It was a fantastic day for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wing on the sporting field. Competing at RAF Lyneham the Junior Rugby and Netball teams battled against sides from the rest of Region. Both teams returned triumphant.

The rugby was played in the ideal conditions of no wind and good ground, a rare phenomenon at RAF Lyneham in February. The tournament was split into two mini leagues of three teams with each match lasting 30 minutes. Hants and Isle of Wight were drawn against Plymouth and
Cornwall and Devon and Somerset Wings.

Vs Plymouth and Cornwall 31-3.
The first game of the day saw Hants & Isle of Wight against the traditionally strong Plymouth and Cornwall team. In a blistering first half display Hants and Isle of Wight scored 31 points with tries from Bleby 2428(Hedge End) Squadron, two from Baniya 413 (Aldershot) Squadron and one each from Vincent and Purkis of 2495 (Hythe) Squadron who also had his kicking boots on and converted three of the tries thanks to some coaching from Flight Lieutenant Neil Retallick. Cornwall were only able to respond with one penalty. The Hants & IoW pack had had some expert tuition from their new coach CI Steve Wardle who had put the team through their paces before the game and the pack dominated possession led by the team captain Cadet Pantry of 1927 (Petersfield) Squadron. The second half remained scoreless but the blues of Hampshire had been far too strong for the team from Cornwall.

Vs Devon and Somerset 29-0
After a break that allowed the team to watch their next opponents play Plymouth and Cornwall Hants & IoW took to the field against the Devon and Somerset fifteen. The match followed a similar format to the first game with the Hants & IoW pack dominating up front and allowing the backs to have lots of space to run into. Again, all the points were scored before the
break. This time it was tries from Greenwood 2407 (Yateley & Eversley) Squadron, Pantry, Bland and two from Couch both from 2515 (Ringwood and Fordingbridge) Squadron. Purkis was again in good touch with two further conversions. The team had most of the possession and dominated field position not giving the west country side space to play. This win set up a final against Bristol and Glostershire Wing.

Vs Bristol and Gloucester 27-5
The final was always going to be a tough challenge and the team from B&G were exactly that. However, training and opportunity to play together had jelled the cadets from eleven of the Wings squadrons into a solid team. Over the space of forty minutes (the final is extended by ten minutes) the Hants and IoW team again showed their dominance with the forwards gaining and holding territory and the backs breaking into space and showing a good turn of speed. With the exception of one break away try scored in the corner by B&G, Hampshire were always in the ascendancy. Tries by Collins 2327 (Havant) Squadron and a hat trick from the fleet footed winger Couch allowed the team to ease away. Purkis was again on the scoreboard from the boot with two conversions and one penalty. With 87 points for and only 8 against in the three games played, the team and coaches could be very proud of their achievements and deserved to lift the trophy for the third time in four years.

As a result of their efforts a total of eight cadets were selected to travel with the South West Region team to Cosford to compete against the rest of the country.

The netball tournament was held in the gymnasium at RAF Lyneham with the six Wings from South West Region competed in a round robin tournament. Each match was ten minutes long.

Match 1 – Hants & IOW 6, Plymouth and Cornwall 0
Despite initial anxiety over playing the first match of the tournament, the Hants & IOW team entered the game focused and with a clear game plan, but so had their Plymouth and Cornwall counterparts. P & C were frustrated when, after winning the toss and gaining the first centre pass, their set piece was disturbed by a clever interception by Cadet Watson 424 (City of
Southampton) Squadron, which was picked up by Cadet Gale 2495 (Hythe) Squadron playing in centre. Hants & IOW then took advantage of the ensuing confusion among their opponents, with a strong partnership developing in centre court between Cadet Gale and team captain Cadet
James 1391 (Romsey) Squadron that would last the tournament. Despite some initial shooting difficulties, Cadet Wilson 2260 (Waterlooville) Squadron was first to get her name on the score sheet, with a well held rebound from a cadet James effort on goal. The rest of the half saw Hants& IOW dominate the game, although often struggling to put the goals away after some good work in centre court. However, with the first half ending 4- 0 Hants & IOW were in a strong position. Keeping the team of Morten 424 (City of Southampton) Squadron, Watson, Keenan 1350 (Fareham) Squadron, Gale, Lucas 424 (City of Southampton) Squadron, James and
Wilson for the second half proved to be a wise move, as P & C came back fighting, with their goal attack getting agitated at Watson playing in goal defence constantly denying her access to the ball. However, P & C’s tension began to rub off on the leading team towards the end of the game, with play becoming scrappy and both teams making simple passing errors and clumsy mistakes. Despite this Hants & IOW held on to their clean sheet with the final score of 6-0 putting the team in good spirits at the beginning of the day.

