Manchester Women
Matches
Sun 06 Sep 2015  ·  Women's Championship North 2
Manchester Rugby Club
Manchester Women
34
10
Darlington Ladies
Manchester Ladies 34 - Darlington 10

Manchester Ladies 34 - Darlington 10

Hattie Gaunt8 Sep 2015 - 11:36
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Dominant Manchester Ladies win opening game...

Darlington vs. Manchester is always a big game in the Ladies calendar and for the opening game of the season Darlington made the long journey to Manchester, looking to extend their unbeaten record in the league matches played between the Clubs last season.

On a very warm September afternoon the spectators were treated to a very competitive game between two very committed teams. Manchester were the underdogs in the pack, however this was to prove no problem as the game developed.

The home sides game plan was obvious from the start as they moved the visitors pack around the field, using the speed of their backs and excellent link play from centres Pam Hallworth and Emily Smith to create openings in Darlington’s defence.

The first (unconverted) try was scored by Amy Clarke following a forwards ball from the back of the ruck. Manchester then sat in the visitors half and capitalised on the pressure, with hooker Kate Bailey making a breakthrough, popping off to Fern Loh for a second try (converted by Suzi Hobday). The final try of the half (unconverted ) came from Laura Dudbridge following an excellent charge down of a Darlington kick by Amber Smith. Darlington answered with a try (unconverted ) during their only period of pressure before halftime to make the score 17-5 to the home side at the break.

In the second half Manchester continued to attack the Darlington defence at every opportunity. The first try of the second half followed a spell of pressure from Darlington in the Manchester 22 – the ball was turned and followed by a break out by Hattie Gaunt down the length of the pitch to score (converted by Suzi Hobday). The game settled down, however another decisive break from Kate Bailey lead to a try from Kate Barker (unconverted.) A period of poor discipline from Manchester allowed Darlington to respond with a lone try, before Hannah Johnson ended the game with a fine try in the corner, making the final score 34-10 to Manchester.

Overall the whole Manchester Squad produced a very good performance against a very strong opposition. The starting front five : Kathryn George/Kate Bailey/Amy Clarke/ Fern Loh/Lacey Sutcliffe provided the foundation for the release of a very good backrow : Amber Smith/Laura Dudbridge/Sophie Wareing to disrupt Darlington’s attacking game.

The backs lead by Hattie Gaunt show signs of immense promise. Our graduates from the Academy under 18’s Jess Johnson/Casey Thompson produced very mature performances, showing their skill and confidence to step up to the women’s game. Our new players making their first appearances for the Club were able to slot into the side and contribute to a very good team performance on the day.

Captain Amber Smith was delighted with the response and commitment of the squad in a very hard difficult match

Match details

Match date

Sun 06 Sep 2015

Kickoff

14:15

Competition

Women's Championship North 2
Team overview
Further reading

Team Sponsors

Main Club Sponsor - Artisan Tiles
Main Club Sponsor - The Botanist
Club Sponsor - Bradshaw Aggregates
Club Sponsor - Cheadle Skip Hire