Rugby Womens 1sts
Time: Saturday 13.30
Location: 22 acres
Points: Lancaster 4
York 0 - Lancaster 47
York’s Women’s 1sts were outgunned by a superior Lancaster side at the Rugby on Saturday afternoon.
The static beginning to the match was to set the tone and pace for the rest of the encounter, with strong tackles from both sides, and Lancaster’s speed in spreading the ball wide to their fast outside centre and fullback catching a tight York defence off guard.
The first try was scored after 15 minutes of rugby, when after several phases of possession in which the ball was recycled quickly by the red rose half backs, Lancaster touched down under the posts and converted. A great scrummaging effort by York’s pack, spearheaded by the vocal Katie Croft, put the opposing eight on their back foot. The forwards set a good attacking platform for the back, and it was only a great cover tackle on York’s wing Chrissie Leahy that stopped her from scoring in the corner.
What followed was a continued switch in possession for about ten minutes, with plenty of knock-ons and turnovers to disrupt the flow of play. But Lancaster’s speedy outside centre scored two tries in as many minutes, first after their flanker drew two tacklers and offloaded inside, and again when York conceded a turn over close to their line and Lancaster quickly spread the ball right. The first half ended with a ghost try, when a Lancaster player seemed to be tackled short, and after a few minutes of debating, the referee decided to award the try.
In the second half, Lancaster came out firing, but various knock-ons and a number of fantastic cover tackles by both Chrissie Leahy and Jenny Harvey. However, continued pressure by the Lancaster XV kept the York girls pinned in their own 22, the white rose missing overlaps on their outside, preferring their strong runners in the pack, and Lancaster’s backs suffocating any attempt to spread the ball wide.
Lancaster’s 13 went over for a try after taking an inside line and struggling through a tackle, and the red rose scored thrice again before the end of the match, twice by launching wide attacks and once with a great solo try by the Lancaster 12 from the halfway, despite some more heroic tackles by the York wingers. Late substitutions brought some extra speed to the home side, but this was not enough to keep possession and break the line. The referee did not regulate the scrums and rucks as he should have, letting Lancaster get away with a little too much and penalising the best aspect of York’s game, but ultimately it was Lancaster’s distribution that provided the home teams demise.
Albi Furlan
