One try was all that it took in the end to decide last Sunday's winners of the RFUW Regional Under 17s Festival, as the Eastern region beat the North East 5 points to nil in a nail-biting game worthy of the final. East then went on to celebrate their victory with a rousing performance of 'Hey Baby'; 'apparently girls who sing together win together'!

The day was a feast of rugby between eleven well coached teams with girls ages ranging from 14 to 17 years, and with recent internationals Maggie Alphonsi, Rachael Burford and Michaela Staniford making their reputations as a result of being spotted after standout performances at the festival, the event has become a key part of the development pathway available to up and coming women rugby players, and the improvement in the standard of performance and coaching that is evident year by year is testament to that fact. After all, in 2003 Michaela Staniford was just a face in a team photo at the Regional Festival, but is now an established name in England's top twenty-two.

The names to be watched after this event will be those who make it through to the list of players invited along to participate in the England Performance Camps held over the summer, and Tom Stokes, Talent Identification Officer at the RFUW, paid to have his finger on the pulse here, told Rugby Times: "The commitment shown yesterday was phenomenal. The standard is getting better year by year and in terms of the day as a part of the selection process for our Junior Performance Camp, it was actually the toughest I have ever been involved in."
Results:

1 East Region, 2 North East Region, 3 London & South East (S), 4 London& South East (E)