Ladies Match Reports

3rd October vs Manchester (Home) Won 33-5
The first match for the newly formed Northwich Ladies took place at Moss Farm on Sunday 3 October in a friendly against Manchester.The game got off the an explosive start and Manchester had Northwich under pressure for the first 15 minutes but great defence from Northwich full back resulted in a ‘try’ held up and Manchester failed to turn that pressure into points. A 50 metre sprint from Northwich inside centre Sarah Lydon gave Northwich the first points of the match. This was converted by fly half Vicky Reeve. Great scrummaging by the Northwich forwards ended up with a well worked try from the backs, finished off by Sarah, again converted. Former flanker and converted centre Dawn Akrigg made a superb break and was caught just short after another long sprint but got the ball away for Sarah’s hat trick under the posts, once again converted.However, Dawn got her just reward and scored herself in the second half. Again more pressure and great ‘pick up and drives’ by Northwich forwards Jodie Graham and captain Yvonne Bradley resulted in a scrum, which fly half Vicky, playing her first competitive game for 4 years, dummied and scored a converted try under the posts. In the second half Manchester upped their game and superb mauling by their forwards pushed the Northwich pack back that eventually resulted in a try inside the final 10 minutes.
So, Northwich Ladies’ first match: Won 33- 5. Let’s hope this can continue next week in our league match away against Manchester again.

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31st October vs Preston (Away) Won 50-5
The second league game of the season had arrived and what a game of rugby it turned out to be! After a strong start from Preston, Northwich found themselves with an attacking scrum 5 yards out, providing No.8, and Forward of the Match, Ellie Wyatt to pick up and take 2 defenders over the line and ground the ball for our first try. Strong runs from the Preston back row put the pressure on Northwich but great defence meant they were unable to turn that pressure into points. A loose ball from Preston, gave Northwich flanker Yvonne Bradley her first try for the club as she hacked the ball on and scored, this capped another strong performance from the captain. Superb rucking by Northwich forwards allowed the ball to get to winger Steph Carter to score in the corner and she followed that up with a great conversion, this was the start of a 20 point haul, (another try and 5 conversions) and deservedly got Back of the Match. This was followed by great passing from Preston which resulted in a well worked try after 30 minutes. Just before half time one of the best tries that has ever been witnessed in womens rugby was scored by Northwich. Great communication and linking between backs and forwards saw the ball pass through every players hands, via rucks and off loading in the tackle from one wing to the other for inside centre Sarah Lydon to score, pure text book rugby! This was followed up shortly after the half time break with an almost identical try, scored by outside centre Dawn Akrigg who made a great supporting run. Following two exhilarating tries, Preston upped their game and kept Northwich quiet for 10 minutes and came close to scoring again themselves making a few holes in the Northwich defence with brilliant individual runs. However, a break from centre Dawn Akrigg saw her outsprint the Preston backs for a 30 metre sprint and another score under the posts. Shortly after, Sarah Lydon got her second try by sprinting around the winger. The last try of the game saw Steph fool the Preston defence by stopping her run then starting again and go over for her second. The referee said at the start that he wanted a ‘quick’ game and for us all to enjoy it, both sides certainly did that which resulted in a superb, quick flowing game of womens’ rugby…. a supporter commented on it being ‘a joy to watch’.
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21st November vs Colne & Nelson (Home) Won 15-12
The ladies had another great result beating Cole & Nelson in the Division 2 league. Unbeaten so far this season Northwich are going from strength to strength. Sunday game proved to be their toughest contest so far. Reduced to U19 rules Northwich found it hard to adapt at first but proved to be too good for Colne forwards winning good possession in the forwards helping backs Yvonne Bradley, Sarah Lydon & Stephanie Carter to score three tries.
Excellent tackling from the Northwich defence kept Colne from scoring until the second half when Northwich patience lapsed to let Colne score twice. Otherwise a great performance by the Ladies.

Report from Vick Reeve :-
It would take a superb effort from the ladies to follow up the fantastic match against Preston and it may not have been the best game to watch due to the weather conditions but Northwich pulled together and came out on top once more, to make it 3 wins out of 3 so far this season.
After some confusion with player numbers, we kicked off agreeing to play 12 v 12. This was a disadvantage to Northwich as we had 16 players which meant that a few people played out of position including Sarah Lydon, stepping in to play scrum half. Colne & Nelson started off very strong and put a lot of pressure on Northwich in their half with good mauling up front. At the first scrum Northwich proved too strong for them and were even disappointed that they have to play U19 rules which prevents the scrum being moved more than 1.5 metres, this was definitely not to their advantage!! Soon after a Northwich were awarded a penalty and quick thinking from Ellie Wyatt allowed captain Yvonne Bradley to make a strong 15 yard run over the line for Northwich’s first try.
This spurred Colne & Nelson to play aggressive and attacking rugby and after Northwich defended several phases of play, Colne & Nelson spread the ball wide and scored their first try soon after which was converted.
Just before half time more fluent rugby was played by both teams which resulted in Northwich spinning the ball out wide for new recruit and winger ?? to score in the corner.
With the scores being very close the second half was crucial and Colne & Nelson came out all guns blazing and scored a try through their strong outside centre, the conversion however was missed so the score was 12 – 10 to them.
Northwich stepped up their game for the last 20 minutes and full back Stephanie Carter came into the attacking back line and went over in the corner.
The last 10 minutes was an onslaught of great play from Colne & Nelson that nearly resulted in a winning try for them but Northwich, in front of a good crowd considering the weather, were able to hold them off and come out 15 – 12 winners. There were a few sighs of relief from the Northwich Ladies when the final whistle blew!!!

