WORCESTER Women Under 18s won the RFUW Under 18 National Cup for the sixth time in seven years, beating a combined team from Welwyn, Basildon and Hertford 17-15 in a nail-biting final at Lichfield RFC.

Worcester opened the scoring early on with a try by Katie Pittaway, but the opposition soon equalised.

No quarter was being given by either side, but a try by Lydia Thompson before halftime made it 10-5 to Worcester at the break.

The interval seemed to suit Welwyn/Basford better and they came out strongly in the second-half, scoring an early try.

Welwyn/Basford continued to dominate territory and took a 15-10 lead with around 10 minutes to go.

With just three minutes remaining, Sophie Watkiss broke from half-way, leaving several defenders in her wake, to score under the posts. Pittaway added the crucial conversion to give Worcester the lead. In a tense final phase of play, Worcester held on for victory.

England Women's head coach Gary Street presented the cup to the winners.

He said: "The quality of games far outweighed anything we have produced at this level before.

"There have been massive improvements in skills and overall game structure."