Women’s NC 3 (North)
Percy Park RFC Panthers 5 v Houghton RUFC Ladies 26
Great First Half but Park fall away in the second
The rain held off long enough to allow the Percy Park Panthers their long awaited return to the pitch. With the ground underfoot soft to ‘Glastonbury like’ the girls arrived fresh and ready for a battle, warming up with intensity and intent.
Percy Park Panthers took to the field for the first time this year and their hunger was evident. Having chosen to kick Houghton sent the ball high and straight into the safe hands of second row Katie Shanley whose strength and determination gained the Panthers some great ground. Strong defence around the ruck enabled clean ball for snipey scrum half Rachel White to pass out to another hungry pod of forwards led by Faye Bell who charged into Houghton’s forwards to gain further ground. Strong rucking from Sarah Hartshorne and Tina Attersall-Colclough making the movement of the ball out to Vicky Moxom at 10, whose debut in the position proved to be electric for the Panthers over the next 80 minutes.
The Panthers continued to dominate and camped out on the oppositions 22 for a solid 10 minutes chipping away at their defence. A clever angled run from Beth Calvert caught Houghton off guard and raised the roof of the supporters pitch side, recycled and the Panthers surged forward again this time with number 8 Lauren Watson leading the charge, Marie Watson on her shoulder hungry for the little tip. With wave after wave of forward pods relentless, Houghton flooded the near side. Quick thinking from Alexandra Goldsborough and Caitlin Monteath-Stokoe with a cheeky switch exploiting the inside line left them scrambling to re-align and prevent the try.
Excellent rucking from Houghton saw them regain possession but a clinical tackle from Moxom brought them back to earth with a thump. Houghton made good ground down the pitch and secured a penalty half way-choosing to kick for territory and winning their line out. Relentless tackling from the Panthers again pushed them back to the 22 but a quick ball out to the backs saw them dotting down just under the posts. An injury to Panthers Laura Timney was a big blow to the Panthers as her tackling had been instrumental up until then. As she left the field the team reshuffled and set themselves for the restart.
Strong running from the first of the replacements Shonie Sansom – one to watch for the future with her strength and retention of the ball in contact.
7- 0 at half time, in no way a reflection of the possession and skill on show from the Panthers.
At the restart the Panthers steal possession and 12 Beth goes on another blinding run before , unfortunately being turned over on the ground and a well weighted pass between the Houghton centre gives debut player Anna Thompson no chance of covering 2 players. She does not make it easy for them though chasing the 13 down and forcing a pass back inside for Houghtons second try.
An injury check gives a brief breather for second row Katie and makes way for Lyndsey Taylor who joins in the pod formation led by tenacious Jayne Moore crashing into contact like a wrecking ball. Quick to protect the ball were Emily Mather and stand in forward Moxom to secure the ball once again. Scrum half Rachel keeping her calm before making the pass, between explaining the rules to the referee as only a scrum half can do!
A slip in concentration led to a loss of possession and the boot of Houghton’s fly half sent it deep into the secure hands of fullback Dom Hepples whose work under the high ball was impressive throughout the game.
Scrum to Red on the Panthers 22, sees a try saving tackle from Lauren, and another strong tackle, the wind in their sails the reds come again and manage to finally break the Panthers defence to cross the line.
Another break from Houghton at the restart looked like a done and dusted try, and it would have been if not for the speed and accuracy of Caitlin tracking back and annihilating the unsuspecting player. Unfortunately, the support from Houghton was too good and they crossed for another try. This time missing the conversion.
Back down in Houghton’s territory sees a Panther’s scrum, Katie now at 8 'picks and go’s' from the base of the scrum hurtling towards the red pack driving forward having made approx. 20 metres before the ball is recycled quickly by White and popped up to the fresh legs of Laura Lodge who doesn’t waste her fleeting visit to the pitch, crashing over for Park’s only try. Team and spectators roar with delight at the well earned try that was owed to every lady that was on the field
They weren’t finished there and a spectacular take from White led to another charge up the field supported by yet another impressive line from Beth; unfortunately a slightly misplaced elbow results in turn over ball. Not for long though and the ball is Parks again with Shonie storming away again encouraged by a hungry crowd of supporters, followed by another strong run by Sarah , Park unwilling to call it a day despite the clear fatigue setting in.
Another scrum followed by run after run from Alex and Katie, leads to a penalty to Park leading to a precise kick from Lauren putting Park’s line out just 5 metres from the try line. Nearly a second try -this time for Beth -however good ripping from Houghton denied Park the 5 points. A great piece of play between Beth and Anna but once more ripped.
Final whistle and though not the score the ladies wanted a true example of a team performance with everyone playing their hearts out and supporting each other. A phenomenal first half with plenty of positives and some things to work on but ultimately a great display of women’s rugby to ignite the passion in the next generation of girls and women’s rugby in the North East.
Representing Percy Park RFC:
Forwards:1.Stephanie Gicquel , 2.Alexandra Goldsbrough,3.Laura Lodge,4.Shonie Sansom, 5.Tina Attersall-Colclough, 7.Lydnsey Taylor, 6.Maria Chisholm, 8.Katie Shanley
Backs: 9.Rachel White, 10.Vicky Moxom 11.Rebecca Casey, 12.Sarah -Jane Laybourne, 13.Katie Louise Prince, 14.Mya Yasmin 15:Dom Hepples
Finishers: Laura Timney, Emily Mather, Faye Bell, Lauren Watson, Lauren Jones, Jayne Moore, Anna Thompson, Sarah Hartshorne, Marie Watson
