A QUARTET of Minehead’ Barbarians Under 12 Girls joined up with their counterparts from Taunton Rugby Football Club to play against Barnstaple on Sunday, October 18.

The four Barbarians were understandably slightly apprehensive to begin with, but it did not take long for their characters to come to the fore, both on and off the field. They played with plenty of spirit and enthusiasm against a very useful North Devon side who were equally determined to win the match.

The combined Taunton and Minehead team started the stronger and were quickly on the score board and held the upper hand throughout the match. All the Minehead girls made numerous positive contributions.

Esmae Lewis demonstrated her fierce competitiveness with a number of strong runs and enjoyed the now legal ability to hand off!

Evie Horne showed great acceleration on several occasions, hitting the line at pace and steeping through the opposition defence to score.

Martha Ford was heavily involved in both defence and attack, with her distribution, tackling and counter rucking prominent.

Amelia Westwood was to the fore particularly in the heavy traffic with strong runs through the middle and making multiple tackles. For her efforts she was awarded Player of the Day; chosen by the opposition team.

To their credit the Barnstaple team never let their heads drop and particularly on attack showed some genuine ability which allowed them to cross for a number of tries themselves which made it an enjoyable game for spectators to watch.

All the Minehead girls should be very proud of themselves, not only for how they performed on the pitch but also how well they integrated with the Taunton girls. Well done to every one of them.