At long last, the sun was on our backs and a firm pitch set the stage for some brilliant open, running rugby. We were also joined by two girls from the sunny seaside town of Southend, keen to get stuck into some rugby – and, in true OGs style, they were welcomed straight into our girls’ rugby family.

We flew out of the blocks early, with Sophie opening the scoring with a quick-fire brace. Ruby T added another, before a powerful run from Lexi saw her crash over, with Amber and Sophie adding two conversions apiece. Finchley, to their credit, stayed firmly in the contest, crossing for five tries of their own to keep things tight heading into half-time.

The second half continued at the same pace, with two superb winger tries from inside their own halves – one from Ig’s Ella and one from our own Erin – lighting up the game. Sophie then completed her hat-trick, only to see her conversion attempt bounce back off the post in dramatic fashion.

With neither side willing to give an inch, the match finished all square at 43–43 – a thoroughly entertaining, end-to-end contest packed with effort, skill, and no shortage of bodies on the line.