Results | Sapphire Series 18/19 Week Five
We saw all four conferences in action this Saturday, as three of the four leagues closed up their regular series with a
The Sapphire Series represents the National Championship for women’s contact football in the UK and there have been some serious changes over the offseason!
In the UK, the women’s game is one of the fastest growing facets of American Football and this rapid growth and development has necessitated another restructuring of the Sapphire Series.
The major change for the Series this year is the removal of five-a-side teams. The long-term aim for BAFA for women’s contact football is to ultimately reach the full 11v11 version of the game in the competitive leagues. Whilst this is still a long way off, the movement from 5v5 to a complete 7v7 league for this year is a big step in that direction.
The only 5v5 teams competing last year were in Division 2B. The teams from this Division stepping up this year to play 7v7 include the Oxford Saints and Kent Exiles. Unfortunately, the Peterborough Royals and Staffordshire Saxons were unable to put teams forward this year as they focus on recruitment to re-enter the leagues next season.
To accommodate this overhaul of the league, there has been a bit of a reshuffle of alignments including some teams being promoted for the upcoming season! The top two teams from Division 2A last season, the Portsmouth Dreadnoughts and the Sandwell Steelers have been promoted to Division One.
Meanwhile, in Division Two previous Five-a-side teams have been joined by new outfits the Cheshire Bears and the Birmingham Lions B.
Notably, the timings for the Sapphire Series have also changed with games starting in December, as opposed to February. The format this year will follow teams taking part in four tournaments and eight regular season games. The top two teams from each conference will then compete in a National Finals Tournament.
We are really excited at DC for the Sapphire Series to get underway. Best of luck to all the teams getting involved, especially those five-a-side teams expanding to the seven-a-side format, and to the new teams entering the league!
Standings
Division One North
| Team | W | L | T | PFor | PAgt | PDiff | League Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leeds Carnegie Chargers (C) | 7 | 1 | 0 | 439 | 35 | 390 | 22 |
| Edinburgh Wolves (P) | 7 | 1 | 0 | 306 | 102 | 204 | 22 |
| East Kilbride Pirates | 2 | 4 | 0 | 60 | 265 | -205 | 10 |
| Manchester Titans | 1 | 6 | 0 | 56 | 314 | -258 | 10 |
| Derby Braves (R) | 1 | 3 | 0 | 43 | 174 | -131 | 8 |
Division One South
| Team | W | L | T | PFor | PAgt | PDiff | League Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham Lions (C) | 7 | 1 | 0 | 365 | 81 | 284 | 22 |
| London Warriors (P) | 6 | 2 | 0 | 250 | 144 | 106 | 20 |
| Hertfordshire Tornadoes | 3 | 5 | 0 | 116 | 197 | -81 | 14 |
| Sandwell Steelers | 1 | 7 | 0 | 40 | 293 | -253 | 10 |
| Portsmouth Dreadnoughts (R) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 62 | -56 | 2 |
Division Two North
