Worcester Ladies v Lichfield Ladies

Review

Worcester secure first victory of the season in nail biting local derby

Worcester 18 Lichfield 13

Worcester Ladies received a confidence boosting victory in a hard fought encounter with local their rivals, fortunes changing in each half.

Lichfield dominated with entertaining rugby from the kick off and as Worcester’s series of penalties conceded mounted, together with missed tackles, opened their account on 14 minutes, Jas Coyne to outpacing the defence to score scoring in the corner.

Lichfield pressed home their advantage, increasing their lead on 22 minutes when the impressive Harriet Mills powered her way through for a well-deserved try.

However, on 32 minutes, a break by hard working captain Lisa Campbell ripped open the Lichfield defence, releasing Bianca Blackburn along the wing to reduce the deficit with clever evasive running to score in the corner.

Rather bizarrely, the turning point in the game  came on 38 minutes. Reduced to 13 players, Worcester applied themselves to the task and started posing problems for the visitors, but despite this, Sarah Nicolas increased the visitors lead with a penalty on the stroke of half time.

Half time: Worcester 5 Lichfield 13.

Worcester continued to take the initiative in the second period, replacements Sophie Williams and Abi Walker having a significant impact. Ceri Large and Zoe Bennion took control in the centre, gaining ground with some intelligent lines of running. This change of fortunes resulted in a flowing exchange of passes between Large and Kelly Smith which finally released Bennion to break three tackles to score in the corner.

The home side’s pressure was rewarded with a penalty and Ceri Large took over kicking duties to mirror the pattern of scores on 66 minutes. Game on.

With the balance of possession now reversed, Large raced across field to score in the corner putting Worcester ahead in a game for the first time this season.

Sadly, an unfortunate a collision on the stroke of time necessitated extensive treatment for Lichfield’s Nancy Stone, for what appeared to be serious neck injury.

Draws are extremely rare in rugby, and for a moment it looked as though history was about to repeat itself as the game moved to an adjacent pitch, the referee deeming a restart necessary. A nail biting 5 minutes of additional time ensued which regrettably created disappointment  for the visitors as they kept possession in a sustained attack and thought they had levelled the game. However, the player was judged to have been off their feet when collecting the ball, thus providing the home side some relief for a first win.

Worcester visit Richmond next Sunday and will look to build on the positives of this performance.

We would like to thank our sponsors Vets Now, NMU, Foil Specialist, Gardiner Fosh, Aline water bottles, New Inn, Claines, Knowles Sports, AJB Photographic and Hasbeanz for their continued support.

David Guest

1^st XV Manager.