Saturday 11th of March was a huge day at Wimbledon RFC; a double header vs Camberley for the Senior Men’s 1st and 2nd XV, the president’s lunch, Junior games, the Men’s 1st XV league win/promotion celebrations and last but by no means least, the Women’s 1st XV vs Hampstead 1st XV. Due to an unfortunate walkover in the first half of the season it was the only time the two teams were going to meet and Wimbledon were keen to continue their winning streak in 2023 (longest recorded streak of the current league!).

Wimbledon started strong with a classic backs running try in the first 2 minutes from Sophie Storey but unfortunately no conversion. After that exciting start, there was over 30 mins of hard attack and defence from both sides but nothing to show for it. Not wanting to finish the half without pay off for all the hard work, Storey managed to finish off a period of hard attack and offloads to secure a second try for Wimbledon. This time Hannah Gutteridge was able to convert successfully. Unfortunately, just before the half time whistle, Hampstead managed to score out wide but with no conversion. HT 12-5

The second half saw a flurry of tries from Wimbledon, started by a classic Jade Wharemate try through the middle and another successful conversion from Gutti. Then some lovely lines and handling from the team allowed Andrea Handal, our nimble winger, to land a try, with another conversion by ‘Golden boot’ Gutti. Not to be outdone, the forwards went on a hunt for tries and Zoe Adams used her dominant force to get over the line but unfortunately no conversion.

Coach Jord decided it was time for Gutti to rest her long long legs and said she could ‘have some fun’ with her final play. Give an inch and she’ll take a mile… she didn’t let anyone in on her plans but it didn’t matter as she pulled off an unbelievable chip over the defensive line, gathered by herself and then popped off to Storey to do the hard running. She ended her time on the pitch with a conversion and a standing ovation from the crowd.

However, all the excitement went to Wimbledon’s heads and after some positional changes, game play got a bit messy. Hampstead managed to capitalise on this and run in their second try of the day, this time successfully converted. It was almost time for Wimbledon to celebrate their 6th win on the trot and the ref called last minute of play at the kick-off. Hampstead weren’t finished yet and launched a dangerous attack. They looked like they were in a strong position until Storey pulled off a sneaky rip and she picked a good line through the off guard defence. She ran hard down the pitch until a tap tackle had her sliding towards the try line. Luckily she slid just far enough to make it 7 tries for Wimbledon. Full time 43-12 to Wimbledon. Making it a clean sweep for all the Dons on Saturday!