| Team | W | L | T | PFor | PAgt | PDiff | League Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheshire Bears | 4 | 2 | 0 | 124 | 107 | 17 | 14 |
| Teesside Steelers | 3 | 3 | 0 | 146 | 104 | 42 | 12 |
| Birmingham Lions B | 2 | 4 | 0 | 101 | 160 | -59 | 10 |
Division Two South
| Team | W | L | T | PFor | PAgt | PDiff | League Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wembley Stallions (+) (C) | 8 | 0 | 0 | 233 | 12 | 221 | 24 |
| Kent Exiles (P) | 4 | 4 | 0 | 131 | 177 | -46 | 16 |
| Oxford Saints | 2 | 4 | 0 | 71 | 144 | -73 | 10 |
| Cardiff Valkyries (-) | 0 | 6 | 0 | 60 | 162 | -102 | 5 |
Fixtures and Results
| Date | Game Day | Conference | Venue | Team | Score | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 1 2018 | 1 | D1 North | East Kilbride | East Kilbride Pirates | 12-61 | Edinburgh Wolves |
| Dec 1 2018 | 1 | D1 North | East Kilbride | Leeds Chargers | 87-0 | Manchester Titans |
| Dec 1 2018 | 1 | D1 North | East Kilbride | Edinburgh Wolves | 36-0 | Manchester Titans |
| Dec 1 2018 | 1 | D1 North | East Kilbride | East Kilbride Pirates | 0-57 | Leeds Chargers |
| Dec 1 2018 | 1 | D1 South | London | Hertfordshire Tornadoes | 0-39 | London Warriors |
| Dec 1 2018 | 1 | D1 South | London | Sandwell Steelers | 23-6 | Portsmouth Dreadnoughts |
| Dec 1 2018 | 1 | D1 South | London | London Warriors | 34-0 | Sandwell Steelers |
| Dec 1 2018 | 1 | D1 South | London | Hertfordshire Tornadoes | 39-0 | Portsmouth Dreadnoughts |
| Dec 1 2018 | 1 | D2 South | Wembley | Oxford Saints | 32-0 | Kent Exiles |
| Dec 1 2018 | 1 | D2 South | Wembley | Cardiff Valkyries | 6-30 | Wembley Stallions |
| Dec 1 2018 | 1 | D2 South | Wembley | Oxford Saints | 0-34 | Wembley Stallions |
| Dec 1 2018 | 1 | D2 South | Wembley | Cardiff Valkyries | 18-25 | Kent Exiles |
| Dec 15 2018 | 2 | D1 North | Derby | Derby Braves | 6-22 | Edinburgh Wolves |
| Dec 15 2018 | 2 | D1 North | Derby | Edinburgh Wolves | 53-0 | Manchester Titans |
| Dec 15 2018 | 2 | D1 North | Derby | Derby Braves | 8-6 | Manchester Titans |
| Dec 15 2018 | 2 | D1 South | Hertfordshire | Hertfordshire Tornadoes | 0-48 | Birmingham Lions |
| Dec 15 2018 | 2 | D1 South | Hertfordshire | Birmingham Lions | 31-35 | London Warriors |
| Dec 15 2018 | 2 | D1 South | Hertfordshire | Hertfordshire Tornados | 14-18 | London Warriors |
| Dec 15 2018 | 2 | D2 North | Teesside | Teesside Steelers | 22-32 | Birmingham Lions B |
| Dec 15 2018 | 2 | D2 North | Teesside | Cheshire Bears | 12-34 | Teesside Steelers |
| Dec 15 2018 | 2 | D2 North | Teesside | Birmingham Lions B | 1-0 | Cheshire Bears |
| Dec 15 2018 | 2 | D2 South | Cardiff | Cardiff Valkyries | 15-43 | Kent Exiles |
| Dec 15 2018 | 2 | D2 South | Cardiff | Oxford Saints | 0-34 | Wembley Stallions |
| Dec 15 2018 | 2 | D2 South | Cardiff | Cardiff Valkyries | 0-1 | Wembley Stallions |
| Dec 15 2018 | 2 | D2 South | Cardiff | Oxford Saints | 14-6 | Kent Exiles |
| Jan 19 2019 | 3 | D1 North | Manchester | Manchester Titans | 0-61 | Leeds Chargers |
| Jan 19 2019 | 3 | D1 North | Manchester | Leeds Chargers | 88-7 | East Kilbride Pirates |
