Netball: ROUND 1 – Frankie Stenning
ROUND ONE
The netball first team took part in their first competition of the year last Tuesday. It was the area round of the County tournament. In one afternoon the girls played five back-to-back matches to finish second overall. They have got through to the next round of the competition.
The first game was Ipswich School B. It was a strong win that showed off the variety of skill within the squad. Although the team have not had much time to train together, partnerships and teamwork settled quickly to allow RHS to quickly take the lead. The girls finished with a 15-2 goal win. This set the standard for the rest of the tournament.
Next up was Ipswich High School. This time they won 17-3. In past years the old girls school used to be a hard competition for RHS but this year the first team showed their rivals how to play netball. We were winning from the beginning as we took intercept after intercept and converted them into goals. The RHS girls were confident and comfortable and ready for more.
Ipswich School A was the third game. Sadly the first team lost 6-7 to this side. It was a very tough match with the ball constantly moving from one end of the court to the other. Ipswich finished the first half one goal ahead although their had been a few missed opportunities for an RHS equaliser. As the horn blared to signal the start of the second half the girls took a moment to settle. This then left them chasing Ipswich. As the game began to come to an end the RHS girls perform similarly to their first two games. Balls became much more accurate and timing of movement was almost perfect. Sadly it was not enough to secure an RHS win. The girls were looking for a win.
Fourth game of the afternoon. It was an extremely interesting game to watch. The end result was a draw, 12 goals to each side. St Joseph’s College and RHS were very evenly matched with both sides presenting high levels of strength as well as skill. We came out wanting to take our place in the next round. This meant every goal mattered and centre passes went by as each time scored to equal the other side. The pressure was high but neither team managed to pull ahead in the end.
Last game of the day was against Woodbridge. We carried on playing as if we were still against St Joesph’s and so Woodbridge could not keep up. Movement was quick and play was smooth as we pulled ahead. All of a sudden the heavens opened and rain came down so heavily that it seemed to blind the shooters trying to score for their respective sides. The girls carried on strongly, perhaps used to the torrential rain of RHS, as they splashed through puddles and fought to maintain control over the ball. In the end RHS won 16-5.
The girls are now training for the County round of this tournament in November. This will be another tough series of games against schools representing different parts of Suffolk. RHS will represent South Suffolk alongside St Joesph’s College and Ipswich School A. Wish them luck for the next round!
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