A Tale of Two Halves

Cheshire were severely disrupted in the first half with injuries to key players. With a much smaller squad than Yorkshire, the injury toll meant that they quickly found themselves disadvantaged because of a limited number of replacements.

After a lively start, Jess Johnson was the first player to go off after a stray boot caught her under the chin. Unfortunately Jess was advised to have the wound stitched before playing on which meant the afternoon was over for her. Charlee Chambers soon followed Jess after a recurrence of an earlier hand injury, and her presence in the forwards was immediately missed.

Partly as a consequence, Cheshire conceded four tries (three converted) in the first period and turned around 26-0 down.

After the break and a chance to regroup, some sound tactical kicking from Manchester captain Rebecca Scholes at fly half meant that Cheshire were able to spend much more time in Yorkshire’s half. The backs were soon able to capitalise on the better field positions and the points finally came for Cheshire. Manchester’s Emily Houghton scored the team’s second try and came close to breaking through the defence on several occasions.

The second half was a clear “win” for the Cheshire girls, with three tries scored without a reply from Yorkshire. The girls had left themselves with too much to do however, and the final score of 26-15 was at the same time both disappointing and encouraging.

Manchester regulars Bethan Emuss and Emma Broadbent played very well to establish themselves in the Cheshire side. Meanwhile new recruits Leanne Murray and Beth Price produced great performances on their Cheshire debuts.

The Club were proud to be represented by so many girls at this level, with Manchester U15s making up the core of the county team with eight players.