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Ladies win again vs local rivals Worthing

Ladies win again vs local rivals Worthing

Pip Young19 Sep 2016 - 10:35
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A match report by Jess Sutcliffe

It took the Lewes Ladies less than 10 minutes to put the ball down behind the Worthing line in yesterday’s local derby game. Having narrowly failed to beat the Worthing side for the last two years, Lewes had been training for this game since July: determined to defend their home territory and finally get the win.

And they didn’t disappoint! Starting the game with great intensity, it wasn’t long before a scrum in the left-hand side of Worthing’s 22 lead into a perfectly executed backs move. Faye Kirby scored the try in the right-hand corner to kick the match off to a brilliant start: Lewes 5 – 0 Worthing.

Worthing’s kick-off lead straight to Lewes possession again, with newcomer Sam Monaghan scooping up the kick and heading back into Worthing’s half. Lewes’ determination shone through as the team put in hard hit after hard hit into Worthing’s defensive line. Another perfectly executed set move saw the forwards drawing the defence into the rucks. Lewes Ladies had an overlap in the back line – but they didn’t need it. Josie Nelder, the flyhalf, saw an opportunity and took it: a great dummy pass cleared the way for her to head straight under the posts for Lewes’ second try of the game. Converting her own kick, Josie made the score 12-0.

Once again Worthing’s kick-off landed in Sam Monaghan’s lap. And once again Lewes made headway into the defending team’s half. The Worthing side had began to wake-up and implemented some great defensive rucking which saw Lewes lose possession for the first time in the game.

Lewes’ defence was as strong as their attack, and the Worthing side were continually closed down before they had the opportunity to use the ball. It wasn’t long before Lewes had the turnover. Lauren Arthur stormed through a ruck to take possession and beat three defenders on her way to the try line. The score was 19-0.

Although Lewes were dominating, the home team lost some of their intensity as Worthing finally began to put up an opposition. The rest of the first half saw Lewes lose possession and go on the defence to keep Worthing from crossing the line. A few more opportunities came Lewes’ way, but Worthing were quick to close down in defence. At half time the score remained the same.

The second half started out tough for the Lewes Ladies. Kicking off for the first time in the game, Worthing came storming into the Lewes half, clearly determined to make an impact on the score. For the first time in the game, Lewes were defending on their own try line and their hopes of keeping a clean sheet were dwindling. However, Lewes’ solid defence shone through and our pressure on the Worthing backs saw knock-on after knock-on in Lewes’ favour. A fantastic tackle from Josie Nelder saw Worthing’s fly half off the pitch with injury, and the loss of a key player gave Lewes the advantage.

Drawing from a full bench, Lewes made some impact changes and, after a rough twenty minutes, the blue and white side looked back on form. The forwards battled up the pitch in a series of scrums and spent 5 minutes camped out in Worthing’s 22, testing for a gap in the defence. It finally came, and ‘Chip’ Chippett scored her first try for the side making the score 24-0.

In quick succession, another try came, this time on the left wing for scrum half Grace Darling. An exceptional team try: the ball passing through everyone’s hands before being placed over the line. Final score: 29-0. Another win for the blue and whites.

Lewes currently sit joint first in the table with two wins under their belts, and two bonus points to boot. Lewes Ladies are looking forward to a rest weekend next weekend and their next fixture is away to Barnes on the 2nd October.

Thanks to Alexa Clarke Kent for sharing her photos of the game!

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