Newbury travelled to Buckingham looking to continue their impressive recent form, but well aware of the strength of the team sitting at the top of the Midlands Championship 2.
The game began at breakneck speed, with Newbury having the best of the early possession. Ferocious tackling from both sides ensued, with returning player and forward of the match Carrie Smith letting everyone know she was back.
After knocking but finding a solid green wall ahead, it was finally prop Becky Wilson who broke through to open the scoring for the Blues. Devon Holt added the extras.
Another intense period of play followed. The next score seemed certain for Newbury as the ball sped through the Swans ranks in the hands of Sophie Dowson to touch down in the corner. Unfortunately with the narrowest of in goal areas the ball was carried over, leaving Blues one score ahead at the break.
From the second-half restart, the Swans found rare space in Newbury’s defensive reorganisation and ran in at the corner. The angle however proving too narrow for the kicker.
The pace and intensity of the game remained high. With Buckingham retaining the ball for long periods, Newbury were forced to dig deep and one to fifteen make every tackle count. Great cover from the back three of Lozzie Price-Richards, Vanessa Kadziya and Lizzie Harris keeping the Greens from converting their possession to points, while the forward pack were disrupting everything they could at the breakdown.
With ball in hand, as ever, Newbury looked dangerous.The set piece - the best it has been all season - providing the backs with clean ball. From this solid platform, it was back of the match Price-Richards who next touched down for the Blues - finishing a well worked team effort.
The Swans were still making life difficult for Newbury, and with ball in the hands of their strongest runners at seven and eight, were requiring Newbury to throw everything at them in defence.
Having held the greens at bay, a penalty five metres out found the hands of one of the green’s most powerful runners who bulldozed her way through to score. The missed conversion leaving Newbury with the narrowest of leads.
Nerves were now high, and captain Mason urged her team to settle down and put in one last effort.
With 5 minutes remaining, given a penalty just into the Greens’ half, Blues opted to kick for the posts, Hunt missing by inches but working the clock down.
In fitting style, it was the earlier denied Dowson who had the final say of the match, streaking through and making sure this time of the score. Chloe Hunt’s boot bringing the final tally to 19-10.
After such a physical match, Blues will be glad of the two week break, before they resume their league campaign. They now sit top of Championship 2 Southwest, where they will next meet Guildford away on 6th January.
They also progress to the next round of the intermediate cup, where they will meet Old Elthamians at home on January 20th.
Tries:
B. Wilson
L. Price-Richards
S. Dowson
Conversions:
D. Holt
C. Hunt