HAVERFORDWEST Ladies RFC have resumed training and are looking to recruit new players to compete in the forthcoming WRU Division One this season.

They will be hosting a taster session at the club for ladies and under 18s on Wednesday, July 19, from 7:30pm-8:30pm. It will be a chance to have a go at the sport and meet new people, with no experience or knowledge of the game necessary.

The ladies, under 18s and under 15s players and coaches recently reflected on the 2016/17 season at the annual presentation evening.

It proved to be a mixed season for the ladies, who were in contention for Premiership promotion during the first half, but finished mid-table after the squad was depleted by injuries later in the year. They played 12 games, won six and lost six.

Ladies coach Gareth Charles said playing in Division One was a "big step up” from Division Two, but "the whole idea was always to consolidate" their league place as part of a five year plan.

"To put things in perspective, when we did have a strong team, we beat the team that won the league at home and only lost by a point away," he said.

"At the beginning of the season we had a sevens tournament in St Davids where we lost our skipper Sophie Rees, which was a big kick in the teeth for us, but Lyn Egelstaff stepped in as captain and did a fantastic job."

Gareth said they had recruited experienced players in Rachel Finnan, Helen Finnan and Louisa Weinfeld and praised the performance of new players such as Natasha Thomas. There were also several new faces towards the end of the season, who Gareth said, despite being thrown in at the deep end, had "gone from strength to strength."

A special mention also went to team manager Natalie Bowen who came out of retirement and rolled back the years with some powerful performances at prop.

The ladies player of the year was Maria Phillips, who Ben John said was central to the side and “would give anything to the person standing next to her.

“She's one of the first names on the team sheet. I can’t give her any more praise than that,” he said.

Awen Prysor picked up the players’ player award for the third year running, having had an outstanding season and represented the Cardiff Blues at regional level. Ben said: “She puts her body on the line and bruises her face weekly”.

Natasha Thomas was named most promising player, who despite never playing rugby before completed what Ben said was the "best tackle he had ever seen" earlier in the campaign. Emily Carrington was the coaches’ player of the year, and was praised for her commitment and improvement.

At the end of the evening Ben announced that he would be stepping down as ladies coach due to other commitments, leaving Gareth and Chris Beggan at the helm.

He said it has been a great experience coaching the team, and was proud of what they had become and achieved as a group.