Altrincham Kersal v Olney
Sunday 7 March 2010
Win 7-33
Olney up the ante at Altrincham
The pink ladies made the long journey up to Altrincham
Kersal in Manchester at the weekend to face their mid table rivals on a lovely
sunny day, perfect conditions for a great rugby match.
Olney started well from the kick off, immediately putting AK
under pressure and forcing errors; from the resulting scrum just 5 metres out number
8 Kat Woods picked up and charged over to open the scoring. Grainne Egan
providing the conversion.
From the restart Olney kept up the momentum and worked hard
at the breakdown to secure the ball despite good counter rucking and mauling from
AK. After some good phases of play Olney got the ball through the hands to
centre Sophie Rudge who burst through the defence and sprinted in from the half
way line, dodging the defenders to add another score, again converted by Egan.
The home side then got stuck in defensively, Olney were
camped within their 22 for a sustained period of pressure with scrum after
scrum. Olney proved that their front row is the best in the league, winning ball
against the head but mistakes in the mid field meant that possession continued to swap sides.
Eventually in open play the ball was taken wide by number 10 Mary Hardwick who
sprinted around the fragmented defence to score in the corner. The half time score at 19-0.
After the break it was the home side that started well,
shipping the ball wide quickly to their winger who made good ground but
desperate cover tackles from Olney at first prevented any damage. However AK
managed to keep the ball secure and barged over to register a score and
conversion.
The pink ladies re grouped and put together some good phases
of play, getting to the breakdowns quicker to managing to keep the ball secure
with some great work from the forwards. Good ball from the lineouts saw some
excelling driving mauls up field only for the visitors to be caught out as AK
stole the ball and kicked for touch gaining territory. However, Olney managed to keep up the
pressure and as the ball went through the hands it was centre Rudge who again
fought her way through to reach for the line for her second try. Again Egan
providing the conversion.
As the home side began to tire Olney kept up the momentum. A
number of penalties against the home side brought the visitors closer to the
line with some excellent kicking by Egan. From the line out, clean, quick ball found
number 10 Hardwick who spotted a gap in mid field to dodge through and sprint
for the line for her second try, Egan converting. Final score 7-33.
Olney Ladies next fixture is again against Altrincham Kersal
at home on 21 March 2010.
Camp Hill v Olney
Sunday 14 February 2010
Lost 36-19
Due to the bad weather this was only the
second game for the Pink Ladies in 2010 and they faced a tough encounter with
league leaders Camp Hill in Birmingham. Immediately Camp Hill showed why they
are top, exploiting gaps in the Olney defence to run in the first try of the
game after only a few minutes. More of
the same followed as the pink ladies struggled to get a grip on the game and
find a way to respond to Camp Hills quick passing and offloads. Another breakaway try was converted and a
penalty left Olney 17-0 down with barely 15minutes on the clock.
However, Olney were never going out without
a fight and finally got some possession, getting some good phases of play
together. Cracking tackles from Helen Hacker put the home side under pressure
and forced errors, the resulting scrum saw number 8 Sarah Larner gallop up
field from half way, dodging through the desperate defence only to be stopped
just short. Olney battled on but ball was stolen at the ruck and Camp Hill
cleared their lines.
Now working off a solid platform from the
scrum Olney quickly moved the ball out wide with centre Maddy Bowley drawing
the defence to release Dani Phan who sprinted in from the 22 to get Olney on
the score board, try converted by Grainne Egan.
Camp Hill responded with a clear game plan;
suck in the Olney defenders to leave space out wide. Some selfish play from their centres wasted
clear overlaps and strong tackling from inside centre Sophie Rudge prevented
further damage. However it wasn’t long
before Camp Hills centre crashed through to register another score – half time
24-7.
Again Olney were caught unaware at the
restart, strong running and hand offs from Camp Hills number 7 saw her break
through tackles to get another score. But
Olney got their heads up and started getting some phases together. Strong runs
from the pack drove up field, with quick ball the pink Ladies were on the
attack, a lovely off load from Centre Sophie Rudge to the flying winger Dani
Phan took Camp Hill by surprise, as Phan sliced through the defence and dodged
the full back to register another score, again converted by Egan.
Finally it was coming good for the visitors
– a quick penalty tap and Olney had all the momentum, a driving maul was just held
back, tantalisingly close to the line. A well worked team try followed as the
ball went through the phases and found its way out to second row Rachel Hemsley
out wide whose strength was no match for Camp Hills winger as she drove over
the line to take the score to 31-19.
From the restart Camphill piled on the
pressure and spotted a gap in the Olney defence, desperate tackles only delayed
the home side using the overlap to get another score and take the total to
36-19. However it was Olney who had the
final say, driving up field with phase after phase of strong running and great
off loads, but it wasn’t to be, just metres short the pink ladies were bundled
into touch leaving the final score 36-19.
Olney Ladies next face Vale of Lune at home
on 28th February.
Olney Ladies v Lakenham Hewitt
Sunday 24 January
WON 27-5
With nearly a six week break enforced due to the snow, Olney Ladies were looking forward to stretching their legs this Sunday with a much anticipated game against
Norfolk team Lakenham Hewitt. Olney started well with some pressure immediately applied by flanker Laura Stewart and number 8 Sarah Larner. Quick rucks and some good support play saw Olney rumble up the pitch, although Lakenham’s excellent tackling did much to prevent immediate damage.
It wasn’t long before Olney looked like scoring but chances weren’t taken as overlaps went to waste. Lakenham came into their own at the breakdown, stealing ball against the flow of play much to Olney’s dismay. Some good work from their forwards and number 10 saw Lakenham get back into the game but this time Olney managed to turn over the ball, thanks to Helen Hacker, and soon Laura Stewart’s interlinking play with winger Dani Phan paid off, and the flanker Stewart went over to open the scoring.
Good strong running in the back line continued as centre Sophie Rudge and full back Caz Collie started to find gaps. An excellent period of play where Olney kept the ball alive saw them make steady progress and it was Laura Stewart who went over again for her second try. Soon after, winger Phan scooped up a ball and got into her very quick stride to outpace the visitors, touching down and giving Caz Collie the chance to convert which she duly did.
Lakenham then woke up however, and their number 10 instinctively found a gap from nowhere. Olney were on the back foot and despite opportunities to tackle, the hits didn’t go in and Lakenham managed to weave through to score a try, leaving the half time score at 17-5.
The second half saw a better shape of game from both teams, who had run the break from rugby out of their system. Lakenham’s scrums were impressive and more than once they stole ball against the head. Their line-outs however were not so strong and resulted in penalties to bring Olney back in to the game. Prop Lindsay Johnson made good incursions to get Olney moving, ably supported by Lizzi Leech at second row – and the increase in possession paid off as Helen Hacker suddenly emerged on what was surely a run in for a try, but Lakenham’s full back did her job and brought Hacker down, with Stewart just denied her hat-trick by a knock-on. Olney were determined however and from a turn over ball, the forwards worked hard to get within inches of the line. Eventually it was number 8 Sarah Larner who dived over to get the well-deserved try.
Soon after Olney were once again looking like scoring, with a run from full back Caz Collie getting tantalisingly close. Again though opportunities were missed and Olney lost their heads a bit, although Dani Phan at wing made a good tactical choice with a chip and chase. The ball back in play, it was Collie who whipped round the outside at pace to finish Olney’s campaign in this match. The try unconverted, it left Olney 27-5 winners in what was a very enjoyable game for both players and supporters.