Novos Ladies 43 - Kenilworth 5

Novos welcomed Kenilworth to Kingston Park this week with both teams eager to finish the year in 4th place and keep their momentum going for the second half of the season. Earlier in the Season, we travelled down to Kenilworth and were beaten 27-12 so we were looking to make the most of the fixture and finish the year on a high.

Kenilworth started strong with a good chase from the kick off putting Novos under immediate pressure, but a good clear up from Kenny secured us safe ball. After a few changes of possession the ball found its way to into Kenilworth hands who flung the ball wide. April Ishida found herself defending a 3 on 1 on the wing and, knowing it was make or break, beautifully read the pass and intercepted the ball to go 60m to dot the ball down under the posts. She then went on to convert her own try with a bit of help from the post to take the score to 7-0.

The game went back and forth, with the referee being consistent and awarding penalties to both sides for repeated infringements at the ruck. Kenilworth took advantage of their size in the scrums, pushing back on a few occasions however the Ladies rose to the occasion and started to match them in the set piece as the game progressed.

Novos continued to shut the door on Kenilworth, with some great covering tackles made by Sophie Mawer, Dani Phan and Grace Trimble to name a few. This frustrated the Kenilworth attack and the constant pressure in defence from Novos started to turn the tide in the game. Kenilworth again attack but are thwarted by Camile Hilditch putting her body on the line to prevent the score. This resulted in an unfortunate injury to Cam and we wish her all the best for a speedy recovery!

Kenilworth continued to use their strong forwards to carry up the middle of the pitch but a great bit of teamwork between Jess Tolson and Ceri Storer saw a tackle-turnover and the ball is back in Novos possession. Good clean ball from Grace Trimble finds the safe hands of Tash Robson and Liv Rowe, who created some great opportunities but the ball was lost forward at the last moment in the tackle and possession again returned to Kenilworth for a scrum. Kenilworth regained their scrum dominance (albeit through a questionable early drive) and secured clean ball. They sread the ball to the wing, but excellent tackling from April Ishida left Jess Dadds free to get over the ball for a turnover and regain possession.

Possession went back and forth again, with both teams taking advantage of jackal opportunities and loose ball and after a couple of knock ons from either side, Kenilworth gain a penalty with their Fly-half making a great clearance to touch. From the resulting lineout, Kenilworth spill the ball which JD gathers to make a great break and find Dani who makes some great ground and creates more holes in the defence. Novos again enter the Kenilworth half and secure a great platform through the exceptional rucking of Ella and JT. This gives Grace the opportunity to send clean ball to Kenny who makes a break for the try line and, seeing the scrambling defence, draws the defenders in and passes the ball back inside at the perfect time to hit Ceri Storer running a great supporting line to go under the posts, with April converting again from the tee.

Jess Tolson, after a sterling first 30 minutes, makes way for Amie Walker to come on. Kenilworth win a scrum penalty and kick to touch, but the following lineout is stolen by Ceri Storer. A wonderful passage of play follows, with the forwards working tirelessly to create the platform for our backs to attack and after some beautiful hands across the pitch between JD, Kenny and Danni, they find April on the wing who uses her blistering pace to score again making the score 19-0.

Novos make a further sub and bring Micha Newman on for Ella Brewster and from the kick off, Emma Jeffries-Lamb makes a great take and carries well into the oncoming Kenilworth defence. With some neat footwork, she finds a gap and again sets the platform for the backs to strike. The ball works its way to JD, who finds a gap between two forwards and accelerates straight through and draws the full back in perfectly to find Anna on the inside with a beautiful little pop to give her a simple finish for the next try of the game. April then converts to make the score 26-0 at the half-time break.

Both sides make their way in, with Novos quick to acknowledge that they need a strong first 10 minutes to make sure they quell any chance of revival from a strong Kenilworth Side.

The second half gets underway with a Novos kickoff at lightning speed, instantly winning a penalty for holding on at the breakdown from the initial breakdown. We chose to Kick to touch and from the lineout, Amie Walker makes a break through the middle and offloads to Ceri, who gets tackled but is supported well by Micha and Ella who again work the ball to the back and stop any Kenilworth counter-ruck. Quick ball then goes to Kenny who, after some deft footwork and finding the outside shoulder of the defender, passes to Dani to scores her 8th try of the season for Novos!

Grace Trimble and Liv Rowe, who put in cracking shifts all afternoon, make way for Charlotte Sparks and Ellie Thompson. Play resumes and Georgia makes a break up the wing, supported well by the ever reliable Emma Warrington, and once the ball is secured we moved the ball across the line again out wide to find JD who again makes a fantastic break from an electric turn of pace and scores in the corner. Conversion duties are passed to Ellie Thompson who slots the kick to make it 38-0.

Onto the pitch come Jessica Jenner, Sophie (who has literally had 5 minutes off), Ella, JT and Tash. After kick off there is another scrum awarded to Kenilworth, and they continue their scrum dominance to win a penalty. Novos manage to steal the resulting lineout and the ball is cleared deep down the pitch. Kenilworth gather the ball well and try to run it back but great work from April and Emma Warrington to chase hard after the kick applies the pressure, with April making a magnificent tackle to halt their attack early. The Kenilworth 10 gets the ball and uses her dancing feet to get through some of Novos forwards feeds the Kenilworth winger but again our defence stands firm and halts them in their tracks. Kenilworth to their credit never gave up and, after a good five minutes of sustained pressure within the Novos 22, Kenilworth come away with a score on the wing which is well deserved for their efforts.

Novos start again and from the kick off, Novos somehow regather the ball and set up some great phases of play through the excellent rucking of Jess Jenner and Charlotte Sparks our scrum half (who in ideal circumstances probably wouldn’t be rucking!). After some great handling across the line, the ball is unfortunately knocked on. Kenilworth then choose to kick the ball straight back rather than taking the advantage, and it goes right into the hands of Georgia who sells 2 players a dummy (some say they are still looking for the ball) and sets up a ruck for the forwards to again secure, before some lovely hands through the backs to find April on the wing who again turns on the gas and burns past the Kenilworth defence to score her first ever hat-trick in a Novos shirt and secure the 43-5 win! A fantastic performance by Novos to put them in 4th place going into the Xmas Break, and securing the bonus point win.

Players of the match were always a difficult choice this week with so many outstanding performances (it is getting harder and harder each week to pick!), but our Forward of the Match was Ceri Storer for her wonderful try plus causing Kenilworth problems across the pitch in both attack and defence. Back of the match again could have gone to any of our players but was awarded to Georgia for setting up several tries, and her tireless work in both attack and defence for 80 minutes. Kenilworth chose Kenny Thomas-Roberts for their player of the match for pulling the strings in the middle and being at the heart of everything we did in both attack and defence.

Thank you to Kenilworth who travelled up from the Midlands and came at Novos for the full 80 minutes. They are a strong, physical side who never give in and always give us a touch contest every time we play but thankfully Novos edged them out today! We wish them all the best for the rest of the season! A very strong performance from Novos ladies 1XV, who now have a well earned break to eat all the Turkey, trimmings and Mince Pies until the new year with tough games coming up against Barnsley, Bishop Auckland and Cheltenham.

Thank you to Jenny for exceptional food as always (apparently the best food in the league but we're biased), to JJ for working hard with Newcastle Falcons and allowing us to play at such an exceptional ground and surroundings, and to our referee for the game Pearce Ferguson for reffing the game brilliantly!

We would like to wish everyone a very Merry Xmas and a Happy new year, and look forward to seeing you at training or at one of our games in 2024.