Richmond Women v Bristol Ladies

Review

This Saturday, Richmond hosted Bristol Ladies, for a muddy game under floodlights. With a large crowd, including many who had come to watch the men’s London Scottish game beforehand, Richmond defended their winning streak. They remain undefeated this season, and still sit at the top of the premiership league.

The first try came from Richmond winger Holly Myers, who scored under the posts within the opening few minutes. Amy Turner, scrum half, converted, making the score 7-0.

Richmond then almost conceded a try, following a fumbled catch in their twenty-two, but luckily they managed to recover in time to prevent Bristol from scoring. A run from Chloe Edwards took them out of their danger zone, but not for long. Bristol scored on the wing, and their kicker narrowly missed the conversion, with the ball bouncing off the post. 7-5

Several minutes later, Richmond took their revenge. Anna Caplice, flanker, broke through several tackles close to Bristol’s try line, and scored. Amy Turner successfully converted once again, making it 14-5.

Richmond’s forwards, always keen to make their presence felt, entertained the crowd by driving a lineout more than twenty metres, starting from their own twenty-two, and finishing well into Bristol’s half. The backs, not wishing to be outdone, then performed some fancy moves and some slick handling, resulting in Tess Braunerova scoring on her 1^st team debut. 19-5

The second half began with Bristol looking dangerous. Richmond battled desperately to defend their try line, while Bristol sent forward wave after wave of attack. They received a penalty at the five metre line, but impressive defensive pressure from Richmond pushed them back and turned over the ball.

Fifteen minutes in, Richmond found their aggression, inspired by a thirty metre run by winger Holly Myers. Now having gained territory, their hunger to score became apparent, and Anna Caplice stormed over the line for her second try. Amy Turner successfully converted yet again, making it 26-5.

Bristol then scored twice. The first try came from a fluid series of offloads and successful breakdowns, which meant that they steadily gained ground, until their winger found space in the corner to score. The second occurred when a fantastic line and speedy footwork were combined to beat Richmond’s defence. 26-10

Bristol found a surge of energy and launched their assault on Richmond’s tryline. Both teams then scored again. Bristol’s Sydney Gregson was making waves with her devastating pace and got on the scoresheet, making it 31-22, with only five minutes left to play.

Bristol looked like they might score again, and were determined until the very end but unfortunately handling errors let them down and Richmond held them off with a run from Sam McCarthy and a kick to touch. Final score: 31-22.

A tough game which was a fierce, closely fought competition, Richmond left the field victorious.