Chelmsford Ladies hosted Beccehamian Ladies in their second league game of the season and, unfortunately for Chelmsford, their two toughest teams were the two season openers. Beccehamian Ladies are an established outfit, who last season only lost to London Irish and who enjoyed a 30+ point margin in all of their wins.
The temperatures on Sunday approached 30°, the ground was hard and it was agreed that there were would be additional water breaks in each half to ensure players’ safety and, given that Beccehamian brought no substitute players, this was a valuable addition!
Chelmsford had a full bench of substitutes to Beccehamian’s empty bench but, ultimately, that worked against them. Where players would usually have pushed through injury and fatigue, they were less inclined to persevere and the substitutions made meant that players had to play multiple positions and the lack of consistency was in stark contrast to the well-oiled machine Beccehamaian presented.
The Bluebirds saw a lot of positives and each and every player came away from the game feeling as though they had played a good game of rugby but it did highlight some areas for improvement. It was obvious, particularly when compared with the opposition, that the Bluebirds are not an established team and a lot of the work required will be on getting the team to communicate and lay as a cohesive unit rather than 15 individuals.
Beccehamian had a strong pack of forwards and a couple of their back row players broke through the Chelmsford line time and time again. True to form, however, Chelmsford grew in confidence as the game went on and, although Beccehamiam had put the majority of their tries on the board in the first half, Chelmsford upped their defence and kept the opposition at bay for much of the second half.
As the second half went on, the Bluebirds’ offensive play also improved and they managed to secure two tries and a conversion. The first try saw hooker Zoe Wager crash over the line after a concerted effort by the forward pack, slowing down the game and driving the ball using their forward pods.
The second try was scored by fullback Lucy Freeman, who fought through the defensive line to cross the try line. Freeman has proven to be an invaluable asset to the Bluebirds, strong in attack and defence, she is relentless in her approach to the game.
The Bluebirds now have a 3 week break before they face Harlow away on 6 October, kick off 2.30pm. They have a training plan in place and aim to secure their first win of the season against their local rivals.