By ANGUS WILLIAMS

COLCHESTER Rugby Club women’s side - the Iceni - won their first game against East Suffolk Saxons 20-12.

It was the first time that women’s rugby had been played at Mill Road for several years.

Co-captain Emma Goate, who plays on the team alongside her identical twin sister Zoe, said: “It was an excellent start and we couldn’t really ask for more.

“For our first match we displayed that we wanted to play at a higher level.

“The girls had excellent drive and determination on the pitch and really showed that we want to compete.

“I was shocked at the amount of support; normally there aren’t many people at women’s or girl’s games but there were lots of fresh faces.”

The Iceni, who were only formed in August, have been training together since the summer but this was their first competitive match.

When asked what the biggest difference between training and playing a match was Emma, who has played at the club since she was 14 along with her twin sister, said: “Being able to have the girls hit a completely random girl.

“Having your team behind you gets your adrenaline going and shows the girls that they didn’t need to have any fear.”

The Goate twins are two of the only members who have played full-contact rugby before.

Emma said: “It’s nice to have an official first XV at the club.

“The demand for a women’s team in Colchester is really high, we have new members joining all the time.”

The two played for Colchester between the ages of 14 and 18 before continuing the sport at university.

Having identical twins playing scrum-half and fly-half may confuse their team-mates, but the confusion is helped by the fact that they both answer to each other’s names.

“Eventually the girls learnt the difference between the two of us training since August,” Emma said.

Zoe Goate and Samantha Burnell scored two tries each against the Saxons during the game which was played with just 13 players on each side.

The Iceni have another fixture scheduled for December 15 away at Crusaders RFC, and have more games scheduled for the new year.