Sun 12 Jan 2020
Eccles Ladies Vs Crewe and Nantwich Ladies (Home)
Eccles welcomed Crewe and Nantwich Ladies, a fixture that was previously marred by a lack of Eccles players. However, this fixture provided a full Eccles team that was ready to challenge for the win.
Crewe and Nantwich kicked off and Eccles were strong from the off. A great carry by Leah, and great support forced the opposition to concede an early penalty, which was then kicked to touch. Shortly afterwards, Crewe were awarded a penalty. They opted to kick to touch but missed. The ball was then kicked forward by Sheena, collected by LJ and followed by a fantastic run forward. An Eccles scrum was won easily, and hands out allowed ground to be made. Siobhan and Kathy were strong going forward in the forwards, pushing the opposition defensive line back. Eccles continued the great play forward, but Crewe turned the ball over. However, even though they seemed to have good play going forward, the ball was intercepted by Mikayla and she was able to make a fantastic run before being tackled by two of the opposition. Eccles were brilliant in defence with Crewe not being able to make much ground and most of the play taking place in the opposition half. A Crewe knock-on turned the ball over to Eccles. From the scrum, the ball was passed out wide and Mikayla made ground before being tackled and popping the ball up from the ground to continue the attack with Jess, who made more ground before being tackled in to touch. With the ball in Crewe and Nantwich’s hands they began to make their way up the field down the right wing. They made a break, down the middle of the field, but tackles from Sheena and then LJ ensured they were stopped in their tracks. Massive tackles from all the Eccles Ladies to make sure no Crewe player broke through the line, eventually resulting in an Eccles penalty being awarded. Siobhan made a fantastic run, followed by another great run from Mikayla making ground before being tackled into touch. Back in the Crewe half, Eccles displayed superb hands despite the wet and cold weather. Sheena made a fantastic run back across the field spotting space in the defensive line, and from this, great ball handling followed from Rebecca and Emily. The ball back in Crewe’s possession was a rare sight and this didn’t last long as a smashing hit from Gee forced a knock on and an Eccles scrum. Again, when the ball reached the opposition hands, the ball travelled down the right wing but big hits from Freya, Rebecca and Mollie Y stopped them. From an Eccles scrum, Sara made a cross field kick, which was followed by brilliant tackles by Jess, Mikayla and Gee resulting in another Eccles penalty. The strong defensive line continued, and a fantastic hit followed by great leg drive from Bonnie ensured that the opposition was pushed back. An Eccles scrum soon followed, but unfortunately this was lost. Crewe launched an attack and although big hits came from Jess and Mikayla in the back line, Crewe found space out on the right wing and ran in over the try line for their 1st try (Conv.). From the restart Eccles continued their great defence and big hits came from Jess and Gee. There was great line speed in the backs, with Gee leading the line forward. Crewe tried again to get down the right wing but Freya mage a superb hit to stop them, and the play reverting to Eccles. Sheena made a good run forward and kicked to touch resulting in the end of the 1st half.
HT: 0-7
From the restart big hits came from the Eccles defence, with Mollie Y and Gee leading the way. A great cross field kick from Sara was swept up by LJ and a fantastic run followed. Sheena made ground going forward and this was followed by great hands from Karen and Leah. Crewe turned the ball over and made their way up the field. Great tackles from Mikayla and Jess near the try line held them back for a short while, several short balls from the forwards pushed them forward, and although it seemed that Crewe and had knocked the ball on, they went over the line for their 2nd try (no conv.). Following a Crewe and Nantwich scrum, which they won, the ball was passed out wide and with missed tackles from Eccles, the opposition went over the line again for another try (no conv.). From the restart, Rebecca and Siobhan made fantastic tackles, but again through missed tackles from Eccles, Crewe made their way up the middle of the pitch to go over for another try (Conv.). Play continued, and Crewe made their way up the field again. A huge tackle came from Gee, but due to the angle of the tackle she went down with a bad injury to her back. This resulted in an extended break in play. With play moved to the adjacent pitch, the game restarted with a Crewe scrum. Although Crewe won the scrum, Eccles managed to push it back making it difficult for the opposition to get quick ball from the back. The Eccles back line put in some fantastic tackles and made it difficult for Crewe to find space. From an Eccles scrum, Mikayla took the ball forward and made it difficult for Crewe by winning a penalty. This was taken quickly by Lowri, and play was quick and precise from Eccles, with the injury break giving them time to gain some energy. Another penalty was awarded to Eccles, and Mikayla kicked to touch. The ball in Heather’s hands was taken up field making important ground, and another kick forward was dropped by Crewe. From the scrum, steady play followed by Eccles and a great carry from Siobhan put Eccles on the front foot. From this Leah made another great carry and another penalty was awarded for Eccles. This was taken quickly, with hands out to Mikayla who made substantial ground up the field. The ball made its way to the forwards and Rebecca went over the line for a well-deserved try (no conv.). From the restart, Eccles attacked hard, and another penalty was awarded. This was kicked to touch. From the line out the ball made its way through hands out wide and ground was made. The ball was kicked forward and taken well by Jess. Another penalty taken quickly and a great running line from Freya pushed Eccles forward. Leah displayed great leg drive going forward, resulting in needing 2 Crewe players to tackle her. Unfortunately, a knock on from Eccles ended the game.
A fantastic display of rugby from Eccles with the score line not reflecting the performance of the game with much of the ball possession with Eccles.
FT: 5-24
Forward of the Match: Rebecca
Back of the Match: LJ
