On a weekend of mixed fortunes for Newbury Women, over in Farnham, Newbury II started strong with pressure from a well-placed kick off from debutant Ffion Kemp. This kept Farnham camped well in their own half from the get-go. A quick tap and go from Niki Paton-Robinson just 10 minutes in set the standard for Newbury. The Head Coach turned player broke through the defensive line and battled over the try line to make it 0-5 to Newbury.

Just four minutes later Newbury’s fierce forwards and speedy backs linked up well, passing the ball out wide via a stunning break from debutant Taylor Dodd to winger Ffion Kemp, who scored on her own debut for the women’s side before casually converting her own try.

Newbury were on a roll, capitalising on Farnham’s poor discipline to create more opportunities to tick over the scoreboard. Another quick tap from Leah Bertram on the penalty spot saw the ball sent out wide to speedster Amy Turner for a score in the corner. Jenny Buckley was next to score after a quick lineout and rapid hands to dot it down once again.

The home side did a great job of defending the wing after the beautiful charge from Taylor Dodd, repeatedly pushing players out into touch to get control of the lineout. However, the windy weather made for a difficult throw-in and a failed lineout in Farnham’s half resulted in a loose ball. A quick steal from Newbury hooker El Brooks resulted in the ball making its way all the way down the line and into the steady hands of another debutant, Jenny Buckley, who charged down the channel, handing off Farnham’s last line of defence to place the ball over the line.

Newbury and Farnham were end-to-end for the last 30 minutes, with a myriad of scrums taking place after weather-related handling errors from both sides. Newbury’s defence keeping Farnham at bay for the majority, with strong pressure from Leah Bertram keeping the Farnham side from gaining anything at set piece. The opposition fought hard though, exploiting some errors from the away side to score their first and only try of the game. Newbury had the last word though, with captain Roisin Winston turning the ball over in the Newbury half and making a strong break into the home side’s twenty-two. Newbury's Niki Paton-Robinson caught Farnham off guard at another penalty to score her second and close out the game. Ffion Kemp converted despite blustery conditions, leaving the final score 5-29 to Newbury.