First Fifteen

The team were pleased to welcome back Amy Johnson from injury, conveniently playing the game at her home ground at Moss Farm. Bridgnorth requested a 12 a side format to suit their player availability so Amy fitted in at No.8 for this match.

There was some concern that Manchester may not build on their impressive win against Glossop, although the league table suggested that this should be an easier battle. Bridgnorth had had a particularly testing start to their league campaign and Manchester could certainly not afford to underestimate them. Nerves were settled very quickly however when Manchester came out of the blocks very aggressively with Katy Morten linking well with Leanne Murray to touch down in the first couple of minutes.

Two minutes later Amy J marked her return to fitness with a powerful run from half way, touching down under the posts to double the advantage to 10-0. Leanne had a similarly long run in minutes later, bursting through the defence for an excellent try which Amy J converted for a 17-0 cushion early in the game against the shell shocked visitors.

Bridgnorth tried hard to settle but, as with Manchester’s opponents in the last three games, they simply could not escape their half in the rare times they got their hands on the ball. Bridgnorth’s fly half Harriet Kerswell was forced to resort to kicking and eventually made some ground with a good clearance. It was clearly not going to be the Midlanders’ day when the ball bounced kindly for Hannah Johnson to take it at speed for her first try of the game (22-0).

All credit has to be given to the Bridgnorth defence who refused to crumble in the face of yet another attack straight from the restart. It looked as if Leanne was going to immediately make the line from collecting the kick but somehow the defenders got there in time to pull her back. The forwards soon secured the ball again and a flowing move across the field saw Leanne get on the end of it to eventually grab the try she had just been denied and secure Manchester a very early five-try bonus point (27-0).

Some great work by forwards Alyx Maw and Amy J (again) allowed Jess Gurney to release Hannah with a perfectly timed offload to move Manchester into the thirties as Nieve Jones converted to make it 34-0 after the first twenty minutes.

The forwards and backs were working well together with Charlee Chambers, who impressed throughout, making huge ground before Bridgnorth’s No 10 could release some pressure by clearing to half way. The forwards showed good stamina by retreating to secure the ball once again for their backs with a stunning try scored by the lightning quick Hannah, converted by Nieve (41-0).

Amy J then reached a loose ball first but was unable to gather it but showed some brilliant football skills instead, dribbling the ball towards the Bridgnorth 22. Hannah was in support and chased the ball hard to touch down in the corner and bring up a huge 46-0 half time lead for Manchester.

Bridgnorth regrouped in the half time break and came out determinedly. Two offside penalties in quick succession by Manchester allowed the visitors a very rare excursion into Manchester’s 22 where they stayed for the opening minutes of the half. It has to be said that totally against the run of play, the ball then found its way to Hannah who with a jinking run from a defensive position broke Bridgnorth’s spirits with the try of the day and her hat trick which Nieve successfully converted (53-0).

Christie Bratherton had come onto the field at half time for her debut game at centre. Christie looked as if she had always been there, linking well with Jess Gurney now at inside centre, getting the ball out to Hannah who was again in at the corner for her fourth and Manchester’s tenth try, now 58-0 up.

Alyx seems to have resolved that she must also score at least once a game and her first opportunity came from an attacking lineout when she broke through several tackles to get on the scoreboard again (63-0).

It was at this point that some frustration finally surfaced in the Bridgnorth ranks and a series of high tackles was lucky to go unpunished apart from a stern warning from the referee. Christie managed to evade a couple of despairing attempts and was very unlucky not to score on her debut, being held just short of the line. Jess tried to finish the move but was just inches short and had to leave it to Manchester's captain Amy Lees to make the score 68-0.

Bridgnorth’s commitment was shown when their prop suffered an injury for the cause and had to leave the field. With no replacements available to them, Manchester offered to loan a player and Amber Smith sportingly swapped for the Bridgnorth tight head’s shirt and packed down with our opponents for the remainder of the game.

The scoring continued however with Jess providing the opportunity again for Hannah to touch down under the posts (73-0) before Jess finally got a well deserved try of her own after a drive by Alyx was stopped and reinforcements from the backs were needed to finish the move (78-0).

Alyx then showed great pace when she caught the ball from the restart, running quicker and further than anyone expected,(including herself!) to run in for her second try, Manchester’s fifteenth, which completed a very impressive 83-0 victory.

This was a confidence boosting win for Manchester against a team who were brave and well drilled but simply could not cope with opponents who were in form on the day. The noise from the changing rooms after the game suggested that the girls enjoyed this one and the move up to third in the league table was good news.

Amber was chosen as player of the match by Bridgnorth for her strong performance in both team’s colours, perhaps leaving Hannah to wonder how many tries she needs to score to be noticed (we all noticed Hannah, just the six this week, but at least you've got your picture at the top of this report!).

Photos here>>>
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