The final scoreline, 6 tries apiece, doesn't tell the full story of Sunday's Surrey Cup Round 2.

The Barnes, Teddington and Harlequins Girls U12's cluster - playing as the Bears - arrived at a cold, blustery Richmond Athletic Ground on Sunday morning to take on the Richmond/Ealing/Ruislip cluster.

Fired up from midweek training with Harlequins and England's number 2, Connie Powell, the squad were run through a tougher than normal warm up and were determined to improve upon last weeks performance - not least because our captain for the day - Esme - used to play for Richmond!

Despite fielding a squad of only 13 against a strong RER cluster, the girls were confident.

That confidence seemed misplaced when RER rolled through our defence within two minutes to take the lead. Heads stayed up and the Bears fought back, before RER scored another runaway try to go 2-1 up with only 4 minutes of the match gone. Both teams began to settle though, and the match was fought in the midfield for the rest of the first quarter, before Sophie broke out from a defensive position with a stunning run down the wing leaving RER's defence reeling. 2-2 at the end of the first quarter and heads high, going into the second quarter with renewed confidence.

The second quarter was a tough fight, nobody having a real advantage for most of the period. Coaches were happy though with the style of play and our passing was a level above what the team has achieved previously. A period of attack with multiple phases was beautiful to watch - tackle, ruck, pass and repeat as they edged towards the line, before a final tackle caused the ball to spill forward at the end of the first half just short of the line.

As the half drew to a close, RER's big, strong ball carriers tore a hole through the defence to ensure they went into half time with a 3-2 advantage.

The second half started as the first had finished, strong runners breaking tackles and it didn't look good for the Bears. Two more tries establishing a dominant 5-2 lead, RER's confidence was clearly up. Tit for tat tries from the Bears and then Richmond, 6-3 as the end of the third quarter approached, before another score from Sophie gave the girls a chance going into the last quarter at 6-4.

A quick, strong pep-talk in the huddle - from the girls themselves as well as their coaches - and the Bears came out firing on all cylinders.

It was time for our own ball carriers to show their power. Florence and Ava relentlessly took territory, battling through multiple defenders and showing they could more than compete. With 8 minutes to go, Ava's incredible run through the centre carrying multiple defenders with her to the line brought the score back to 6-5, with her first try of the Cup.

The Bears began to dominate and the RER coaching team looked worried. The Bears stopped losing their own rucks, their quick passing and offloading negated the tackling power of RER and great support player positioning meant the attack always had options.

A stern defensive effort from RER resulted, eventually, in a penalty five metres out. A decision for a quick tap-and-go from Sophie caught the defence unaware - starting her run going sideways probably helped - before she bashed through three defenders to bring the Bears level with four minutes to play.

Now there really was all to play for. Wave after wave of attack repelled by RER's defence, as the clock ticked down. With only seconds left to play, Florence and Ava combined to create what would prove to be the final opportunity, as the latter pushed towards the line she was finally brought down a few inches short. Pamela grabbed the ball to dot down - but as she did so the referee blew for a knock on and the final whistle ended the match at 6-6.

The girls were gutted to be denied the win at the death, but elated by their much improved performance.

Everybody performed in this match at a level of intensity above the usual expectations. From Olivia - playing in her first U12's match ever and not knowing most of the players - to Esme's darting runs, Delilah's near-perfect scrum-half positioning play, there were many potential awards recipients to consider.

Decamping indoors to escape the cold and incoming rain, once some food was taken onboard, the serious business awaited. Who would take the awards?

The RER cluster voted Sophie as their player of the match, for her five tries, and she should be noted as well for some committed tackling and great positioning in the ruck.

The Bears coaches tackle(r) of the day award went to Barnes' Nancy, for two epic try saving tackles, perfectly executed, whilst the Coaches Player award went to Agnes for being an absolute menace around the ruck and being everywhere.

Many thanks to Richmond for hosting and providing food, and to the whole RER cluster for the spirit the match was played in. It should be noted that the kindness shown by both RER's players and coaches in respect of potential injuries and to praise good performance was exactly why we love this rugby family.