Manchester Ladies (10) v Birkenhead Ladies (10)

The friendly fixture with the newly formed Birkenhead side replaced the original league match against Heaton Moor Ladies.

Due to work commitments the home side were missing several first choice players, including their regular halfbacks (Lucy Henderson/Liz Bouch) and other key members of the team. The match provided a great opportunity to give match time to a number of the new players in the squad.

It was an excellent day for rugby, with near perfect conditions and two evenly matched sides. Manchester scored the first try (unconverted) after 12 minutes of the first half through Charlotte Gillis and this was followed by a further try, again unconverted, by Zara Morris, making the scoreline 10-0 to the home side. Birkenhead quickly responded with their first try, which they failed to convert, to make the halftime score 10-5 to the home side. Manchester had the majority of the possession in the first half and should have been further ahead of their opposition at the half way stage of the match.

Manchester appeared to tire as the second half progressed. The visitors were able to utilise their seven substitutes and they levelled the scores through a break a way try (unconverted). Manchester were unable to provide the necessary changes to tiring/injured players as the game progressed, as they only had 2 replacement players on the bench. The home side continued to dominate the set scrums/lineouts and were very impressive in defence. The final score of 10-10 did not reflect the level of possession that Manchester had for most of the game against good opposition.

Laura Dudbridge along with several of the new players had an excellent match. A number of players were playing out of position and they gave very committed performances. In terms of injuries the match could prove to be costly as two of our first choice props were injured and several players are carrying the usual bruises.

On the plus side the match was a chance for some of the new players to put down their mark and produce a good performance under match conditions. They did not disappoint us.