Peterborough 0 Harlow Ladies 46

RFUW Eastern Div 3

Harlow Ladies tightened their grip on the Women’s Eastern Div 3 on Sunday with a crushing defeat of Peterborough.  This puts them six points clear at the top of the table with just one match to go and with a points difference of 228, 139 more than second placed Cambridge. Their home game against bottom of table Southwold on the 26^th March should enable them to clinch the title.

Harlow started strongly with No. 8 Chloe Van Dop breaking clear from the kick off and scoring under the posts and Nicola Millman converting for a 7 – nil lead. Peterborough countered well and for the next ten minutes Harlow had to defend strongly, for much of the time in their own 22. The home side had several chances from kickable penalties but opted to run the ball and the Harlow defence held out. Eventually Harlow took control again when scrum half Nichola King broke clear from the scrum for an unconverted try making it 12 – 0.  Although Harlow were now attacking strongly for most of the time Peterborough defended well but in the run up to half time the Harlow captain Kelly Cotterill crashed over for a good forwards try after a powerful drive by the pack. Nicky Millman’s conversion made it 19  - 0 at the turn around.

The second half saw Harlow exploiting their safe lead and moving the ball wide to the backs. It produced some of the best handling of the season and quickly exposed the home side’s defensive weaknesses. Fly half  Keighley Diprose spotted a gap and cut through for the first try of the half and minutes later Sarah Stimpson left three defenders standing, outpacing them one stride in three. The final three Harlow tries all involved sixty yard plus first from Nichola King, then Chloe Van Dop which Nicola Millman converted, and then finally another show of real speed by Sarah Stimpson.

Tries: Chloe Van Dop (2), Nichola King (2), Sarah Stimpson (2), Keighley Diprose, Kelly Cotterill.

Conversions Nicola Millman (3)

Team: 1. Sharon White,  2. Jo Coare, 3. Clare Schneider,  4. Kelly Cotterill (capt.),   5. Tracey Lee, 8. Chloe Van Dop, 9. Nichola King, 10. Keighley Diprose, 11. Rebecca Conway, 12. Sarah Wootton, 13. Sarah Stimpson, 14. Emily Gizzi, 15. Nicola Millman, 16. Kerry Cope, 17. Kym Hunter

To view more match reports - click here

Click photo's to enlarge

Click photo's to enlarge

Click photo's to enlarge

Click photo's to enlarge

Click photo's to enlarge

Click photo's to enlarge

Click photo's to enlarge

Click photo's to enlarge