A very strong Enfield Tigers' representation underpinned a thrilling if ultimately tense win over Wimbledon in the U18s girls’ age grade South-East Cup final, as part of the Welwyn cluster, at Welwyn RFC on Sunday March 1.

As some 14 Enfield Tigers players (listed below), plus our friend Faye Summers from Old Grammarians, comprised the bulk of the 22-strong dual registered squad, which had held a joint training session with Welwyn during the week.

All the girls showed some good touches, and Abi Afuwape and Daisy Webb certainly carried well among the forwards, having shown the benefit of their experience gained at county level, whereas Selma Tivnann hinted at some serious pace out wide.

In a game in which the slope was no advantage and kicking was very much an optional extra, the two teams, not dissimilar in style, played a lot through the hands, whether it be via the forwards and the backs, and so a tense, nervy encounter unfolded.

It was manna from heaven if you were a neutral, but taxing on the nerves if you were a supporter of either side, but certainly the joint training session would have helped, as the Welwyn cluster settled the better of the two sides.

Despite playing up the slope, the hosts proved the most dangerous of the two sides, and they proved particularly adept at converting penalty opportunities after spreading the ball wide in the opposition 22, as their three try haul forged a 15-7 half-time lead.

In typical cup final fashion, Wimbledon rebounded strongly in the second-half, and a three try salvo saw them breathing down Welwyn’s neck at 20-19 down, and so it was still anyone’s game at this juncture.

However, in a game of very fine margins, Welwyn’s ability to fashion their fifth try from a from a critical turnover in the oppositon 22, proved key, although Wimbledon stubbornly refused to yield, and it was game on again as the visitors’ claimed a fourth try, to move within a point, eight minutes from time.

The nerves started to jangle again but, critically, Wimbledon also had a player sin-binned in the dying throes, and so Welwyn’s state of numerical superiority helped them close out a thriller, having shaded the try count 5-4.

Tom Mann, the Ignatians’ head coach, said: “For many of the girls, this will be their last season at age grade level and it’s been a tremendous experience for them. We have had to dual register the players with Welwyn for cup purpose and it was a very enjoyable occasion.”

Enfield Tigers’ representation: Isabella Rafati, Abi Afuwape, Daisy Webb, Chloe Sweeney, Eliza Sibley, Emily Mann, Chloe Sullivan, Selma Tivnann, Lila Mazen, Ashton Doe, Cadence Gillic, Georgia Georgiou, Evie Lockwood, Chloe Villalobos and Faye Summers (Old Grammarians)