OE Ladies, who formed in 2016 and have quickly worked their way up the leagues, were holding 3rd place, which meant this game was an opportunity for Lewes to earn some important points to increase their position in the table.

It was the perfect day for a game of rugby, with glorious sunshine and a chilly wind, and despite the long bus journey, the Lewes ladies were buzzing for a competitive game.

Lewes were off to a strong start, and in the first 10 minutes Samantha Monaghan scored the opening try, breaking through three tackles and converting it - 0-7 to Lewes.

OE Ladies returned the attacking spell in kind, breaking through Lewes’ defence and then scoring from an overlap on the wing to match Lewes 7-7.

Lewes built some positive attacking play but suffered from the attrition of penalties dealt out by the referee.

OE Ladies secured a line out in Lewes’ 22 and were being held by Lewes’ defence, before the visitors received two yellow cards in the attempt to prevent a try. With 13 Lewes players to 15, OE Ladies managed to break through the defence bringing the score to 14-7 just before half time.

Into the second half, Lewes made an impressive start despite being two players down, with sets of attacking play and centre Kiri making a great break towards their try line.

OE Ladies regained possession and Lewes managed to hold off their attack, but conceded a penalty in Lewes’ 22, which OE took advantage of and made the score 17-7.

Time had run out on the yellow cards and the full pack was restored in time for a scrum. Lewes conceded a penalty which led to a line out in Lewes’ 5 and a resulting try to OE Ladies - 25-7.

With the introduction of subs, Lewes made a change of pace and with a craic-ing open play kick from Sarah McCarthy, they fought their way into OE Ladies 22. The forwards feeling hungry for possession turned over a series of scrums which gave an attacking platform for a pick and go from Samantha Monaghan to bring the score up to 25-12.

With 10 minutes to go, momentum was building for Lewes and a determination to not back down brought an aggressive team attacking play. A great run from Kiri led to a try for Lewes bringing the score to 25-19.

From the last kick off, Sienna Hatton-Brown made an impressive tackle on the home side’s number 13, which resulted in a turnover ball. In the last few minutes of the game, Lewes’s strength showed as they attacked again in an attempt to take back the win, but were beaten by the final whistle.

It was a tough defeat for a team who fought until the end, and felt the score line wasn’t reflective of their capabilities.

That focus and determination will be carried into training ahead of their greatly anticipated home game against current 2nd-place table-holders, Hammersmith & Fulham Ladies this weekend. This Sunday Lewes will be host to a double-header, as the 2s will also be playing in a home friendly against Sussex Police.

Thanks as ever to all the beautiful people who came to support.

Match report by Sophie Williams