It was always going to be a tough trip to Thurrock as the Bluebirds made their shortest journey of the season for one of the hardest fixtures. With the T-birds II XV unbeaten this season, they unsurprisingly started strongly putting the first of their points on the board in the first 5 minutes, following it up with 2 more tries within 20 mins, only one being converted for a 17-0 lead. The Bluebirds however never shied away from the task at hand and took the game to Thurrock with some aggressive forwards play and good hands through the backs, just unable to turn the pressure into points, but certainly sending a message that they were far from giving up. Just before half time Thurrock went over for the 4th try, again unconverted to head into the changing rooms with a 22-0 lead.

Even though the second half started in much the same vein as the first, with a couple of quick tries from Thurrock, the Bluebird spirit never waned and they continued to defend stoically as well as having good periods of pressure on the Thurrock try line, only to be denied by some resolute defending to keep them from scoring. Two quick fire yellow cards, one for each side, were then followed by a number of injuries to Bluebird players, which meant a number of positional switches disrupting some of the momentum the Bluebirds had built, and as a result 3 quick tries by Thurrock effectively killed the game off. Despite a late push for a try by the Bluebirds, Thurrock finished with a converted try for a final score line of 56-0, which does not reflect the immense effort put in by the Chelmsford Ladies, who never gave up to the final whistle. They should be immensely proud of the effort put in, and will regroup after a well earned rest week to work hard ahead of their final fixture of 2024 on the 14th December, at home against another strong side in Eton Manor Ladies. All support on what will be a big day for the ladies will be most welcome.

Photo Credit: Nigel Wood