Match 2 – Hants & IOW 11, Dorset and Wiltshire 0
Having watched Dorset & Wilts in their previous game, Hants & IOW felt well prepared for their game. One change, putting Cadet Darney 2428 (Hedge End) Squadron in wing defence in place of Corporal Keenan, proved successful as she and Cadet Watson put pressure on their opponent’s centre passes, forcing them to make several mistakes or pass the ball backwards with every start of play. This game saw Hants & IOW settle into the pace that had been disturbed in the previous game, with set pieces between cadets Gale, Lucas and James coming together on several occasions. James found her voice as captain, keeping her team from getting complacent and also finding her eye with some incredible shots from the edge of the D that made it look easy. The second half brought on Cadet Parkin 2412 (Bordon & District) Squadron as goal shooter, which saw some great movement developing between her and James although James still dominated the score sheet. The Dorset and Wilts team began to show the strain, with the umpire calling them up countless times for obstruction and contact where their frustration got the better of their game. The final score of 11-0 was well deserved with the team starting to show real promise in their pace and spacing not common in players who have never before played together.

Match 3 – Hants & IOW 14, Thames Valley 0
The third game was the last before lunch, and with nothing in their stomachs but the desire to keep a clean sheet and continue the winning streak of the rest of the morning, the Hants girls were ready to try new tactics. In a drastic move, cadet Watson was brought out of defence and into a more dominant centre position with Morten, keen to get a look in on the game, replacing her in goal defence, and Martin 1216 (Eastleigh) Squadron brought on to make her debut of the day as goal keeper. A shaky start ensued, with the players getting used to the new line up, but Watson’s zoning picked up every loose ball on the court and some excellent direct
interceptions that left the opposition wondering what had happened, with whispers that she had ‘go-go-gadget’ arms being the only explanation offered from awed spectators. This strategy also left Lucas and James free to develop a partnership that led to fast feeding straight into the circle after long balls across court from Watson. Cadet Gale faired well against a quick
and well-skilled wing attack, with some inspired interceptions borne out of reading the play of the other team. The second half saw cadet Parkin again brought on to partner the captain in the attacking D, but this time her eye was in and the movement developed in the previous game culminated in a string of quick goals from the centre pass, shared equally between Parkin and the now dominating James. The end of the game saw set centres work time after time and pressure from defence resulting in quick turnovers of the opponents centre passes. However, now free to roam the court cadet Morten got herself into trouble not once but twice finding herself meeting the unfriendly wooden floor of the netball court. However, ever the trooper
she soldiered on in true Air Cadet Style, even after a particularly nasty elbow-meets-mouth incident. However it was worth it in the end, with the clean sheet retained and the goal difference standing at 31 after only 30 minutes of netball.

