Cheltenham Tigers vs Bristol Ladies 2nd XV - 26th October 2014

BRISTOL LADIES RUGBY MATCH REPORT

Cheltenham Tigers vs Bristol Ladies 2nd XV - 26th October 2014

Bristol Ladies 2^nd XV suffered defeat at the hands of Cheltenham Tigers this afternoon, with the final score ending at 48 – 12.

The first 10 minutes saw both teams playing a high level of rugby. The Tigers were fast at the breakdown and offloading well, but Bristol countered with exciting pace and players using their initiative to weave paths through the Tigers defence.

Tigers got the first try through Williams (11) who ran through a gap after a period of pressure in the Bristol 22, and followed up with a second on 23 minutes which took the score to 10 – 0 with the conversion.

Bristol’s Longdon Hughes led by example with some inspiring footwork, and Lauren Santini broke the Tigers line several times in the first half and Bristol were rewarded with a try of their own on 27 minutes.

On 37 minutes Tigers scored their third of the half, which ended with a score line of 19 – 5.

The second half started badly for the Bristol girls who let two tries through in quick succession to take the score to 31 – 5 and after a quick tap penalty from Hale, the Tigers found then 38 -5 up with 20 minutes to go. Their confidence began to grow, and Bristol found themselves on the receiving end of two more tries, before Bristol managed to get one back right underneath the posts, which was successfully converted. The final score ended at 48 – 12.

Forward of the match: Tash Doyle

Back of the match: Laura Santini

Coaches Pete Reakes and Matt Belbin spoke to us after the game. ‘As we’ve seen over the last few games, this is a new squad who are very much still getting to know each other. We’re getting a more regular team now, and the girls are feeling more confident in their positions, but we need to come out firing on all cylinders at the start of the game, and sustain it for the full 80 minutes. There were some fantastic individual performances, with great ball carrying, great strength and great footwork. We just need a bit more time to connect as a team and the results will start to change. The girls never gave up and our try right at the end is testament to their determination and pride in wearing that Bristol shirt’.

Squad List:

1. Tash Doyle

2. Toya Chapman-Mercer
3. Daisy Travers
4. Heidi Chapman-Mercer
5. Tara McGlade
6. Becki Belcher
7. Naomi Smith
8. Sue Neumann
9. Sammy Knighton
10. Jenny Fotheringham
11. Lauren Santini
12. Tatyana Heard
13. Polly Pearce
14. Siobhan Longdon Hughes
15. Stacey Jones
16. Natalie Lewis
17. Lauren Tracey
18. Evie Bunce
19. Ellie Marshall
20. Vicky Zaffiro
21. Beth Turpin
22. Sophie Cleverly