Invicta Women Finish 8th on D1 Debut as Men Take 3rd in D2

Invicta’s women finished eighth overall in this year’s Men’s & Women’s National Touch Series while the men’s team narrowly missed out on a return to division one with a third-place finish in division two.

Following promotion from division two at the first attempt last season, Invicta’s women were pitted against the top women’s club sides in the country as they made their division one debut.

In the pool stage in Nottingham in April they recorded their first division one win with a 5-2 victory over Bristol Jets and finished third in a pool that also included established women’s powerhouses London Eagles and London Scorpions.

Their reward was a quarter-final rematch against Eagles at the knock-out round in Coventry last weekend. While the gap was closer second time around, Eagles progressed and Invicta finished their division one campaign with a narrow 7-6 defeat in the 7th-8th play-off against Cambridge. With only the top six teams retaining their places in the top division for next season, Invicta will return to division two for next year’s tournament.

Invicta’s men made a strong start in their quest to return to divison one with three wins from four in Nottingham. This earned them a quarter-final against Oxford in Coventry, which they won 9-3. A semi-final win would have been enough to secure promotion but London Scorpions edged a close game 10-8 and Invicta had to settle for third after a 10-9 play-off win against Cambridge.

With the single-gender club season completed for another year, attention now turns to the three rounds of the mixed National Touch Series, beginning in Oxford on 30th May.