Match 4 – Hants & IOW 20, Devon and Somerset 0
With only 5 players, Devon and Somerset certainly had their work cut out from the start, but Hants and IOW were not planning on taking any prisoners. With Keenan unmarked, she stormed the court, pouncing on any ball in sight and generally reeking havoc on centre court. Parkin and James sidestepped their defence with the well-practiced figure-eight moves showing that they hadn’t forgotten what they’d worked on in training and leaving the Devon and Somerset girls crashing into each other in confusion. Morten, keen to protect her clean sheet, directed the defence with Martin picking up some long balls cleanly as if they’d been thrown directly to her. With Devon and Somerset down 10-0 at half time, they were desperate to try and halt the machine that was the Parkin-James partnership up top, moving their centre to goal defence and attempting to block James from the game. However, this simply enabled Parkin to come out of the D and play a more dominant role, with James making quick sprints away from her defender and under the post to finish off the efforts of the team. The team held their breath as they noticed their captain, Cadet James, walking with a slight limp after an awkward fall in the increasingly scrappy attacking circle, but she protested fitness and struggled on with the determination seen by Morten earlier in the day. However the score of 20-0 at full time didn’t impress Morten, who had challenged the shooters with bettering the 10 goals scored in the first half – clearly 2 goals per minute was simply not good enough for the demanding defender. The reply that they were saving themselves for the last game was noted by the coach Flying Officer Ackerman).

Match 5 – Hants & IOW 4, Bristol and Gloucester 3
The final game was entered with anticipation by both teams, who were on equal points due to winning all of their games. In this, the last match of the tournament, it was telling that the crowd of spectators dwarfed that of the other games – everyone was keen to see just what would happen when these two teams, who had both been playing so well all day, met. Hants showed that they were able to keep their cool under pressure when B & G scored quickly from the centre pass, bringing them down 1-0 in the opening seconds of the game. Ever the voice of calamity, Cadet James spurred her team on, leading by example and getting involved in playing the ball in centre court. Ever confident of their own skills on the ball, Hants kept possession, not forcing it forwards though sorely tempted to try and even up the score line. Their efforts were rewarded with a cool goal from James that was barely applauded by her team as they re-focused their concentration on turning over the next B & G centre pass. Agitated by the clean and clever play seen by Hants, B & G made an error in centre court that saw Watson with the ball in her hands and James free to relieve her of it, with a long ball diagonally across and straight outside the D. Parkin’s defender, not noticing the ball was even in her domain, didn’t notice the quick nip under the post that subsequently led to Hants taking the lead on a stolen centre. However, slight confusion over a sideline awarded to B & G just before half time led them to level up the score to 2-2. Stern words from the coach at half time, and a swap of goal shooters to try and see if Wilson’s height could give an advantage in the circle worked wonders after half time, with a quick goal from Hants almost a mirror image of that seen from B & G in the opening seconds of the game. However, Hants knew that a one goal lead was not good enough and fought on. Passing in the attacking D suffered as a result of the change in shooters, with James and Wilson taking a little time to settle into their own space. This allowed B & G time to even up the scores again, bringing it to 3-3 with 2 minutes to go. Another quick goal from Hants showed how much they wanted that lead, with another tidy set piece showing the return of the Gale-James partnership at its best. It was then time for the defenders to step up their game, with the determination on Morten’s face and the lack of noise coming from her mouth (a rare occurrence) evidence of how much she was concentrating on her game. The reappearance of Watson’s ‘go-go-gadget’ arms led to denying B & G access to their own D, with their tension showing in clumsy play and stern words from the umpire concerning their obstruction and contact. However, with a minute to go B & G seemed to have got their rhythm back, with eye witnesses swearing that the team manager, Flg Off Rogers, was hiding behind her hands, not daring to look as the game reached its climax in the final seconds. As the final whistle blew, the concentration of both teams showed as no-one knew who had won. The B & G shooter, gutted as she realised that the game had ended as she had the ball poised and ready to shoot, was on the disappointed, but thoroughly worthy runner-up team. Congratulations go to all members of the team, as the flow and standard of play that was witnessed on the day was noticed by staff from all areas of the region. In particular it was noted that Hampshire and IOW were clean players, rarely getting pulled up for obstruction or contact, and incurring and causing no major injuries. Special congratulations go to the 6 members of the squad who were selected for the South West team:

James (GA), Watson (C) Morten (GK), Gale (WD), Parkin (GS, res.) and Keenan (WD, res.).