A strong performance against a tough side

Despite the weather last week, it was a fine day at Sutherland Park and the pitches were looking great.

The team were fired up from kick off setting the tone with a massive first hit from skipper Amelia Neagle. The team exerted huge pressure on DMP through a dominant defence. Some great scrummaging from Rachel Yost, Christine Miller and Cat Ingoe kept the pressure on. With ball in hand we looked dangerous with centres Rachel Cooper and Tash Robson getting over the gain line with ease. The forwards, well organised by Caitlin ‘The General’ Sedegeworth, secured quick ball for the team to attack with and with some great offloading the team were rewarded with the first try of the game from Tash Robson. We came very close to scoring again but Cathy Foster was just denied in the corner. However, DMP grew into the game and despite tough defence from Steph Claxton and Sam West they scored 3 quick tries to take the lead at the end of the first quarter.

It was hard going for Novos in the 2nd and 3rd quarters as DMP continued their resurgence with very attacking tries from their very fast wide wingers. There were some great performances from debutant Carla Askwith doing exceptionally well at tight head prop and second row Jen Atkinson. Rachel Bennet showed her pace with some attacking runs in the second half, while Ruth Scott and replacement centre Emma Nichol started to run the show. Amelia ‘Magic’ Magistrali replaced ‘The General’ at 9 for her Novos debut and with big shoes to fill she did exceptionally well and bossed the forwards with real authority.

The 4th quarter is where we really came into our own with some devastating runs; Helen Kane linking up superbly with Rachel Cooper. If a couple of offloads had gone to hand we could have gone over for 2 or 3 more tries. Strong performances from back rowers Katy Chamberlain and Fran Mockford laid the foundations for high tempo attacking rugby and this paid dividends as Helen Kane thundered over for a well-deserved try to end the game.

The final score of 53-10 does not reflect the game or the performance of Novos who were spirited throughout the match. Overall it was a strong performance against a well organised premiership side. After the game the ladies were positive with smiles on their faces. I have no doubt that a performance like that against any team in our league would result in a win.

We hope everyone can get down to Sutherland Park on the 6th for our first league game against West Bridgford.