Even though conditions prevented the fast flowing game of rugby that suit Northwich, they were still able to keep up their unbeaten record so far this season through great discipline and determination.

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16th January vs Ormskirk (Away) Won 34-0
After the New Year break Northwich were a bit apprehensive over the festivities taking a toll on fitness levels but after 80 minutes of rugby that clearly wasn’t an issue!

From the kick off there was a lot of pressure from Northwich and Ormskirk found themselves on the back foot and gave away a penalty. This was taken quickly by fly half Vicky Reeve who ran in Northwich’s first tr. Great handling from Northwich resulted in a break from centre Sarah Lydon and with support play from winger Steph Carte Northwich soon scored their second try and converted by Steph. 

Ormskirk had a great defensive spell but were unable to get any decent ball to score. Flanker and Forward of the Match Sarah Hodges had a great game with superb runs and linked well with prop Emma Dickenson who also had a some superb breaks in open play. Northwich then scored their third try through a great run by centre Dawn Akrigg.

In the second half – in atrocious weather conditions Northwich scored again through centre Sarah Lydon who outpaced Ormskirk and sprinted over half the pitch this was converted again by Steph.

Ormskirk had a good spell of attacking rugby and had Northwich penned in their own 22 but were unable to convert this pressure to points. Dawn then ran in her second try and shortly after Back of the Match, Sarah did the same, a great day from the Northwich centres that between them scored 4 trys.

This match was one of the highlights of the season so far, great rugby, great scoreline and fantastic food / atmosphere after!!!

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23rd January vs Chesterfield (Home) Won 36-7
Northwich faced their 7th fixture against a depleted Chesterfield side. The home team were forced to match the 11 Chesterfield players but rapidly adapted to the demands of a quicker game. Prop Sophie Cantrell opened the scoring by fooling the oppositions defense, followed by a comfortable conversion by winger Steph Carte. Northwich were unable to show there strength as scrums were uncontested. However Sarah Lydon showed class in the centre committing 3 players to leave space for Dawn Akrigg to sneak Northwich's second try. The second of three converted by Carte. Lydon scored another try just before the half time whistle. The home team showed weakness early in the second half and Chesterfield optimised to pull a try back, which was converted. A number of substitutions saw fresh legs on the pitch for Northwich - giving the new team members a run out. A further three tries were scored by Lydon (2) and Akrigg (1) - demonstrating Northwich's domination throughout the match. The game ended with 36 - 7 score, if Northwich had played their own game it could have been a lot more. Well done to all the girls - still undefeated!!!

We would like to thank all of the supporters, Chesterfield Ladies and the referee.
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6th February vs Isle of Man (Vagabonds) (Away) Won 27-10
Vagabonds match report
Despite a brave fight back in the second half Vagabonds Womens Team lost their opening game of the season to an experienced and well organised Northwich side. In the first half of the Hilton Hotel and Casino sponsored game Northwich showed exactly why they are unbeaten in the league this season scoring three tries (one a penalty) and a conversion to lead seventeen points to nil when the teams turned round. Despite the score line there were positive signs for Vagabonds with their forwards competing well at the set piece and the back line making ground in midfield. The second half began as the first had ended with a score by Northwich's outstanding scrum-half, Sarah Lydon and, at twenty-two nil, there was a danger that the home side could be swamped. Vagabonds regained their composure however and, as the pack began to secure more phases of possession, the backs started to cross the gainline on a regular basis. Their hard work was eventually rewarded with a well worked try. Vicky Leddy fired the ball off the top of the lineout to Janine Cringle who span the ball wide. Outside centre Sarah Sleddon burst through the defence and , although scragged down inside the Northwich twenty-two, she was able to offload to fellow centre Amy Wheeler who beat the final defender to score. Sleddon was in the thick of the action for Vagabonds second try when, following a period of sustained pressure, she caught her opposite number Steph Clarke in possession, stripped the ball and crashed over the line to score. With time running out the home side went hunting for another score and were unlucky to be caught on the break by Sarah Lydon who raced fifty metres for her hatrick try. Hilton Hotel General Manager David Woodiwiss unsurprisingly selected Lydon as Northwichs' player of the game although Captain Yvonne Bradley and player/coach Vicky Reeves also played extremely well . For Vagabonds Rowena Merrick and Amy Wheeler impressed and the whole pack deserved reward for effort from kick-off to final whistle, in the end however the award went to Sarah Sleddon for a powerful display of direct running. Vagabonds will have learnt a lot from what was their first competitive outing for eight months and will be looking to progress in their fixtures in Dublin at the end of the month and matches against Harlequins and Tewksbury later in the season.
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