SUNDAY afternoon saw the Skipton Roses continue their rugby education, with a warm welcome extended to Old Brodleians Ladies, who came to Sandylands for a development session.

Both teams are in their early days, however from their fine performance and effort on a sunny afternoon, you could have been mistaken for thinking this was a full game rather than a development session.

With over 50 spectators in the stand, it is fair to say they were treated to a fantastic display of rugby.

Both teams were committed to putting all their training into practice and some of the ball handling, tackling and strong running, combined with accurate passing to support runners, led to several tries being scored by both teams.

The game consisted of lineouts and scrums and every player had a go in these positions.

The tackling was fierce with not one player taking a step backwards, but the ball carriers were as determined to retain the ball and fought to get to ground and present the ball, which allowed for several phases of attacking rugby, to the joy of the supporters.

The ladies played an hour of rugby and when the whistle was blown, the smiles on their faces were enormous, not because the game was over but because they had achieved so much and come such a long way in just a short period of time.