Determined Warriors defeated at Liverpool Collegiate

s the weather clouded over yesterday afternoon, 15 warriors made the short journey to play our second league match of the season against our friends at Liverpool Collegiate.

Although missing several experienced faces, Wirral saw this as an exciting opportunity for people to trial new positions with Amelia Morris making the move from back row to scrum half, Jen Dodd continuing her transition from Centre to Flanker and a noteable mention should be given to the amazing Carla Lindsay who played her first ever game of contact rugby yesterday at 50 years old! Carla has watched her sons from the sidelines for several years and yesterday proved that she can do it too, creating great defensive pressure and leading a whole team cheer as she made her first ever tackle.

The game was always set to be a tough contest. Last season saw two hard fought games with both sides taking home the victory on home turf. It is important to mention that, both games last season, the teams struggled for numbers and played with 12 players per side, so to see a full 15 on both sides was a testament to the hard work of both teams in growing the women's game.

Warriors were first to kick off, with Steph Whitehead kicking deep into the Collegiate half. Collegiate put up a hard attack, with powerful forward drives and excellent running lines from their centres. The Wirral defence was equally strong, with tackle after tackle going in and counter rucks that put Collegiate under pressure. This was rewarded with a ball knocked on at the back of the ruck, leading to the first scum of the day - Wirral ball. Amelia was a dynamic scrum half and recycled the ball from the scrum quickly, shipping it out to centres Holly and Jen, who narrowly missed the try line due to an excellent Collegiate cover tackle. The ball was moved on quickly and a drive from our second row narrowly missed the line again. Never giving up, Warriors quick hands shipped the ball to the opposite wing, however, unfortunately holding on at the ruck led to a Collegiate penalty and the chance was narrowly missed.

Collegiate kicked for a line out and despite Holly getting her hands to the ball, they quickly bought this down and drove hard at the Wirral defence. It looked as though they would never get through, with excellent covering tackles made on the line repeatedly over a period of around 5 minutes. After a hearty effort from both teams, they managed to drive into the wing and put the ball over to make it 5-0. A collegiate conversion saw the scoreboard 7-0.

Warriors quickly reset, determined to get back on even ground. There were excellent chances for Jenni Harvey, who was brilliant all day at ripping the ball and creating turn overs, Amelia and Holly, but unfortunately it wasn't meant to be and we were stopped short each time. The game in the middle of the pitch was evenly matched and Wirral could not be beaten in their own rucks and barely missed a tackle, but great play from collegiate saw the ball rapidly heading down the left wing and powered over for their second try 12-0. A third try in quick succession saw Warriors 17-0 down at half time.

Unfortunately, two injuries saw Warriors down to 13 players, losing back row Sarah Jones and Prop Amelia in quick succession. In the true spirit of rugby, every single one of Collegiate's subs offered to come and play for us and we were given two players who truly gave their all, making try stopping tackles and hard drives with the ball, no easy feat when playing against your own team. Both teams had chances, but Collegiate played simple and effective rugby to ship their ball to the wing each time and with several tries in quick succession, the scoreline read 45-0 with 15 minutes to go.

Never a team to be beaten in spirit, Warriors did not give up and smiling faces could still be seen at every breakdown, scrum and line-out. Consistent tackles, rucking and attacking play never wavered and this was rewarded when our second row, determined to get something from this game, called for an inside ball and broke their tough defensive line for the first try of the day. 45-5. The girls celebrated as if the score was reversed, which is a testament to their attitude towards the game we love.

With 5 minutes to play, Warriors reset to receive the ball and second row Lauren caught the kick off and began a powerful drive through the defence. Quick thinking from Amelia to pick up a loose ball saw the ball shipped to our ten, offloaded expertly and then passed quickly out to Holly who was ready for her moment. There was no catching her as she raced down the right wing, a hand off to their full back saw her path clear and she dived over the line for her first ever try in senior rugby. Everyone, including the collegiate players and sideline, burst into cheers and applause as she stood up and shouted "I got my try" with the biggest smile on her face. The narrowly missed conversion saw the whistle blown for full time and, despite the scoreline, this felt more like a victory than a defeat in so many ways.

Grace Baird, Warriors Captain

Try Scorers: Grace Baird, Holly Plummer
Forward of the Match: Sarah Chapman
Back of the Match: Holly Plummer
Opposition Player of the Match: Amelia Morris

Squad:
1. Sarah Chapman
2. Jess Rowlands
3. Gina Lay
4. Lauren Bagshaw
5. Grace Baird (C)
6. Hana Peters
7. Jen Dodd
8. Sarah Jones
9. Amelia Morris
10. Steph Whitehead (VC)
11. Petina Liu
12. Jenni Harvey
13. Holly Plummer
14. Carla Lindsay
15. Rebecca Solan