On Thursday 19^th November, Haberdashers’ Monmouth School for Girls made their debut at the National Urdd Netball Competition.

Held at Sport Wales National Centre in Cardiff, the event attracted 24 schools from across Wales. HMSG entered their 1^st team into the event following an incredibly successful, undefeated season so far.

Cardiff High School (National U16 2014 Champions and U18 2014 National qualifiers), Cwn Rhymi, Llangatwg and Coleg Sir Gar were all drawn in the same pool as HMSG, who would have to finish top to proceed to the quarter and semi-finals.

The HMSG team started confidently and put in a strong performance against Cardiff High, securing a 23-9 win.

With spirits high, HMSG went on to defeat all 3 other schools in their pool and managed to top their group, proceeding to the quarter finals.

Next, they faced Cathedral School, Llandaff. The girls established an early lead, however a determined Llandaff began to claw back into the game. HMSG stepped up a gear in the second half and were able to secure a 2 point victory, pushing them on to the semi-finals.

The semi-final draw was a tough one for HMSG with St David’s Catholic School boasting a defensive line up of Welsh U21 players. Unfazed and growing in confidence the squad performed relentlessly on court and pulled away with an 8-4 win. This fantastic achievement secured HMSG a place in the final where they were to play last year’s winners, Gower College.

The final, as predicted, was full of excitement and proved to be a closely contested game. At half time the score was all square at 4-4. Both teams gathered for their final team talk of the day in an attempt to regain momentum for the closing half.

Gower College, the defending champions, returned to court with a lot to prove and their strong defence and turnovers saw them command the lead. Unfortunately, on this occasion they proved a little too dominant for our girls and on the final whistle, the score stood at Gower College 11 – 8 Haberdashers.

The girls took home the runners up position, which was a fantastic achievement for their debut in the national competition. The squad were led brilliantly by 1^st team captain Megan and all performed to their best on the day.

1^st Team Players: Evie, Annabel, Jenny, Kala, Ellie, Poppy, Issie and Sereima.