The girls headed to the annual County Festival at Barnard Castle School on Sunday, taking on strong teams from Westrovians, Hartlepool OB, Consett and Houghton — and what a day they had!

After a long season and with a few injuries in the squad, you might have expected tired legs or low energy… but not this group. The Braves were absolutely on fire from the first whistle to the last.
We always ask for effort, and that never changes — but today we added another challenge: responsibility. Taking ownership in defence, working hard around the breakdown, and not waiting for someone else to do the tough jobs. The girls embraced that challenge brilliantly.

We had 9 Braves with us — Adelaide, Autumn, Amelia, Sienna, Bayley, Isla, Martha, Tori and Georgia — and every single one of them did themselves and the team proud. The tries were fantastic, with some brilliant teamwork and unselfish play to create scoring chances for others. But the real highlight of the day was the defence. The determination to tackle, get back up, and do it again was outstanding.

Martha put in some huge, crunching tackles and stopped certain tries in their tracks.
Amelia was rightly recognised by Houghton for her powerful go-forward play.
Tori was simply relentless — a defensive ruck machine and, without doubt, one of the standout players of the whole tournament.
Bayley and Sienna powered forward all day, making valuable yards — especially impressive from Bayley, who battled through breathing difficulties before the tournament.
Georgia and Autumn seemed to be everywhere at once in both attack and defence.
Isla, despite fighting a chest infection, showed real grit with strong tackles and determined runs.
And Adelaide had one of her best games yet — even after taking a knock to the nose, she bounced back to score a brilliant try.

The results speak for themselves:

Four games played. Four games won.
Brave performances win games.
Great defence wins games.
Taking responsibility builds confidence — and this team showed all three in abundance.

The feedback from other coaches and parents was incredibly positive. The girls were admired by everyone there, and rightly so. Let’s carry this energy, teamwork and positivity into the final few weeks of our Under 12’s season.

Every player earned the title of Brave of the Tournament — although we do have one special mention…
Martha takes home the “Donut of the Day” award for that unlucky drop over the line!

A big thank you as well to Esme for coming along to support the team despite feeling unwell — true team spirit.

So proud of you all. Keep being brave!