Wirral 'Warriors'
Matches
Sat 05 Oct 2019
Fleetwood
13:30
Wirral RFC
Wirral 'Warriors'
Warriors Come Out On Top In Cup Clash

Warriors Come Out On Top In Cup Clash

Andrew Broadbent8 Oct 2019 - 11:57
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https://www.wirralrugbyclub.co

A fresh faced Wirral side beat Fleetwood 31-0 in a hard fought first round clash in the Inner Warrior Challenge Cup

TEAM:
Forwards: Lucy Maylor, Lola Fray, Michelle Price, Grace Baird (Captain), Jess Rowlands, Jennie Fasolino, Sarah Atherton, Sam Olle, Shannon Inglis
Backs: Rebecca Solan, Sarah Jones, Scarlett Harkin, Tina Millan (Vice Captain), Sam Wills-Eve, Tanya Jordan, Charlotte Walmsley

Forward of the match: Jess Rowlands
Back of the match: Tanya Jordan
Fleetwood’s player of the match: Rebecca Solan

The met office weather warnings and long drive to Leyland did nothing to dampen the spirit of the warriors this weekend as we headed off to our first round cup tie against Fleetwood with a strong 16-man squad of home-grown Warriors.

The first ten minutes of the game quickly settled any match day nerves as the warriors came under fierce attack from a strong and well organised Fleetwood side. The warriors’ defensive line came under serious pressure but never faltered with tries held up by both fly half Sarah Jones and myself and relentless attacks defended well by excellent scrumming on the five metre line. In a game that contained more than its fair share of infringements on challenging ground, a notable mention should be given to second row Jess Rowlands and flanker Sarah Atherton who both showed exceptional skill and power in their first ever competitive scrums.

With Fleetwood initially dominating the possession of the ball, the warriors, with their ever present positivity and determination, dug deep and played beautifully clean and simple rugby. Some exceptional work from returning props Lucy Maylor and Michelle Price at the breakdown led to a turnover which eventually gave the break that we needed for speedy full back Charlotte Walmsley to put Wirral in the lead after 17 minutes of play.

It wasn’t long before Warriors put themselves on the scoreboard again, with exceptional line out work from flanker Jennie Fasolino opening up the pitch for a beautifully crafted backs line to hand the ball once again to Charlotte Walmsley whose handling skills and pace could not be matched by Fleetwood as she placed the ball between the posts. A perfect conversion from scrum half Rebecca Solan slid Warriors further into the lead, much to the delight of the team, who at this point were praised by the referee for both their intelligent, tactical rugby AND their dancing skills.

Shannon Inglis replaced flanker Jennie Fasolino due to an unfortunate ankle injury and immediately made her presence felt with some powerful and important tackles during a period of Fleetwood possession. Our unfaltering defence was tested again, but it was Wirral who would score again before half time, with clever play from Scarlett Harkin and Sam Wills-Eve shipping the ball to Charlotte Walmsley for her third try of the day, quickly converted again by Rebecca.

The smiles on our faces at half time quickly set the tone for the rest of the game. Sadly, Jess Rowlands sustained a neck injury which left her cheering on the warriors from the sidelines but we were pleased to see Jennie Fasolino return to the forwards pack.

A perfect catch from the kick off by Lola Fray led to a quick warriors attack. A penalty for a Fleetwood high tackle was quickly taken by our 9 and 10 and led to a strong pursuit from our forwards pack with powerful and quick moving pods unsettling the opposition defence. The break would come for Charlotte Walmsley but it was our ever outstanding outside centre Tina Millan who would get warriors fourth try of the match with some exceptional handling from a clever offload. Converted again by Rebecca Solan.

Into the last quarter of the match, some exceptional scrumming deep into our own half, saw huge gain for the warriors as our fierce number 8 Sam Olle, shipped the ball out to the wing for Tanya Jordan, in her first ever game of contact rugby, to make an exceptional run, getting stopped just short of the try line after an unbelievable effort. As the competitive play continued right to the final whistle, a Fleetwood line out stolen expertly by Sarah Atherton, led to Wirrals last try of the game, scored by the ever-impressive Charlotte Walmsley.

A 31-0 scoreline did not flatter Fleetwoods strong and competitive game but definitely stood testament to the determination, discipline and exceptional teamwork displayed by our team. The tackling was textbook, the play was fast-paced and intelligent and, best of all, we had the time of our lives out on that pitch.

I couldn’t be prouder of our performance, or more excited for the season ahead.
Warriors prove, time and time again, that with passion, positivity and teamwork, anything is possible.

We look forward to welcoming you all to our next game:
Warriors vs Ormskirk Wirral RUFC 1500 KO

Grace Baird
Women’s XV captain.

Match details

Match date

Sat 05 Oct 2019

Kickoff

13:30

Meet time

12:30
Team overview
Further reading

Team Sponsors

Sponsor - Res-Tec
Match Sponsor - Constables
Kit Supplier - O'Neills