Tough game in the rain for Newbury Women !

As the winter weather set in over the weekend it was mixed results for Newbury.

The 1st XV was back at home and took a loss against Beckenham whilst the 2nd XV were away to Farnham and brought home another win.

In a game littered with scrum after scrum, the Newbury pack showed pure dominance during set play. Unfortunately it was Beckenham who had the upper hand in the ruck where they were fast into every setup and after 30 minutes the combination of a quick steal and fast wingers gave the away team the first points of the day.

With the wind behind them Beckenham utilised it with a kick to touch. Although Newbury challenged well in the lineout Beckenham gained a penalty from the ruck. It was taken quickly and with Newbury trying to get on side the Blue and gold hoops brought their lead to 12-0 and not long after, the end of the first half.

The second half got off to a better start for the Blues as they controlled the ball through the scrum. Number 9, Devon Holt saw off the opposition scrum half to draw the Beckenham defence. A timely run of forward carries allowed fly half Georgia Smith to release Abbie Leadbitter and Kirsty Batten into space for an excellent duo of runs. On the go-forward, the Blues back line were able to capitalise on the scrambled defence and Ellen Thornton battled through to carry over for Newbury. Georgia Smith brought Newbury closer with her conversion. 12-7 to Beckenham.

The remainder of the half was an absolute battle with the heavy rain causing mistakes to be made by both teams. It wasn’t until the final 10 minutes that Beckenham were able to increase their lead through sucking Newbury’s defence into repeated contact situations and finally finding a gap.