It is fair to say that the run up to the game against Old Caterhamians wasn’t as smooth as normal. We travelled up thinking that we would be playing 12 a side with uncontested scrums, but that changed to 15’s when we arrived and had dropped once again to 14’s by the time kick off came.

Newbury kicked off the game with a strong wind behind them although they would be playing uphill to get the fixture underway. It was soon clear that the Old Cats had one goal for the day and that was to try and tarnish the so far perfect Newbury record for the season.

After a frantic start Newbury began to string some phases together despite the Old Cats keeping them on the back foot with strong rucking and ball retention. Newbury stayed patient and soon got the scoring underway with an excellent score from Ashley Hunter that she converted from the touchline.

Instead of propelling Newbury on, it sparked some momentum within the Old Cats side, who slowly but surely began making their way (literally) down the pitch. Newbury were then forced to make an early change with their returning forward Louise Goodall having to leave the pitch after aggravating a knee injury that she had picked up in the first half of the season.

This break enabled the Old Cats to gain a bit more composure and continued driving on and after a few lapses of discipline in the Newbury defence they were able to cross the line to score a try, the first league score that Newbury had conceded since the start of December 2011. They were unable to convert the score but showed Newbury that they were going to have to use all their skill and drive to win this fixture.

The game then had to drop to 13 a side after there was a clash of heads between the sides resulting in the Old Cats player having to leave the field of play.

The first half continued in a strongly contested manner but eventually it was Newbury who, after some well thought out set pieces and awesome mauling, gained the momentum to cross the line through the able and safe hands of Hannah “Tom” Ward before the half time whistle was blown.

The first half had been a well fought contest and Newbury went into the break knowing that they had to dig deep to find the form of their previous fixtures. The score at half time was Old Cats 5 – Newbury 12.

Whether it was the fact that the game was now being played downhill or whether it was because the wind had dropped a little or even just that they had now had time to gain some composure, but Newbury came out in the second half playing their style of rugby led mainly by the forwards.

First to cross the line for Newbury was Gaelle “French” Marcassus finishing off some strong running through the defence by Ashley Hunter down the wing, Hunter was rewarded for this assist by converting the score.

There was a similar phase of play that quickly followed, but this time the hard work made by Hunter in the centre, and supported by the forwards, was finished by Claire Humphreys securing her first Newbury try after moving to her third position of the game.

A few injuries and stoppages followed with the game having to reduce once again to 12 players due to another Old Cats injury. This break in the game gave the forwards time to plan some set piece moves from the scrums that worked well and resulted in 2 further trys; this time through the capable hands of Megan Horwood leaving the backs in her wake.

There was to be one more score in the match and, seemingly upset at the forwards taking all of the glory so far in the half, Carrie “Flasher” Smith drove through the defence to score under the posts allowing Ashley Hunter to convert the final score.

Final score Old Cats 5 – Newbury 41.

After a tough start the Newbury Ladies dug deep and showed that they deserve their spot at the top of the table. There were great performances all round and also a welcome return to the team from Megan Oxley who had been out after breaking her wrist earlier in the season.

Newbury coped well with all of the disruptions during the game and travelled back to Berkshire looking forward to their next fixture at home to Barnes.