Bracknell Ladies VS Reading Abbey II

After a rare defeat last weekend in the quarter finals of the cup, Bracknell Ladies were determined to run out against Reading Abbey 2’s and come home with a win. The ladies not only brought home the win, but they did so with pride, working tirelessly on the pitch for each other.

Bracknell kicked off and instantly the girls were on fire as Alice Whitbread catches the ball on the fall, offloading to Shiv Jameson who sprints for the whitewash and gets Bracknell’s first try in under a minute. Shiv steps up for the conversion and doesn’t disappoint as she puts 7 points on the board for Bracknell. A few moments later, Kirsty Robson hit a great line, passing the ball to Zara King, who with her fantastic vision, makes a long pass to Joy Westlake out wide who uses her rapid pace to out run four Abbey players to make it 12-0 to Bracknell Ladies. Another inspiring bit of teamwork was witnessed when Tash King carried the ball in, offloaded it to Alice Whitbread who hit a great line. The ball then got to Amber Clark who sent a miss pass to Joy, who again used her pace to get her second try of the game making it 17-0.

A scrum came in Bracknell’s favour on the half way mark, but after losing the scrum, Bracknell reacted quickly to try and re gain possession. Quick line speed came from Megan Jones, Leanne Smith, Kirsty Robson and Steph Sillito to put pressure on the opposition, however Abbey managed to break through the line but Bracknell weren’t going to make it easy for them as Joy Westlake sprinted from the other end of the pitch nearly holding up the try. Bracknell 17-5 Abbey. After huge tackles coming from Kirsty Robson and Esme Sturges in the middle of the park, a fantastic tackle from Tash King gave Bracknell possession of the ball again. Meg Jones was hitting good lines and carrying the ball well as number 10 and a fantastic try came from Rachel Rickett after a great play of team work and determination to make it 22-5.

Shortly after, Cat Bell got her hands on the ball and made a fantastic 40 meter run, sprinting past three Abbey players before getting tackled. The ball got passed out to Shiv who sprinted through the opposition’s defensive line making it 29-0 with a successful conversion. Great hits came from Amber Clark, Esme Sturges and Zara King before Bracknell were back in possession for a scrum. Great set play and structure from the backs enabled to ball to get to winger, Steph Sillito, who did a great run to gain territory. Before the half time whistle blew, captain Hannah Taylor got herself over the whitewash after putting in a huge fight to do so.

Half time score Bracknell 34-5 Abbey 2’s

With a very impressive half time score at hand, Bracknell knew they couldn’t get lazy after realising that Abbey we’re capable of putting points on the board. With that in mind, the girls continued to work tirelessly, with Rachel Rickett getting her well-deserved second try of the game by sprinting over the whitewash to make it 39-5.

Great defence from Bracknell came from Zoe Young in the middle of the park who put in some great hits, along with Amanda Cooper who had quick line speed and also made big hits to knock the opposition backwards. Zara King had a great kicking game, experimenting with grubbers and chip & chasing. Mealsy Whitbread put in some fantastic tackles, with Amber Clark getting herself a try after handing off one of the opposition. With a successful conversion, the score was now 46-5 to Bracknell. Alice Whitebread gives captain Hannah Taylor a rest as she replaces her at scrum half. Having never played that position before, she did a fantastic job at ensuring she was at the ruck ready to pass the ball out and made some great pick and go’s and huge carries when necessary.

Another great play by Bracknell was seen when Steph Sillito made a solo run, offloading the ball to Joy who sprints for the middle of the posts making the score 51-5. Further in the game, Lauren Clark worked tirelessly at defending the ball, making try-saving hits one after the other and Amanda Cooper showing great line speed before Abbey eventually break through the line for the score to become 51-10. Abbey’s players began to drop so Kirsty Robson and Steph Sillito volunteered to join them. Great hands were shown by Alice Whitebread, Cat Bell and Shiv Jameson before Joy Westlake scores in the corner after stepping an Abbey player. Soon after, Esme Sturges gets herself a hard worked try after sprinting over the whitewash to make the score 61-10.

With only a short amount of time left to go, Bracknell were still looking to get more points on the board. With good hands from Alice Whitbread and Amber Clark, the ball gets out to Joy who sprints past the opposition to get another try making the score 66-10. The final play of the game was an image of great rugby, with a fantastic dummy from Tash King, allowing her to break through the opposition. With Shiv Jameson in support, Tash offloaded the ball for Shiv who sprinted to the try line making the final score 71-10.

A few words from our captain, Hannah Taylor; “Such a great game today girls, we worked as a team and got the win we deserved.”

Forward of the Match: Shiv Jamieson for precise kicking, excellent carries and great tackles.

Back of the Match: Rachel Rickett for hard running, great support and excellent jumping in the line out at the last minute.

Proudly sponsored by David Cliff, Bracknell Personnel Services and THH Scaffolding Services.