Long rambling report by Terry. Translated into English by Dave

S Wales came to this years counties with one simple plan, to avoid the wooden spoon that had been theirs for the last 3 years. To this end, they enlisted ex GB U16's coach Brian Carswell now of Pembrokeshire to teach them some Korfball! With the U-form embedded, they went a Korfing. The group was split into 2 halves, the teams S Wales could gain some points from, and the half they couldn't. Unfortunately, the latter 3 teams all came up first.

1st up were SE london and a team of National League players. S Wales were duly outclassed, and lost 6-0, which over 30 minutes, was still a much better show than previous years. Next were another seeded team, Cheshire, and another korf lesson. The 7-1 loss was notable for out first goal from Rob C. The final tough game was to be the hardest, against a Cambridgeshire team that eventually came third. Another consolation (Ed) against eight was all they could manage against this quality oppostion.

The lessons learn were simple from the games so far, keep the ball better, and don't be so rushed. However, the team were still bouyant, and we looked forward to the next three.

Our first win came next and was made to look harder work than it needed to be. The Irish oppostion kept themselves in the game well but the scorline should have been higher than 4-3. Goals from Brian, Sian, Rob D, and a beauty from Rachel showed we could score as well as defend (which one end did for most of the game!).

Next up were a Manchester team who proved to be very tough opposition, though again, S Wales tripped over their own faults. Sian and Dan gave us a platform that we quickly lost to be 2-2 at half time. Manchester were playing a very slow and deliberate game, which was causing S Wales trouble. Using the block like we should have done, they soon gained the upper hand 2-3. Coming on at half time, Terry injected some strength to the attack, and muscled his way to a hotly contested brace, which seemed to set up the win. However, a silly mistake in attack gifted them the ball, which they made the most of to equilize with only seconds to spare.

The lost points would prove crucial as it meant S Wales had to beat a good Tayside team. Despite their best efforts, and some gravity defying basket shots, a tired team could only manage a single goal (Brian), but conceeded three.

It would prove to be the lost points that moved S Wales into the bottom pool, and games against other like minded teams (don't come last!).

First up was S Yorshire team made up of Sheffield Hallam players, who on paper should have been much higher. This potential banana skin was well avoided though, with a very strong performance. A lovely goal from Dan started things off, with Elaine adding a smart second. Yorks fought back with some very slick hands, but S Wales were not being denied, Terry added a third and Rob C landed the winner.

This boost in confidence would show through for the rest of the Sunday, with the team playing some much more relaxed Korfball, of the type we badly needed to play the day before.

Devon should have been easy, but a trigger happy referee took away all of S Wales momentum and left the game closer to their pace. Not content to play the supporting roles, the girls took the fore in this game, and a double each from Elaine and Sian showed that we could score from all points. A 4-4 draw had echos of the Mancester game, but it would prove not to be the case.

The next game also supplied a glut of goals, 6 in fact. Berkshire could have been tough (Clive Minshull with points to prove), but were despached with ease. 5 scorers made the sheet, Terry (two pens) , Dan, Rob D, Sian and the goal of the weekend from Rob C who finally nailed the big long one!

A return leg against Ireland was going well, Brian and another double from Sian, who was having a great Sunday looked to set things up well, until the weekend caught up with Cally who needed to go off with a busted ankle, and with no cover, our three girls were exposed. Ireland then stormed in front, and only a shorthanded goal from Terry gained us the bonus point that tipped the group in our favour.

As the weekend went on, S Wales improved game by game, especially as we had not played together that much before. None of the performances were embarrassing, and in retrospect, the first three games were a credit to the team. We ended up top of the bottom group (17th), and could really have been a few places higher.

Looking forward to next year then

Rachel looking rather foxy next to that gurning moron		Dave and Al the short-arse.

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