Lichfield RUFC Secure three wins from the ladies section on Sunday:
Lichfield Ladies 33 Wasps Ladies 26
Lichfield Ladies 2nd Team 44 – Camp Hill Ladies 0, Champ 1 North
Lichfield Ladies U18 19 – Ashfield 7, U18 National Cup
In round 3 of the 2016/17 Women’s Premiership games, Lichfield travelled to Wasps with aspirations of making it 3 from 3 and they continued their outstanding start to the new season with a hard fought victory.
An impressive start from Lichfield put them on the front foot, they came out fighting and capped an outstanding start to the game by securing 14 points in the first 4 minutes of the game. Charlotte Murray & Carys Hall getting a try apiece with Amy Cokayne converting both.
Lichfield were eager to maintain this momentum and 14 minutes in Hannah Phillip was able to secure a team try from a driving maul, converted by Amy Cokayne.
For the remainder of the first half Wasps stepped up and displayed outstanding defence to keep Lichfield away from the try line.
This was most definitely a game of two halves and Wasps half time talk had done the trick. 4 minutes into the 2nd half Wasps were in, Rebecca Row scored and Hannah Edwards converted. And Wasps were not done yet, 7 minutes into the second half Ashley Perry scored with another conversion from Hannah Edwards.
Lichfield was not expecting such an aggressive attack from Wasps, they displayed great composure to address the all firing Wasps and stepped up a gear but in the end were let down by their discipline and a yellow card was all Wasps needed to make some ground.
As soon as Lichfield were back to 15 players on the pitch, they regrouped and fought out of their own 22 for Harriet Miller Mills to create a great break away try. This was converted by Amy Cokayne.
Soon after Lichfield hit again, working the ball to the outside and Carys Williams was over in the corner for the last try for Lichfield .
At the 60 minute mark the game looked like it was all over, Lichfield up 33-14 with a Bonus point in the Bag.
Wasps were not satisfied with this and they regrouped, upped their intensity and hit back at Lichfield with all that they had. Lichfield displayed 10 solid minutes of defence showing some outstanding tackles and superb defensive alignment to keep Wasps out.
Wasps worked the ball around Lichfield for a 70th minute converted try.
Lichfield then maintained possession till the last play of the game, where Wasps worked the ball round Lichfield again to secure a try on the 80th minute in the corner. Wasps were unable to convert and the game finished with a 33-26 victory to Lichfield.
Lichfield Captain Justine Lucas commented: “Today felt like a loss to us all, we were disappointed in how we played as a team. This shows how much all of us care and that we have set ourselves high expectations of how we want to play.
“Wasps defence gave a new challenge that we did not problem solve quick enough, and we were under pressure a lot. We did keep playing and came away with the bonus point win, but we have lots to work on before our next game against Aylesford. This was a game we can learn a lot from and this will help us with our progression over the next two weeks”
Becky Williams Director of Rugby commented: “These are the games that we learn the most from, it was a hard game for all the girls. Yes we got the bonus point win and I am very proud of all of the girls for what they delivered on the park today.
“Our players showed guts and determination to win a game like this, which in previous years we would have lost. What we are delivering on the pitch so far this season is outstanding, the coaches are doing great work with all our players. This is just another learning curve for us all, a regrouping point so that we can continue to develop and improve for the 4th round.”
Becky Williams went on to say: “Lichfield Ladies had over 60 females playing in very competitive games today and we have come away with three wins. Our U18 girls had their first round of the National Cup and secured a great win over Ashfield. Our green team, who are newly promoted into Championship North have secured their 2nd win of the season. We are also very proud of Milly Wood and Lucy Nye, who were away playing for England in the Malemort 7’s.
“The coaches have some tough selection decisions to make over the next couple of weeks. We have last year’s juniors who are already making a mark in the senior game and are eager to pull on a premiership shirt. We are also pleased to welcome back to training Emily Scarratt and Natasha Hunt, who have been rested following the Olympic Games.”
Lichfield Scorers:
Tries:- Charlotte Murray (1), Carys Hall (3), Hannah Phillip (11), Harriet Miller Mills (50) Carys Williams (60)
Conversion :- Amy Cokayne x 5
Report courtesy of Lichfield Ladies