| Jan 19 2019 | 3 | D1 North | Manchester | Manchester Titans | 9-20 | East Kilbride Pirates |
| Jan 19 2019 | 3 | D1 South | Sandwell | Sandwell Steelers | 0-42 | Birmingham Lions |
| Jan 19 2019 | 3 | D1 South | Sandwell | Birmingham Lions | 40-19 | London Warriors |
| Jan 19 2019 | 3 | D1 South | Sandwell | Sandwell Steelers | 15-46 | London Warriors |
| Jan 19 2019 | 3 | D2 South | Kent | Kent Exiles | 27-21 | Cardiff Valkyries |
| Jan 19 2019 | 3 | D2 South | Kent | Wembley Stallions | 36-0 | Cardiff Valkyries |
| Jan 19 2019 | 3 | D2 South | Kent | Kent Exiles | 0-30 | Wembley Stallions |
| Feb 02 2019 | 4 | D1 North | Edinburgh | East Kilbride Pirates | 0-48 | Edinburgh Wolves |
| Feb 02 2019 | 4 | D1 North | Edinburgh | Leeds Chargers | 40-0 | Derby Braves |
| Feb 02 2019 | 4 | D1 North | Edinburgh | Edinburgh Wolves | 28-26 | Leeds Chargers |
| Feb 02 2019 | 4 | D1 North | Edinburgh | East Kilbride Pirates | 21-2 | Derby Braves |
| Feb 02 2019 | 4 | D1 South | Birmingham | Birmingham Lions | 56-0 | Hertfordshire Tornadoes |
| Feb 02 2019 | 4 | D1 South | Birmingham | London Warriors | 28-0 | Sandwell Steelers |
| Feb 02 2019 | 4 | D1 South | Birmingham | Hertfordshire Tornadoes | 13-2 | Sandwell Steelers |
| Feb 02 2019 | 4 | D1 South | Birmingham | Birmingham Lions | 44-27 | London Warriors |
| Feb 02 2019 | 4 | D2 North | Cheshire | Cheshire Bears | 24-12 | Teesside Steelers |
| Feb 02 2019 | 4 | D2 North | Cheshire | Cheshire Bears | 46-28 | Birmingham Lions B |
| Feb 02 2019 | 4 | D2 North | Cheshire | Teesside Steelers | 38-8 | Birmingham Lions B |
| Feb 16 2019 | 5 | D1 North | Leeds | Edinburgh Wolves | 14-50 | Leeds Chargers |
| Feb 16 2019 | 5 | D1 North | Leeds | Manchester Titans | 41-19 | Derby Braves |
| Feb 16 2019 | 5 | D1 North | Leeds | Leeds Chargers | 30-0 | Manchester Titans |
| Feb 16 2019 | 5 | D1 North | Leeds | Edinburgh Wolves | 44-8 | Derby Braves |
| Feb 16 2019 | 5 | D1 South | Sandwell | Sandwell Steelers | 0-70 | Birmingham Lions |
| Feb 16 2019 | 5 | D1 South | Sandwell | Birmingham Lions | 34-0 | Hertfordshire Tornadoes |
| Feb 16 2019 | 5 | D1 South | Sandwell | Sandwell Steelers | 0-50 | Hertfordshire Tornadoes |
| Feb 16 2019 | 5 | D2 North | Sandwell | Birmingham Lions B | 20-26 | Cheshire Bears |
| Feb 16 2019 | 5 | D2 North | Sandwell | Cheshire Bears | 16-10 | Teesside Steelers |
| Feb 16 2019 | 5 | D2 North | Sandwell | Birmingham Lions B | 12-28 | Teesside Steelers |
| Feb 16 2019 | 5 | D2 South | Oxford | Oxford Saints | 6-40 | Wembley Stallions |
| Feb 16 2019 | 5 | D2 South | Oxford | Wembley Stallions | 28-0 | Kent Exiles |
| Feb 16 2019 | 5 | D2 South | Oxford | Oxford Saints | 19-30 | Kent Exiles |
| Feb 23 2019 | 6 | D2 North | Birmingham | Birmingham Lions B | Cheshire Bears | |
| Feb 23 2019 | 6 | D2 North | Birmingham | Cheshire Bears | Teesside Steelers | |
| Feb 23 2019 | 6 | D2 North | Birmingham | Birmingham Lions B | Teesside Steelers | |
| Mar 02 2019 | Finals? | TBC | ||||
| Mar 09 2019 | Finals? | TBC |