1st XV Ladies - Bluebirds
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Sun 08 Sep 2019  ·  Women's NC 2 South East (East)
Chelmsford Rugby Football Club
1st XV Ladies - Bluebirds
Tries: A Harman, L Freeman, Z Wager, C BondConversions: K Harrington
22
34
Blackheath Ladies II
CHELMSFORD 22 - 34 BLACKHEATH 2S

CHELMSFORD 22 - 34 BLACKHEATH 2S

Annie Coulson9 Sep 2019 - 07:23
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BLUEBIRDS XV TAKE TIME TO WARM UP IN OPENING LEAGUE GAME AGAINST BLACKHEATH 2S

Sunday saw Chelmsford Women’s Rugby team welcome Blackheath Women’s 2nd XV for both teams’ first league game of the season. The Bluebirds always knew this would be a challenging game for them; outside of the Tyrrell’s Premier 15s it is not common for clubs to be able to field two women’s teams, let alone have a 2nd XV competing in National Challenge 2. Blackheath Women have a strong infrastructure and have been a more established outfit for a number of years. Chelmsford knew this going in and focussed their training on contact, making big hits and going in unafraid. They worked on their set piece, in particular their power and technical strength in the scrum and securing lineouts.
Unfortunately, Chelmsford suffered a couple of game day setbacks which contributed to a weak start to their game. Having worked hard on their lineouts, Chelmsford lost flanker Michelle Powell to a work related injury and Vice Captain Maddy Hughes to a persistent injury from the previous week. Hughes is an experienced flanker and last season had a 100% success rate on offensive lineouts and turned over a good percentage of defensive lineouts too. Powell, though new to the game, has been at every training session since she joined and has worked hard with Richmond Women’s prop, Stef Evans, to develop her technique in the lineout.

Moments before the game, Chelmsford also found out that the scrums would be uncontested due to a significant lack of experienced forwards in the Blackheath squad. This was another huge blow for Chelmsford, who have a lot of strength in their forward pack. Technical sessions with Stef Evans have improved their scrums significantly and this is an area of the game the squad are especially excited to get stuck in to. Uncontested scrums are a tool teams have at their disposal in this league as there are a number of developing players and teams and safety is the prime concern at all times but it does feel detrimental to the game at times.

Kicking up the hill, the game looked to start well for the Bluebirds as inside centre Clare Bond managed to chase and win Chelmsford’s own kick. She gained good ground and secured the ball but the next phase saw the ball lost in contact and Chelmsford were on the back foot. Blackheath had a lot of speed throughout their team and this seemed to take Chelmsford aback initially. Bond and fullback, Lucy Freeman, worked tirelessly and made tackle after tackle but that didn’t translate to the rest of the squad for some time. Chelmsford started to switch on as Blackheath neared the try line, and some big hits from Bond and Freeman – who were separated by only 1 vote for Back of the Match – kept Blackheath at bay for 5 minutes before they managed to get over the line for their first converted try.

As the first half wore on Chelmsford found their aggression and Abigail Harman, in the first of many excellent breaks, plunged over the try line to give the Bluebirds their first 5 points. Credit is due to Ella Alderton here, whose quick reactions secured a ball lost by Blackheath and allowed Captain Mini Nowlan to get the ball to the other side of the pitch, allowing Harman the space to cross the line.
In the second half, Chelmsford were receiving and playing down the slope and, until the final moments, it looked like they might make an incredible comeback. Tries rolled in from Clare Bond, Lucy Freeman, and Zoe Wager, as well as one conversion by Harrington.
Chelmsford’s progression throughout this game was incredible and, as with their preseason fixture, the team that ended the game did not resemble the team that kicked off. If you take only the second half of this game, Chelmsford were the stronger team but they need to find a way to come out the gates that way.

Chelmsford host Beccehamian Ladies next Sunday, 15th September 2019, in their second league fixture. Beccehamian Ladies beat Bishop Stortford 50-29 this weekend and will pose a formidable opposition for the Bluebirds, who will need to come out fighting if they hope to secure a win next week.

Match details

Match date

Sun 08 Sep 2019

Kickoff

TBC

Meet time

13:15

Competition

Women's NC 2 South East (East)

League position

3
Blackheath Ladies II
6
Chelmsford Ladies
Team overview
Further reading

Team Sponsors

Club Sponsor - Woodland Group
Club Sponsor - MKM Building Supplies
Club Sponsor - G&G Gallo
Colts Sponsor - Birketts