not put that pressure on a player and I can only hope she continues to play rugby.
Valleys player of the match Emily Johncock, with a massive shift and superb resilience coming back on after an injury. Valley player of the match as voted by opposition Tilly Timon. Bromley’s player of the match as voted by Dartford went to Autumn, their try scorer and the “apparent” reason for their loss!

Dartford Valley are blessed with an ethos of encouraging players to enjoy our great game and making players of all abilities welcome. This is set from the very top and is instilled in every other position, coaches, players, team mates and supporters. Funnily enough the results across the age groups show that this is having the desired effect and making Dartford Valley the go to place for girls rugby.