SKIPTON Roses won three games out of five as they competed in their first Festival of Rugby at Huddersfield YMCA, involving development teams from Leeds, Halifax, Rotherham, Huddersfield and Sheffield.

The ladies took huge steps forward in playing together, tackling fiercely, and they started to dominate the breakdown with some great rucking and strong body positions.

With ball in hand, the ladies carried strongly, often breaking the first tackle then maintaining possession by winning the breakdown, before putting the ball through the hands to either find a gap or on several occasions to score a try.

There was some great individual skills for Skipton as they put in a solid performance, with several players making their playing debut.

The ladies attracted many plaudits on the day, one spectator said: “Wow, what a slick performance from a very impressive team.”

The Roses revealed their new playing strip, sponsored by Cargo Overseas, which was designed by the players and incorporates the 'Giraffe' which has become synonymous with Skipton RFC.