Home Internationals
posted at 15:04 - 04 Apr 2008 by Gemma
A New Season
posted at 10:10 - 16 Oct 2007 by Gemma
An action-packed 2 years lies ahead as we build up to World Cup 2009. The next 2 seasons roll into each other without much of a break but with plenty of opportunities for players to stake a claim for a spot in the final world cup squad.
After Home Internationals in April 2008, Wales will enter the Prague Cup in June and shortly after that move on to Helsinki to defend our European Championship title. The Home Internationals will take place in Wales this season and we will be looking to continue our steady progress over the last two seasons and this time take the title on home soil........
The Prague Cup is an open competition that will provide an excellent practice tournament for the World Cup. It is held at the same venue and the squad will stay at the same hotel. Players and management will be able to get used to the pitches, the travel arrangements, the hotel and the food. National squads from the Czech Republic, Japan and the USA will be attending as well as many other top quality club and touring teams. The Slavia sports club is also our lucky ground! It was there, in 2004, that we won the European Championships.
We will defend that title in August 2008, in Helsinki. There is no better motivation to keep training and working hard throughout this season than the chance to be European Champions again.
It is great to have a large squad with such strength in depth this season. It is also good to welcome Sarona Taylor to the management as our fitness coach. Ronnie’s enthusiasm will rub off on us soon and we are already ‘enjoying’ the hard core sessions set for us. There will also be a new manager joining us soon as Cath Coulthard leaves us to spend time with her new baby, Charlie. A massive thanks to Cath for all her hard work and support during last year.
A long, hard season lies ahead – bring it on!
by Esther Laugharne
Home Internationals 2007 by Lucy Wray
posted at 14:05 - 15 May 2007 by Gemma
We all arrived in Edinburgh on Friday 20th April ready for a huge three days of lacrosse. After a team talk and the presentation of our first team kit we all set off for an early night in preparation for the game against Scotland the following day. Whilst some of us managed to sleep soundly many players had a restless night contemplating the battle that faced us.
Making our way to the ground the team knew what we had to do. Last season we lost to Scotland after a very promising start going up 5 – 0 in the first 10 minutes but today we knew we had to finish the job. After the anthems, which always get the heart pounding, we were ready to go. The first ten minutes were pretty close but through goals from Ros Lloyd and Lucy Wray Wales moved ahead to an 8-4 lead at half time.
The crunch moment came in the second half where Scotland came back to within one goal of Wales with four goals in quick succession. Where in the past Wales may have faltered at such a crucial time, we did not! Every member of the team fought for that extra inch and we started to show exactly what we’re made of.
The defence closed ranks, the midfield ran hard and the attacks started to put together some great team goals. Top scorers were Ros Lloyd, Lucy Wray and Kate Taylor, who made a great come back to international lacrosse following a season off since the World Cup in 2005. It was a hard fought win which finished 17 – 11 but most importantly it was a TEAM EFFORT which everyone played a part in.
The next day we were taking on England. Spirits were high and we knew that what ever happened we would fight to the death. With ten minutes played it was 2 – 1 to England after a fantastic goal from Storm Trentham. Kate Taylor then hit the post in a superb attempt to level the scores. Unfortunately for Wales the next 20 minutes belonged to England with 8 unanswered goals. But as we had stated there was no question of throwing in the towel. The second half finished 2 – 1 to England with a final score of 12 – 2. Special mention is owed to the defence, especially the back three of Katie Bendall, Bonnie Mahler and Liz Callicott, who had to sustain huge amounts of pressure for the majority of the half and forced England to take low percentage shots. Lessons will be learnt from the match, especially the need to look after the ball under pressure and work on our skill level but there is no doubt that Wales will be a force to be reckoned with next season.
Our final game was against Germany. After a little bit of a shaky start, which may have been a hangover from the day before, Wales started to show their class. The game finished 17 – 1 and in the second half the attacks had the chance to play some very disciplined lacrosse and run through some of their moves that need polishing. It was another great team performance and a good one to finish on.
There were four players from Wales nominated for the Player of the Tournament so congratulations go to: Katie Bendall, Ros Lloyd, Kate Taylor and Lucy Wray. Also congratulations go to the five new Welsh caps: Emma Welch, Lucy Welch, Gill Aldcroft, Hannah Fisher and Tash Garland.
