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Ladies' September Review
Amber Smith5 Oct 2016 - 18:36
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Results, kit, baking and beers...
The ladies have spent the 8 weeks of summer undergoing a gruelling pre-season devised by Head Coach Bryan Fisher, new full time coach James Armstrong and our resident Personal Trainer Amber Smith. A tough fitness test at the start and end of the pre-season truly proved that we were ready to start the 2016/17 season with numerous ladies beating their fitness scores significantly.
Preston Grasshoppers Away was the first test for the ladies team at the start of September and the last game to be played on Preston’s main grass pitch before it turns into an astroturf pitch. A huge game to start the season on as both teams are so closely matched in their skillset, with Manchester hoping to make a huge impact with the high fitness levels. It was a great game with two well-worked tries from Chrissie Leahy and Jane Wells but unfortunately Preston had some breakaway tries that saw Manchester lose 22-10. The ladies are looking forward to welcoming Preston to Manchester at the end of the season.
One week later after a tough training session, focused on rucking and securing our ball, saw the first home game of the season against newcomers to the league, Sefton Ladies. The ladies knew they were a force to be reckoned with as they had beaten Kendal Wasps the previous weekend. The first half was fiercely fought and very physical and ended 5-5 at half time. The second half was a completely different story where Manchester’s fitness levels really kicked in and overpowered Sefton. A flurry of tries from Laura Dudbridge, Hattie Gaunt, Bea Hopkins and Pam Hallworth cemented a 29-19 win for the home team.
Sheffield Away was the next game, played on a Saturday as a curtain raiser to their men’s derby game against Derby. The ladies struggled for numbers but nevertheless fought until the end where Sheffield won 62-0. An unfortunate game for Manchester but they looked forward to a Sunday off!
The next game is this coming weekend away to Birkenhead where they are already looking to be taking a very strong team and hopefully pull out the result they want!
Manchester Ladies have recently ordered some new playing kit, of which the shirts have kindly been sponsored by ABA Quality Monitoring Limited, a local business in Heaton Mersey specialising in market research. Off the pitch the ladies have been working hard to secure fundraising for the new shorts and socks through pub quizzes, bake sales and a raffle!
Preston Grasshoppers Away was the first test for the ladies team at the start of September and the last game to be played on Preston’s main grass pitch before it turns into an astroturf pitch. A huge game to start the season on as both teams are so closely matched in their skillset, with Manchester hoping to make a huge impact with the high fitness levels. It was a great game with two well-worked tries from Chrissie Leahy and Jane Wells but unfortunately Preston had some breakaway tries that saw Manchester lose 22-10. The ladies are looking forward to welcoming Preston to Manchester at the end of the season.
One week later after a tough training session, focused on rucking and securing our ball, saw the first home game of the season against newcomers to the league, Sefton Ladies. The ladies knew they were a force to be reckoned with as they had beaten Kendal Wasps the previous weekend. The first half was fiercely fought and very physical and ended 5-5 at half time. The second half was a completely different story where Manchester’s fitness levels really kicked in and overpowered Sefton. A flurry of tries from Laura Dudbridge, Hattie Gaunt, Bea Hopkins and Pam Hallworth cemented a 29-19 win for the home team.
Sheffield Away was the next game, played on a Saturday as a curtain raiser to their men’s derby game against Derby. The ladies struggled for numbers but nevertheless fought until the end where Sheffield won 62-0. An unfortunate game for Manchester but they looked forward to a Sunday off!
The next game is this coming weekend away to Birkenhead where they are already looking to be taking a very strong team and hopefully pull out the result they want!
Manchester Ladies have recently ordered some new playing kit, of which the shirts have kindly been sponsored by ABA Quality Monitoring Limited, a local business in Heaton Mersey specialising in market research. Off the pitch the ladies have been working hard to secure fundraising for the new shorts and socks through pub quizzes, bake sales and a raffle!
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