Lewes RFC

Lewes Lionesses U16s first game of 2026 was away at Horsham, the current league leaders.

Lewes started brightly attacking from the start, but Horsham are top of the league for a reason.  Both teams had to defend resolutely and commit in the attack with hard running and tireless support runners.  The pitch was wet and energy sapping and the wind was blustery which made handling very tricky.

Lewes went into the lead with tries from E Redshaw and L Parker-Phillipson, who as Captain led by example and a conversion from C Bains gave Lewes a half-time lead of 5-12.

The second half was more of the same, both teams attacked with vigour, but the handling errors meant there were scrums a-plenty.  Another score from E Redshaw gave Lewes a cushion with 20 minutes remaining.  The pitch had its final say and with the legs of a number of players starting to tire, Horsham’s experienced players took control and fought back, scoring two tries and converting the last with the final kick of the game to end with a draw at 17-17.

Horsham awarded their Forward of the Match to L McEntee who had an outstanding game with ball in hand.  Their Back of the Match was L Parker-Phillipson who was imperious in both attack and defence.  The coaches couldn’t find a chocolate bar big enough to award the whole team their Player of the Match so had to choose one, and for this match it was C Bains who won the honours for her tactical kicking from hand and her leadership both on and off the field.