At the end of a long day of sevens the Devils once again took to the field against WAB for a match that had so far been surrounded with much controversy. Due to the age of the WAB players, the school requested that touch rules rather than full contact be enforced but that a full pitch should still be used. On paper this gave the WAB youngsters a distinct fitness advantage but from the first play it became clear that the Devils’ superior experience would be important. Regular touch league players Jeannie Ivanov, Charlie Surridge and Corrie Taylor immediately set about dictating the pace and structure of the game, dumping quick balls down the middle to force WAB into a series of offside positions. WAB worked hard to keep the tempo fast and furious but their speed led to a nunber of handling errors which allowed the Devils to set up camp deep in their half.
Eventually the quick ball strategy paid off when Aurore Marie made a fantastic 20 metre break deep into WAB territory. She was held up just before the line by the slightest of touches, but a quick ball from Marissa Cox allowed Jeannie Ivanov to shift the ball to the opposite, suck in the last defender and put in Fiona Boyle for an excellent try in the corner.
With the half time score at 7-0 and WAB looking unlikely to score, the Devils took instructions to keep the pace slow and force mistakes, but from the first kick of the second half Ivanov spotted a gap in the WAB defensive line and dummied to burst through and ground a try within 10 seconds. From then WAB looked like a beaten team, whereas the Devils continued to look for gaps and exploit WAB handling errors. Aurore Marie continued to make searing breaks towards the line and it was her strong running which allowed the Devils to ha,,er the final nail into the coffin three minuted from time, when Marissa Cox found space between the posts and nipped nimbly through for number three. An excellent result for the She Devils which demonstrated their agility and versatility.