Newbury Women
Matches
Sun 28 Jan 2018  ·  Women's Championship South West 2
Reading Abbey Ladies
12
26
Newbury Rugby Football Club
Newbury Women
Blues edge Abbey away from home

Blues edge Abbey away from home

Jeannie Ivanov28 Jan 2018 - 22:11
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Bruising, blustery encounter ends in Blues' favour

They have now faced off no less than five times in two seasons, and it has become customary for Reading Abbey and Newbury Blues to serve up a showcase of the best of Berkshire rugby. So this Sunday expectations were high as they lined up in another top of the table clash, and neither team disappointed the crowd at Rose Hill.

Abbey established dominance in the scrum from the very start of the game and were characteristically combative as they sent their big hitters into Newbury's half, their number nine controlling the tempo of their phase play and allowing the visitors little room to breathe in the first fifteen minutes. They deservedly took the lead after a period of sustained pressure in Newbury's 22 led to a penalty which was capitalised upon by their hooker and very well converted for a 7-0 lead.

Newbury endeavoured to settle into their territorial game form the restart and Meg Mason's boot started to find space, but Abbey also had the early edge in the line out and their set piece discipline gave them by far the best of the first half possession. But on a claggy pitch with a swirling wind, both teams made their fair share of errors and a loose ball in Abbey territory allowed Jemma Thripp to pounce, collecting an awkward bounce neatly and turning on her fearsome afterburners to dive over in the corner.

Buoyed by the newly ticking scoreboard the Blues started to string some phases of their own together, with forwards Lotti Cargen and Carrie Smith and making big hits in both attack and defence and the back row being typically troublesome at the breakdown, which led to penalty opportunities for both sides. When the Blues secured a tricky but kickable pen through Megan Horwood's scavenging Hunt came within inches of putting the blues a point ahead, but they went into half time with a two point deficit and it was anybody's game.

What separated the two teams in the second half was a little more guile on the part of the experienced Blues squad, whose median squad age is, it has to be said, significantly higher than that of Abbey. Their second try exhibited some of that experience and was the pick of the game: Hannah Ward carved a beautiful line through the Abbey defence deep in their half and, pursued by three Abbey shirts she threaded a pass between them to Jeannie Ivanov, who ran out of gas before the whitewash but found Lizzie Harris streaking through with a sweet line of her own to finish the job. Hunt converted superbly.

And while that try exhibited the best of the Blues as a team, their third was a moment of individual brilliance when Lauren Hasset collected the high ball form the restart, ghosted between two tackles, streaked down the left wing and somehow manged to out-dance then out run the outstanding Abbey full back to score a phenomenal solo try (rumour has it she had support 'on her shoulder' but we should all be grateful she didn't need it).

Now the Blues had the bit between their teeth. They tightened their set piece and continued to absorb wave after wave of pressure from the fierce one up running of the Abbey pack, with Horwood, Harriet Mustard and Emma Swinton leading by example in the tackle. The home side's dangerous backs probed for a gap but it would not come and the Blues responded with some fine running of their own, Meg Mason feeding her back line to release Sophie Dowson and Jemma Thripp, both of whom made superb yards throughout the game, supported by Harris at full back.

The Blues came close several times in the closing quarter; Roxy Fauconnier almost made her mark within five minutes of entering the fray and from the resulting wing break Newbury came agonisingly close to the try line through Smith, Horwood and Thripp. But it was Mason who added the points that effectively finished the game when she punished Abbey for not clearing their lines sooner, pinching an intercept right under the posts to give Hunt and easy conversion.

The Blues were jubilant but to their credit Abbey came right back at them and added a deserved try of their own when they won a series of penalties deep in the Blues' 22, finally crashing over in front of their club house and having the final say in a match that combined quality with aggression from start to finish.

That these two recently promoted teams find themselves battling for top spot in the league is testament to the support, commitment and talent within both squads - both of their campaigns are far from over and the ice packs will be out tonight in preparation for the next encounter as they return to league action next weekend.

Forward of the match: Megan Horwood
Back of the Match: Meg Mason

Scorers: Jemma Thripp, Lizzie Harris, Lauren Hassett, Meg Mason, Chloe Hunt (3 cons)

Match details

Match date

Sun 28 Jan 2018

Kickoff

14:00

Competition

Women's Championship South West 2

League position

1
Reading Abbey Ladies
2
Newbury Ladies
Team overview
Further reading

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Player Sponsor - GOHO
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