Bristol Ladies 2nd XV vs Henley Hawks, 25th Jan 2015

BRISTOL LADIES 2nd XV MATCH REPORT

Bristol Ladies 2nd XV 7 - 12 Henley Hawks, 25th Jan 2015

Bristol Ladies 2^nd XV fell to a narrow defeat this afternoon in their league fixture against Henley Hawks.

Bristol failed to get the start they'd hoped for this afternoon, as the first five minutes saw Henley score their only points of the afternoon, as they caught Bristol off guard from the kick off. The first try came as Henley turned over the ball from kick off, passing out to their fullback who sped through a gap in the Bristol defence to cross the line. The second came from a similar break, and left the visitors 12 points ahead.

A team try finished by Abbie Parsons brought Bristol back into the game on 14 minutes, magnificently converted by Stacey Jones to take the score to 7 – 12, where it remained until half time.

An injury at the start of the second half meant moving the game to a different pitch - all at Bristol Ladies wish the Henley player a speedy recovery.

The second half remained scoreless, with both teams showing passion and determination, with big tackles, quick ball and equal amounts of possession.

Bristol came close to equalling the score several times, with small individual errors thwarting the attacks. Both teams looked dangerous with the ball in hand, with Bristol stepping up the pressure in the final 20 minutes. Courtney Bishop and Becky Hughes were both threatening out wide, whilst Samantha Herrick and Trish Brown showed strength and grit ploughing through Henley defenders.

During the final five minutes the result could have gone either way, with end to end rugby and each team fighting to the end, leaving everything on the field.

Assistant Coach Pete Reakes spoke about the game afterwards ‘It’s frustrating to not pick up the win this afternoon. There was a lot of good rugby, good phases and working really well together, but unfortunately the final pass just kept letting us down. We’ll take a lot from today, including a losing bonus point, and look to move onwards and upwards for the remaining games this season’.

Forward of the game: Toya Chapman Mercer for her aggression, commitment and hard hitting tackles

Back of the game: Stacey Jones for her composure and control. Consistent throughout the game and under pressure.

Squad list:

1) Abbie Parsons

2) Trish Brown

3) Daisy Travers

4) Samantha Herrick

5) Emily Underwood

6) Rebecca Belcher

7) Toya Chapman Mercer

8) Sue Neumann

9) Sian Moore

10) Becky Hughes

11) Courtney Bishop

12) Jenny Fotheringham

13) Tilly Vaughan Folwer

14) Rosie Kells

15) Stacey Jones

16) Yo-Naa Olufsson (for Parsons)

17) Sophie Cleverly (for Fortheringham)

Photograph by Rikki Teml - http://www.rmtphotos.co.uk/