Newbury Women
Matches
Sun 04 Nov 2018  ·  Women's Championship South West 2
Newbury Rugby Football Club
Newbury Women
34
24
Plymouth Albion
Brilliant Blues Put Six Past Plymouth

Brilliant Blues Put Six Past Plymouth

Lauren Hassett5 Nov 2018 - 23:34
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A thrilling end-to-end ten try affair at Monks Lane saw the Blues take the bonus point win against the former tier two side.

Newbury expected a tough test from an experienced Albion side, fresh from three successive wins following their step down from the second tier of Women’s rugby. However, from the off it was the home side that appeared eager for the win, gaining the upper hand in territory and possession.

The intent of the home side was clear, with their signature blitz defence causing problems for the Plymouth ladies. As with all their games to date, Newbury were facing a markedly heavier pack, yet the hard work put in by the forwards in set piece was telling, and, given possession, the Newbury back line looked as dangerous as ever.

Despite their early monopoly, it was the visitors who troubled the scoreboard first. A lineout 5 metres out, saw the rolling maul used to good effect, its collapse trapping several of the Blues players before Albion crashed over.

The response from Newbury was immediate. From the kick off, a well-placed kick by outside centre Sophie Dowson gained valuable territory, and a fantastic read of the lineout forced the knock-on. The Blues pack held firm in the scrum providing the platform for scrum half Devon Holt to scamper through the defence and score under the posts. Chloe Hunt duly converted.

Despite a period of possession, Plymouth were finding it difficult to get quick ball – number seven Rosie Archard and loose head Lucy Mercer making their presence known at the breakdown, and Dowson smashing everything in sight in midfield.

With Newbury temporarily down to 14 through injury, Plymouth looked to use their forwards to their advantage. But with Newbury’s defence working overtime, the visitors’ second didn’t come easily, and took several forwards phases to finally crash through.

Again, Newbury rallied to hit back almost immediately. From an attempted clear out by Albion the ball fell to the dangerous Holt who wound her way through to the try line to score her second, Hunt adding the extras once again.

With their tails up, the prolific Dowson again kicked for territory from the restart before following up in the tackle to force the knock on. From the scrum the lively Harris broke the line before number seven Archard tore free, allowing winger Jemma Thripp to finish at the corner.

The next for the Blues was a well-deserved try for outside centre Dowson, who’s work rate in attack and defence all game gained her the back of the match award.

The game was far from over, and on finding themselves back in Newbury’s 22, Albion’s number thirteen powered through the back line to bring the visitors back within a score.

The Blues defensive work rate continued to cause problems for Albion, its lasting intensity attested to by the near interceptions of speedster Jemma Thripp late into the second half.

Newbury’s bonus point score once again began from the boot of Dowson, before the good work of Mercer and forward of the match Sarah Coleman released Holt for her hattrick.

Characteristic of the end to end nature of the game, from the restart Albion once again worked their way into the twenty-two. Fantastic work by fullback Harris saw her hold up the powerful Plymouth forward pack over the line, but from the resulting scrum v, Albion weren’t to be stopped a second time.

With minutes on the clock Newbury decided to attack, driving forward through the boot of captain Meg Mason. Dowson came within fingertips of her second, as Albion’s defence grounded the ball. The Blues weren’t to be denied their sixth however, and from the resulting drop out, the ball found its way again to Mason, whose deft kick this time allowed Vanessa Kadziya in for her debut senior try.

The fireworks which could be heard around Monks Lane following the Ladies' performance seemed fitting, following a perhaps unexpected, but wholly deserved win. The Blues look forward to the return encounter in the new year, though perhaps not the trip!

Tries:
D. Holt 3
J. Thripp 1
S. Dowson 1
V. Kadziya 1

Conversions:
C. Hunt 2

Match details

Match date

Sun 04 Nov 2018

Kickoff

15:00

Competition

Women's Championship South West 2

League position

3
Plymouth Albion
4
Newbury
Team overview
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