Bristol Ladies get one step closer to the play offs with a win 17 – 10 win over DMP Sharks. Blustery conditions met both sides as they ran out at Trowbridge RFC for today’s fixture. The pitch at Trowbridge was fantastic given the weather, earning praise from both sides after a game where the wind and rain had a large impact.
Bristol dominated the first half, scoring three unanswered tries.
Scrum half Sian Moore scored the first on 15 minutes – taking the initiative and diving over the line after a team mate was tackled a few inches short.
The girls worked their way back up the pitch for the next score six minutes later. This time Clara Nielson spotted the gap and stormed through to take the score to 10 – 0.
Some great interplay between the forwards and backs allowed Olivia Jones to get the third. Sydney Gregson and Philippa Tuttiett made some great breaks, whilst the forwards drew players in to allow Jones the space out wide to sprint from the 10m line to touch down. Sue Neumann converted.
Half time score: Bristol Ladies 17 (3 tries, 1 conv) – 0 DMP Sharks
The second half began, and conditions worsened. Handling errors and slips hit both sides as DMP looked to step up their game.
Team indiscipline saw Moore yellow carded on 58 minutes, and DMP took advantage of the overlap and Rachael Worsey got the first score of the afternoon for DMP.
On 70 minutes, Trish Brown was deemed to have not retreated 10 metres and was binned by the referee. Bristol defended well for the 10 minutes, however DMP managed to get over once more on 79 minutes through Amy Needham.
A tough fixture for both sides, with conditions not helping either team – however a hard fought win keeps Bristol on track for a top 4 finish and a place in the play offs.
Final score: Bristol Ladies 17 (3 tries, 1 conv) – 10 (2 tries) DMP Sharks
Forward of the game: Poppy Leitch
Back of the game: Sian Moore
Voted for by the players
Sian Moore – ‘Conditions had a big influence on our performance today. As a team we wanted to challenge ourselves to keep to our style of rugby as much as possible. Our handling and work rate really showed our quality, we showed a lot of heart too and most importantly we’re a step closer to the play offs and to that premiership title!’
Game Score Stats
15m – TRY Bristol – Sian Moore, 5 – 0
21m – TRY Bristol – Clara Nielson, 10 – 0
27m – TRY Bristol – Olivia Jones, 15 – 0
28m – CONV Bristol – Sue Neumann, 17 – 0
HALF TIME
58m – YELLOW Bristol – Sian Moore
61m – TRY DMP – Rachael Woosey, 17 -5
73m – YELLOW Bristol – Trish Brown
79m – TRY DMP- Amy Needham, 17 – 10
TEAM SHEET
Bristol: 1 Daisy Travers, 2 Clara Nielson, 3. Abbie Parsons, 4. Amelia Buckland-Hurry, 5. Kayleigh Armstrong, 6. Kate Newton, 7. Poppy Leitch, 8. Sarah Hunter, 9. Sian Moore, 10. Philippa Tuttiett, 11. Courtney Bishop, 12. Sue Neumann, 13. Katie Mason, 14. Olivia Jones, 15. Sydney Gregson
- Jessie Hood (for Thomas, 31m), 17. Becki Belcher (for Newton, 43m), 18. Trish Brown (for Armstrong, 70m), 19. Izzy Moore (for Hunter, 55m), 20. Sian Kersse, 21., Emma Lacey, 22 Sophie Cleverly
DMP Sharks: 1 Heather Kerr, 2. Emily Hunter, 3 Amy Needham, 4 Tamara Taylor, 5 Abbie Scott, 6 Joanna Brown, 7 Ruth Nash, 8 Zoe Aldcroft, 9 Caity Mattinson, 10 La Toya Mason, 11 Kathering Hobson, 12 Rebecca Scholes, 13 Rachael Worsey, 14 Emma Warrington, 15 Ruth Laybourn
16 Lisa Cockburn (for Kerr, 60m), 17 Sarah Bush (for Alcroft, 65m), 18 Carolyn Wilson (for Hunter, 45m), 19, Daisy Pelton (for Brown, 60m), 20 Anna Wolf (for Scott, 45m), 21 Fiondi Parker (for Mason, 65m), 22 Eleanor Pitcher (for Aldcroft, 50m)
Next fixtures – to be confirmed
Report by Emma Bacon, Bristol Ladies
