Sun 2 Feb 2020
Eccles displayed great line speed from the kick-off led by Siobhan. Fantastic tackles from Rebecca, Mollie and Jess held the opposition at bay. However, this wasn’t for long and Sefton made their way down the right wing for a try just right of the posts (No conv.). From a Sefton penalty, they kicked to touch. From a knock-on in their lineout, Eccles stole the ball, but good pressure from the Sefton defence caused play to be pulled back for the scrum. Sefton stole the ball from the scrum and their backs made their way down the right wing. They cut back across and switched play to the left, and through quick hands the ball made its way over the line for another Sefton try (No conv.). Another Eccles scrum was stolen by Sefton - illustrating the opposition’s strength – and although a smashing tackled from Rebecca slowed played down from behind the scrum, a few missed tackles in the middle of the field allowed Sefton to run through the middle and score their 3rd try of the game (Conv.). From an Eccles scrum the ball was won and was passed out wide to Jess who made a fantastic run, a high tackle resulted in a penalty and was kicked to touch. Unfortunately the lineout was lost, and the ball ended up in the opposition’s hands again. An Eccles scrum followed shortly after, which was unfortunately lost, and Sefton made their way down the left wing. A few missed tackles allowed them to gain ground, but a fantastic covering run from Mikayla stopped the ball in its tracks. The ball, however, was quickly recycled by Sefton and they went over the line for a try again (No conv.). Another Sefton try followed shortly down the right wing this time (No conv.). Eccles’ defence started to settle after a barrage of Sefton attacks. Jo made a great tackle and with her causing trouble at the breakdown, a penalty was awarded to Eccles. The Sefton scrum, which had been the strong point of the opposition, started to weaken, and a free kick was awarded to Eccles. The ball was passed out to Leah who made a great hand-off and made ground up the field, before the ball was take out into touch. Great tackles from Jess and Mia in the backs, and smashing tackles from Pippa and Karen in the forwards, ensuring that Sefton couldn’t make much ground in their attack. An Eccles penalty was kicked to touch. This was won, and the ball was passed out to Mikayla who made a good run, and then passed out to Jo who made more ground. The ball was passed to Holly, who made a good hand-off and exhibited some good leg drive before being brought down. Leah made another good run as well and won a penalty for Eccles. From a tap by Lowri, Karen made a great run, offloading to Siobhan before being tackled showing a real attacking threat from the Eccles Ladies. Another free kick was awarded to Eccles from the scrum, and another Eccles attack was launched being led by Mikayla making ground with good footwork. This was followed by a great carry from Siobhan, but this was stopped due to a pause in play because of a head injury. Eccles defence was strong, with big hits from Rebecca and Pippa, resulting in a Sefton knock on. This was picked up by Leah allowing a good counterattack. However, an Eccles knock-on brought play back to the initial offence, and Eccles was awarded the scrum. Sefton stole the scrum, and made good play going forwards, and good tackles from Jess, Mikayla, Rebecca and Karen put pressure on the opposition, and allowed a good turnover from Rebecca. With the ball back in Sefton’s hands, they made a good play through the middle and went over the line for a try just before half time (Conv.).
HT: 0-34
Siobhan made a great catch from the restart, opening space for Leah to run in to. An Eccles penalty came shortly after, and this was kicked to touch. The lineout was lost but Sefton knocked on, so Eccles was awarded a scrum. From this a great period of attack followed from Eccles from Mikayla, Mia and Sara, but the ball ended up in Sefton’s hands. A great tackle from Jess slowed the ball, but Sefton went over the line for another try (Conv.). From the restart, Sefton knocked on resulting in an Eccles scrum. Eccles defence seemed strong and pushed Sefton back. This put them under pressure and an Eccles penalty was awarded, with Sefton receiving a yellow card, for several successive penalties in a short time frame. Holly made a fantastic run, with good footwork and great leg drive in the tackle requiring 3 of the opposition to make the tackle. However, Sefton continued their pressure in defence and Eccles knocked on. Sefton had good hands through the centre, but good tackles from Mikayla and Jess caused a knock on from Sefton and an Eccles scrum. From the back of the scrum the ball was passed out to Mikayla who made a big kick down field. This was chased by Jo, who made a big tackle against the opposition and pushed the line back. From an Eccles scrum in the middle of the field, Sara kicked to ball out to touch making ground for Eccles. From the lineout Sefton made their way down the right wing and went over the line for another try, Eccles unable to hold back the attack this time. (No Conv.). From a collapsed scrum Sefton was awarded a penalty. They took this quickly, and due to players still down on the ground, Sefton were met with open space and ran down the left wing. Tackles from the Eccles backs couldn’t hold them and Sefton went over the line to score. (No Conv.). From the restart, Sefton made a good catch and ran straight down the right wing through missed tackles to score another try (No Conv.). Eccles bodies were beginning to show how tired they were, and shortly after Sefton scored another try, this time down the left wing (No conv.). From the restart, Sara made a fantastic tackle. This however didn’t stop the Sefton attack and they kicked into space. This was successfully gathered, and their forwards went over the line for another try (No Conv.). From the restart, the kick was expertly placed with a good bounce going out to touch for a Sefton lineout but deep in their half. The lineout wasn’t straight and Eccles were awarded the throw in, but this was stolen by the opposition. Eccles turned the ball over but knocked on resulting in a Sefton scrum. A free kick was awarded to Eccles. The ball was tapped and Hannah made a good run up the field displaying good footwork. The remainder of the game was played out with little finesse and no further score.
FT: 0-66.
Eccles struggled against the Table Leaders and although they showed some periods of brilliance in their play, they never really got into the game.
Forward of the Match: Pippa
Back of the Match: Jo
