Too Hot for Furness

Furness kicked off and enjoyed the first few minutes in the visitors’ half. Sandbach held possession though until Nieve Jones decided to go for territory with a kick to touch. From the line out, Furness looked to move the ball along their backs and they were unlucky when Nieve seized on a slow pass to intercept and break their line. Good support running by Katy Morten put her in a position to register the first score of the afternoon.
To Furness’ frustration, Jordan Morris made a classic scrum-half nuisance of herself all afternoon (but in fairness, they also later awarded her the Player of the Match Award!). It was a result of her hassling of her opposite number at a scrum that Molly Latham was allowed to make a break, chased by Jordan who wriggled over the line for her first try.
Hannah Johnson made the scoresheet soon after with a 30 metre sprint after a speculative kick upfield was chased and tidied by Amy Johnson, feeding Hannah at speed to make it 15-0.
Jess Gurney was already getting plenty of practice at fielding the restarts. After making good ground, a well timed pass to Amy Lees who inevitably had Hannah in support on the wing left Furness in despair at her pace when a 40 metre run in was touched down under the posts to make it 20-0.
After a rogue SatNav (or maybe just operator error...) took them to on a detour via the wrong rugby ground, Rachel Graham and Megan Pancutt arrived late but ready to make their mark on the game. Rachel took no time at all, using her strength and speed to score the team’s fifth try under the posts as the first quarter finished 25-0 with Furness reeling from Sandbach’s aggressive start.
Some good forward work laid the basis for the next try, again by Rachel, and again under the posts. Incredibly, not having been there at the start of the match, Rachel completed a first half hat trick when Nieve surprised the Furness defence by attacking the blindside and exposing their lack of cover. Rachel was on hand to take the pass as Nieve was tackled to close the first half at 35-0, seven tries, none converted...
The second half started and continued in much the same way. Jordan continued to make life a misery for the Furness half backs and as a result they were effectively unable to secure the ball from their own set piece. Jess got the first try of the half after chasing a kick on by Amy J.
The forwards were playing very well together as a unit with Amber Smith and Amy J well aware of when to join the breakdown and when to supplement the backs. It was their drive which created the panic and space for Rachel to continue her scoring and bring the try count to nine, 45-0.
With the game now won, the girls’ aim for the last quarter was not to allow their defence to be breached. So often a consolation try is scored in these circumstances, but the concentration level was maintained. Harriet Parsons continued to keep the back line in shape with her good awareness and positioning and Furness were unable to find any gaps.
The score was added to with try number 10, after some good linking between Katy and Hannah, allowing Hannah to register the 10th try and Sandbach’s 50th point. After a poor afternoon with the boot, the 10th try brought up the first conversion. Whether the Furness’ girls’ applause for the kick (by Amy L) were sporting or ironic wasn’t clear, but at least it broke the team’s duck with the boot!
It was about time that the forwards got in on the act by scoring and it was Molly who did just that with a long run after collecting the ball from the restart. Hannah and Amy L were on her shoulder but weren’t needed. Amy L stayed on hand to collect the extra points with her second conversion to make the score 59-0.
The next try was all about the forwards who wrestled and drove the ball well into the Furness 22 with Jordan marching them forward. As the line approached, Jordan’s timing was perfect to snatch the ball and dive over from 5 metres out for her second try of the game.
Some great running rugby brought the match to a close with Jordan making the break, neatly passing to Jess who drew the defenders before releasing Katy for her second and Sandbach’s thirteenth try. It was fitting that Katy then stepped forward to convert her own try and close the scoring at an emphatic 71-0 win for Sandbach.