Canterbury Ladies 7 Harlow ladies 27
14th March 2010

RFUW South East Eastern Div 2

Harlow ladies put in a very determined performance on Sunday to take the points against a very useful Canterbury side and thus maintain their position at the top of the league. The home side defence was very good but Harlow kept up the pressure throughout and clinched the game by a margin of four tries to one.

At the start of the game Harlow attempted a short kick-off but miscalculated giving Canterbury the scrum. They took very quick ball and moved it wide where they created an overlap and scored an immediate try in the corner which was converted to give them a 7 nil lead. For the next few minutes building on the confidence of this success they put Harlow under pressure. Harlow tackling however was as always very committed and they soon realized that that further tries would be harder to come by. Harlow launched several good attacks but determined defence for the home side kept them out before on 15 minutes they took a clean ball from a ruck and moved it out to their centre Becky Conway to break through the defence for a try. Emily Gizzi converted to level the score so at 7 points all. A few minutes later the Harlow pack launched a drive into the Canterbury 22. They forced a penalty when Canterbury handled in the ruck and Gizzi slotted the kick for a certain points to 10 lead. Although Harlow continued to attack, moving the ball wide to their backs Canterbury had identified Sarah Stimpson at fly half and Conway and McClellan at centre as the main threat and marked them very closely. In the closing minutes of the half however the Harlow backs move the ball wide very quickly giving Abbey Perry on the wing a chance to show her pace. She outsprinted two defenders to touch down in the corner giving Harlow a 15 - 7 lead at the interval.

For a large part of the second half the game was dominated by pressure from the Harlow pack driving up field to gain territory before launching their backs in an attempt to extend the score. Claire Lacey playing at flanker and the Harlow skipper Kelly Cotterill featured strongly in the drives by the forwards. Harlow scrum half Nikki Millman worked well with fly half Stimpson to distribute ball but a solid defence by Canterbury kept Harlow well away from their try line. An above average penalty count took the pressure off the home side on a number of occasions. Harlow however kept up the pressure throughout thr half and with 10 minutes to go they finally committed the Canterbury defence midfield before moving the ball wide for fullback Dani McKenna to come in and make the extra player for a great try in the corner. The conversion was online but did not quite carry but Harlow were pleased to have their score extended to 20 points. In the closing minutes the Harlow backs launched a number of good attacks and finally Stimpson dummied a pass to the centres before making an inside break which found a gap to touch down under the posts. Emily Gizzi was on target with the conversion of the game ended with a good win for Harlow they 27 points to seven.

Tries: Becky Conway, Abbey Perry, Danni McKenna, Sarah Stimpson.
Conversions: Emily Gizzi (2)
Penalty: Emily Gizzi

Team: Tina Baldwin, Emily Gizzi, Sam Ackerman, Gemma Ackerman (sub Stevie Doherty 50), Tracey Lee, Claire Lacey, Emma Hancock, Kelly Cotterill (capt.), Nikki Millman, Sarah Stimpson, Abbi Perry, Becky Conway, Davina McClellan, Toni Beard (sub Mel Quazi 35), Danni McKenna
Replacement not used: Carla Souch.

This win keeps Harlow four points clear at the top of the table but they still have to play he second and third placed sides Ashford and old Albanians. Both these sides have games in hand and which means that Harlow were not only need to win their remaining matches but will to some extent depend on the outcome of other games to be played by their nearest opposition. If however Harlow continue to show the total commitment which they produced on Sunday then they must be considered serious challengers for the title.

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