Sun 29 Oct 2023
Launceston Ladies Match Report
Vs Bideford (Junior Cup) 29/10/2023
Launceston Ladies progressed to the 3rd round of the National Junior Cup on
Sunday after they brought their impervious league form to the cup match arena,
brushing aside league rivals Bideford 44-0.
Bideford made the trip to Polson Bridge with the league defeat still stinging from less
than a month ago and with arguably their strongest squad available, came to cause
an upset to the much favoured Cabettes.
Launceston began the encounter with the ambition to take the game to Bideford but
lacked the execution in the pouring conditions to gain any early advantage. Bideford
also brought their physicality and were determined to make this as difficult a game
as possible. But soon Launceston’s power runners came to the fore through the likes
of Jenna Arnold and Kim Upcott, driving The Cabettes deep into the Bideford 22.
Inevitable penalties were conceded by Bideford in their pursuit to halt the charge but
when Amy ‘Podge’ Warman kept the tempo high with some quick taps, Rhian
Thomas took her chance to dive through a gap and score. Holly Williams calmly
slotted the extras.
This provided the catalyst for Launceston to find a bit of rhythm in their attack and it
wasn’t long before Williams found herself in some space to work with, in fact more
than enough to grab a score of her own. Her conversion attempt was sadly wide.
Launceston’s rhythm in attack seemed to bring with them the bounce of the ball
when a Bideford attack squirted the ball loose and fall directly into Jenna Arnold’s
grasp. She hammered down the left wing before offloading to the supporting Abbie
Smith. The cover defence came hard so she in turn popped it to Rhian Thomas to
dive over in the corner. The conversion from the touchline was short.
Launceston turned up the pressure in defence as they began to attack with their
defensive line speed. Led by Megan Arnold, a forced pass was well read by Williams
who intercepted and ran the 40m under the posts for her second and added the
extras for good measure.
The rain had seemingly stopped for the past 10 minutes so Launceston were able to
take full advantage of the drier spell and unleashed the backs. After her exploits at
King Georges Field earlier this month, Abbie Smith was clearly a player marked by
the Bideford backline and was kept quiet for the majority of the half. But she could
only stay silent for so long as she finally broke free down the pitch. The defence
covered well but gave away a penalty in the process. Podge, eager to keep the
momentum going, quick tapped and handed over to Kimbo. Brought down just short
by a number of Bideford defenders, the gap was left for Podge to scurry over for a
well deserved score of her own. Conversion missed
The final 7 minutes of the half was all Bideford though. They marched up the pitch,
drawing penalties and kicking for territory, they found themselves deep in the
Launceston 22. A place they hadn't found themselves in a lot this season they
needed to dig deep to hold out this Bideford onslaught. A huge defensive effort
ensued with monster hits from the likes of Megan Arnorld and Kimbo as well as
Caitlyn Hancock and Podge chopping anything that moved and disrupting the rucks.
A knock on finally ended Bidefords best hope at a score and Launceston could
breathe a sigh of relief once the referee blew for halftime.
HT: 29-0
Bideford came out for the second half as they ended the first and locked horns once
again. A feisty encounter that brought about some injuries and a yellow card for
Launceston’s Ann-Marie Risdon,it took 20 minutes for either side to break off and it
was Launceston that landed the punch. Camped on the Bideford 5m line, a number
of pick and goes fell short before Meg Arnold spotted a guard short and dove
through the gap to cap off a brilliant performance. Conversion missed.
Launceston gained the majority of the territory through their forward runners but
Bideford still defended for their lives. Launceston forced an exit from Bidefords 22
but the kick was sliced to the midfield where the waiting Mel Ruby gathered and
returned. Some silky handling though through her and the rest of the backline saw
replacement full back Ellen Armstrong run in untouched for her score. The
conversion out wide agonisingly smashed the crossbar.
With 5 minutes left to play, Launceston’s backline put their hands to good use again
as a tidy loop from Abbie Smith around debutant wing Rachel Hicks gave her space
to gun it for the corner for her standard contribution. Conversion missed
FT: 44-0
Two down, one to go against Bideford this season, Launceston were made to front
up and answer some questions. On this occasion they had all the answers and
progress to the 3rd round of the cup against either Kingsbridge or Paignton in a few
weeks time. But in the meantime they will be back in league action next week away
to Devonport Services, 2:30 KO.
Forward of the Match: Kim Upcott
Back of the Match: Amy Warman
Report by: Dan Pearce
