After a delayed start to the 26-27 season Women’s rugby in Newbury is back in full force. With the 1st XV at home vs Launceston and the 2nd XV away against new opposition in their newly promoted league, it was always going to be an action-packed Sunday.

At Monks Lane, 1st XV

The immense defensive pressure Newbury applied at kick off allowed them to turn over possession immediately. Controlling the attacking phases, Newbury pushed to gain territory easing up the pitch and finding connections between players.

Despite the initial work rate, it would be Launceston who would cross the whitewash first with an unstoppable pick and go from number 8 at the back of the scrum.

Although Newbury came back quickly with a try by Alex Knight, Launceston were determined to keep the pressure on the home team with another runaway try, this time from their rapid fly half cutting gaps through the defence.

Newbury regrouped under the posts and their retaliation would come hard and fast.
Strong carries from backrow and Co-Captain, Becks Reeves and hooker, April Harding coupled with powerful finishing runs from both wingers, Jenny Buckley and Ellen Thornton, the Blues squeezed another four tries and two conversions before half time.

It would be Launceston who had the final word before the half time whistle as the teams went into the changing rooms with the score at 29-19.

Coming out for the second half, Newbury started to show their fitness over Launceston. This paired with their tenacity in defence to rinse and repeat on tackles, turning over possession and utilising a scattered defence saw further scores from Alex Knight and Chloe Darby.

New to Newbury this season, fly half Faye Stratford brought a strong and accurate kicking style to not only convert for extra points, but to gain territorial space and challenge the defence.

Returning from a calf injury, Co-Captain Lizzie Harris entered the pitch with a bang. Breaking through defensive lines, crashing through tackles and forcing holes in the defence, she was rewarded with her first try of the season.

The points continued to rack up for Newbury despite Launceston’s efforts and aggression in the rucks. It would be Chloe Darby who would cross the line with her second try of the game but to finish her first game with Newbury in style, Abbie Michelow crashed through tackle after tackle to score two tries bringing the final score to 72-19.

A fantastic win for the 1st XV and a great start to the season.

At Chesham RFC, 2nd XV

Despite the scoreline it was a very evenly matched physical game. Chesham brought a physicality Newbury were possibly not as used to considering the promotion into a higher league.

It took the Blues a while to get back into the flow as the home team were very quick at the breakdown giving Newbury very little reset time.

Newbury started strong with attacking phases, but Chesham were able to turn it over and with a scrambled defence, was able to charge through and run the ball over the line.

Chesham’s second try came from a very long hard slog of a defence from Newbury. Managing to keep them out for phase after phase it was likely inevitable that they would eventually cross the line.

Newbury spent a lot of time in Chesham’s half but did not come away with anything in the first half despite looking like it was on multiple times. The score sat at 12-0 to Chesham but Newbury used half time to realign and came out firing.

It was the Blues fitness in the second half and began to show dominance and a strong run from Lozzie Price-Richards from the centre of the pitch saw her weave her way through the defence to within reach of the try line. A clean offload got the ball away to Ellie Armstrong who took it over the line bringing Newbury their first points.

This momentum saw Co-Captain Fanny Fouin scoring the next try, breaking through the Chesham line in now well-known Fouin style and placing the ball comfortably under the posts. This paired with a conversion by Oli Johnson brought Newbury even with the home team.

The game stayed physical, possession moving between the two teams with steals/scrums/lineouts all over the pitch. It would be Newbury who would capitalise again on their possession with Fouin reading Chesham’s lineout within Newbury’s 22 and pulled off an intercept that saw her running away with it again putting Newbury into the lead.

Unfortunately for the Blues, Chesham showed why they came second in the league last year and answered back in the final twenty minutes of the game. Issuing two tries against Newbury’s hard-working defence they would steal the lead and the game would finish at 26-19 to the home team.

Despite the score, the 2nd XV showed a promising start to a significant challenge following promotion and a very tough first opposition. The team held their heads up high though, not deflated by the result and looking forward to the rest of the season.