Sun 14 Nov 2021
A bonus-point home 29-5 win for Abbey Women over Supermarine Ladies in front of a vocal crowd, has lifted them clear of the relegation zone and into seventh place in Championship South 1.
A brace from Alice Denton-Rice, as well as further scores from skipper Annabel Hawkins, Caroline Shephard and Tori Kiff secured the maximum league points in a game the home side knew was a must-win fixture, after defeats to table-toppers Thurrock and Bath. It was Shephard’s try that opened the scoring, after Hawkins’ first line break of many of the day. Alice Denton-Rice was successful with the conversion.
Abbey Women had to work much harder for their next score, with Supermarine testing their defensive character early on with hard carries, and a dominant pack in the scrum. Flanker Hannah Gale won some important turnovers and the front row of Stevens, Potter and King combined well to set good structure off Ellie Denton-Rice. The home side back line showcased their threat with ball in hand, but were thwarted by Supermarine or their own handling errors.
Although most of the first half of rugby was played in Supermarine’s half, Abbey struggled to convert their territory into points, with last passes often going awry, or their discipline in rucks letting them down. Eventually, after being camped on the opposition’s try line, and a held-up effort, Hawkins grabbed her maiden try of the season and Abbey were 14-0 to the good at half-time thanks to the boot of Alice Denton-Rice.
Abbey started the second half much brighter, scoring arguably the try of the season so far. Another line break from Annabel Hawkins saw replacement flanker Tori Kiff in close support. Quick hands from fly-half Bevan to her outside backs McCreesh and Alice Denton-Rice saw the outside centre cross in the corner. Moments later, Kiff grabbed a try of her own and Abbey had secured the bonus point.
The second half was blighted with injury stoppages by the visitors, which affected Abbey’s tempo. Debutants Skeels and Montgomery came on for a new 10-12 combination, and Pullan replaced Ellie Denton-Rice; both scrum halves giving a good performance throughout the afternoon. Eventually, Abbey worked their way up the pitch once again and a quick ball from Pullan to Alice Denton-Rice saw the centre stretch over for her side’s final try of the afternoon.
Supermarine wanted the last day however and the final ten minutes saw Abbey under the most defensive pressure they had been all afternoon, as well as the most ill-disciplined. A high penalty count and a team yellow card for the dynamic flanker Wall, who had been spectacular all afternoon, allowed Supermarine to work the overlap and cross in the corner.
Abbey will be pleased with their second bonus-point win of the season, but will be keen to fix some of the plays that prevented them from being more ruthless and clinical in their attack. They travel to Old Albanians this weekend, and then to Buckingham the week after before a well-deserved rest weekend.
