The Clayton girls team worked their way through a tough Carolina Ruggerfest over the weekend, and did it with no margin for error.

Only able to travel with 15 players (including four freshmen), and then picking up one more as a sub, they played four games through the tournament, going 4-0.

Playing a four-game tournament with only 16 players makes for a tough weekend, said Head Coach JG van Graan.

"These girls are very tough and have a lot of fight in them but having only one sub was going to make for an exhausting weekend," he said.

The Tuff Turtles opened their weekend with a 15-5 win over Greer from South Carolina and rounded out Saturday with another victory, 25-7 over the Roswell Lady Rebels from Georgia. Sunday morning brought a very tough early match with Hudson from Ohio. Hudson had a very impressive day on Saturday with two big wins over Moon Area from Pennsylvania and The Lady Rebels.

Try for @ClaytonRugby Tiff Turtles Girls. #carolonaruggerfest pic.twitter.com/ThK7F6p1DY

— Alex Goff (@goffrugbyreport) March 5, 2022

"Hudson was going to be our biggest game of the weekend and we needed to perform at our peak," said team captain Ty Curry.

Clayton had a bit of a slow start but found their rhythm and rolled 32-0. The final game of the day for Clayton was against Moon Area, and Clayton won that one, too, 15-7. Clayton ended the weekend only allowing 19 points and scoring 87 in four matches.

"I am very proud of our girls. We never gave up and worked really hard to have a successful Ruggerfest," said freshman Reagan van Graan.

The Turtles open their regular season against The Raleigh Cobras next weekend.

Scrumhalf Ty Curry scored six tries on the weekend and was excellent throughout. Having grown up in the club playing with the boys, Curry actually spearheaded the founding of the girls team. seniors Jayden Gainer and Joanna Mora were strong while junior Angel Davis freshmen van Graan and Sierra Santiago also played well.