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Ladies come back and win

Ladies come back and win

Peter Barron23 Oct 2017 - 13:23
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Despite being 5-19 down, Lewes Ladies come back to beat Old Albanians 31-24

Lewes Ladies 1st XV hosted the Old Albanian Saints this weekend at the Stanley Turner Ground. Despite starting the game with only 14 players, the visitors made an impact from the starting whistle and within minutes the hosts were 0-7 down after a runaway try from the Saints.

In what has become a bit of a trend, the Lewes Ladies needed to go behind to square up to the game. Some strong play from the restart saw Lewes dominate which soon resulted in Abi Radford storming through the Old Albanian’s defence and over the line: 5-7.

Lewes were looking more dangerous now and quickly worked their way back up the pitch. A yellow card given for a high tackle meant that the Saints went down to 13, giving Lewes an even bigger advantage. Despite pushing into the 5m, Lewes couldn’t get over the line, and a knock-on gave the visitors an opportunity to regain possession. An impressive run from the Old Albanian winger put the score up to 14-5.

The home team went straight back up into Old Albanian’s 5m but again failed to get over the line. Another quick turnover, another sprint and another five points for the Saints team: 19-5.

Moments before half-time, the Lewes Ladies worked their way back up the pitch. A smart decision from fly-half Josie Nelder sent the ball blind to winger Lauren Arthur who made it over the line and under the posts. An easy conversion saw Lewes narrow the gap: 19-12.

With all to play for in the second half, Lewes looked re-energised as they made it onto the pitch. With the wind behind them, and playing toward their clubhouse, Lewes receive the kick-off and headed up into Old Albanian’s half. A great break from centre Kristin Kvalvik made Lewes some ground and a few forward pods later, prop Sam Williams touched the ball over the line for the equaliser: 19-19.

The home team were determined to come back for the win. Fly-half Josie Nelder used the wind to her advantage as she kicked deep into the Old Albanian’s 22. A knock-on gave Lewes the scrum and they continued to pressure the defence. It was not long before Sam Williams made it over the line again to put Lewes in the lead: 26-19.

The Saints looked visibly frustrated as they kicked off again and somehow drummed up an extra player from their supporters. Lewes were not able to stop the visitors as they determinedly moved up the pitch – and quickly scored. The conversion wascmissed so Lewes retained the lead: 26-24.

A period of defence for Lewes saw them defending on their own line for a long passage of play. The Saints attempted to maul towards the line but collapsed short and the ball would not come out. The referee awarded the visitors the scrum. Lewes soon managed to turn over the ball but then were pinged for holding the ball on the ground, still within their own five metres. Another Saints’ maul, this time got over the line but was held up, meaning another 5m scrum which this time was more successful for the Lewes Ladies. Nelder had time to clear the ball with a kick to halfway and a few phases later another kick saw Lewes into Old Albanian’s five metres.

Lewes Ladies won the ball from the line-out but was is quickly turned over, only to be knocked on by Saints. Lewes won the put in for the scrum and ball was shifted out to the wing for fullback Nicola Minchell to ground it in the corner. The conversion was missed but Lewes’ lead looked convincing again: 31-24.

The Old Albanians did not give up, and came back fighting. Lewes dominated now though and were soon back within the Saints’ half thanks to another great run from centre Kristin Kvalvik. Lewes’ defence was strong, but had a few lucky breaks when the visitors could have made use of space on the wings but did not. Some great clearing kicks from Nelder means that the Old Albanians did not come close to scoring again, and the final whistle blew with Lewes camped solidly in the visitors’ 22. Final score: 31-24.

Thanks to a bonus point win, the Lewes Ladies have moved to the middle of the table in their new league. With some tough games to look forward to, the Ladies have lots to work on, but also much to celebrate. Coming back from a 5-19 score is not an easy feat, but the Ladies kept their heads and put the effort in when it mattered.

A huge thank you to Old Albanians for travelling down to play us despite struggling for numbers, and to our sponsor Jim Jackson for coming to watch us win!

Next weekend the Lewes Ladies are celebrating their 20th year with a women and girls taster session and lunch before watching the men’s sides on Saturday. Please come down and join them.

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