Lichfield Ladies v Aylesford Bulls Ladies

Review

In round 12 of the Women’s Premiership games, Lichfield entertained Aylesford Bulls Ladies. Despite almost monsoon conditions in the second half, both teams managed to put on a thoroughly entertaining game of rugby, with Lichfield taking the well-deserved win.

Lichfield started very positively and immediately started to test the Aylesford Bulls defence, that resulted in a number of early penalties and it was Sarah Nicholas who opened the scoring for Lichfield with a long range penalty after 4 minutes. Lichfield continued to pressurise Aylesford and added three quick tries after 5,7 and 13 minutes through Carys Hall, Amy Cokayne and Hannah Smith, Sarah Nicholas added two conversions to give Lichfield a 22-0 lead.

Despite their quick start, Lichfield were then forced to defend as Aylesford, led by the outstanding Catherine Spencer tried to get back into the game. But dominance in the scrum and tight disciplined defence ensured that Lichfield prevented Aylesford from scoring and reached half time with a 22-0 lead.

In the second half, playing against the wind and driving rain, Lichfield upped the intensity and began to find gaps in the Aylesford defence. Hannah Smith and Carys Hall both scored their second tries of the game after 44 and 49 minutes to ensure the try bonus point for Lichfield, with Sarah Nicholas adding two conversions to make it 36-0.

To the delight of every one of her team mates, lock Emily Braund, playing her first game after 12 months out with a serious injury, added another try, scoring in the corner after 53 minutes. Lichfield then added two further well worked tries after 60 and 79 minutes through Jess Feeley and Justine Lucas, both converted by Sarah Nicholas to bring the final score to 55-0.