THE long-awaited encounter between the under 16-year-olds from the Malvern Angels and the Malvern Pirates finally took place as a curtain-raiser to a recent Malvern first XV league match.

The tag-rugby match was arranged between the two Malvern youth teams in an attempt to finally put to rest the argument that girls are better rugby players than boys. And for those who were at Malvern Rugby Club to witness the event, it was the boys who proved to be the better team, by winning the challenge match by nine tries to six.

The origins of the challenge goes back to May 2000, when Malvern Angel Kerris Levin, then a member of the Malvern U12 Pirates squad, dared her former colleagues to prove that boys were better rugby players than girls.

The following September, Kerris moved to the newl- formed Malvern Angels Youth Section (MAYS) because of the RFU ban on mixed contact rugby above U12, but the dare was left unchallenged, until recently.

The match was played in the very best of spirits, but neither side were prepared to give any quarter. The Angels went behind by two tries early in the match but pulled themselves back into contention with some excellent running lines and support play. At half-time the Pirates were 5-3 ahead.

In the second half Kerris reminded the Pirates that she was still prepared to "rough it up" with a couple of head-on collisions to set her team up for scoring chances. Nevertheless, Jack Knowles intercepted two passes to put the Pirates out of reach at the final whistle.

After enjoying hospitality laid-on by the club's youth section, the debate on who were the better players was unresolved and so a date for a re-match was agreed for later in the season.

The organisers would like to thank Stephanie's of Church Street, Malvern, for supporting this event.