Sun 22 Jan 2023
Ladies rugby was back at Polson Bridge after 7 weeks without a fixture due to
rain, frozen pitches and opposition lack-of numbers. The Cabettes put the
Exeter Athletic blip behind them and returned to the status quo with a
resounding 37-0 victory over tough opponents Totnes Blue Birds.
With both the men's fixtures on Saturday called off due to frozen pitches, it
seemed the ladies would have yet another frustrating weekend with no rugby.
But the temperatures rose and the ground thawed enough for Crispin to give
the go ahead and with last minute stand-in referee Luca Bernesconi coming to
the rescue to officiate, it was game on!
From the get go Launceston looked to play at a fast pace but the 7 weeks of
no games showed rust in the launceston machine meaning a number of balls
hit the deck and passes not making it to hand. With a quick change of tactics,
Launceston found the pace they were after with a dozen pick and goes
allowing the commanding figure of Rhian Thomas to pick and score with only
5 minutes on the clock. Conversion missed.
Launceston’s pack showed speed is king by moving the ball away from the
rucks as quickly as they could, not allowing the Totnes defence to set. The
forwards, again using pick and goes to suck the defensive line in, before
feeding the back line for full back Holly Williams to score. Conversion missed.
As the confidence grew and the handling began to come back to them, the
Cabettes brought in their offload game. Not allowing the defence to set and
running their bigger opposition around, Launceston clearly looked to tire the
Totnes forwards out. And it began to work as once again their fast paced
forwards game sucked in enough of the defence for Launceston to go wide
and release Holly Williams for her second score. Conversion missed.
With the speed Launceston were playing at, substitutions were going to be
key and one such sub saw the much anticipated return of Launceston
favourite Briony Eddy from her long spell on the sidelines after her achilles
rupture playing for Cornwall last May.
The final score of the half saw that maid Holly Williams swerve her way
through the covering defence to dive over for her hattrick. Conversion
successful from Joey Sandercock.
HT: 22-0
The 7 week break began to take its toll as the second half started with
Launceston’s speed of play significantly slowed, giving Totnes’s strong pack a
chance to get on the front foot. But after 10 minutes of arm wrestling,
Launceston’s power runners forced their way down the field. Unfortunately
one such run saw the influential Rhian Thomas leave the field due to injury but
from the resulting scrum, Vicki Diodge provided a trademark score as she
burst through the defensive line. Conversion missed.
Totnes now had a foothold in the game though and began causing problems
for Launceston, holding on to the ball for long spells and making yards up the
pitch with their strong forwards. But Launceston’s defence as ever held firm
and were able to counter with venom. Versatile Piper Karkeek, moved from
hooker to centre, provided direct running and deft handling, backed up by the
impressive Charlotte Crocker at outside centre gave Launceston a platform to
launch their play off and make their way into the Totnes 22. Launceston then
turned back to their pick and go game. Totnes recognised the pattern from the
first half and anticipated the ball to be spread wide at any moment. But the
experience and vision from scrum half Amy ‘Podge’ Warman allowed her to
throw a dummy and scoot through untouched. Conversion missed
The last try came from a well worked 5m scrum inside the Totnes 22. With
every back set to go to the open side, Vicki picked from 8 and went down the
blind side, popping the ball to Podge who passed it to the looping Joey
Sandercock from 10. The path to the tryline looked full of Totnes players but
Joey had her dancing shoes on and tip toed her way through the would be
tacklers for a score. Conversion missed.
FT: 37-0
With the ladies back to winning ways they get 2023 off to the best possible
start ready for a long run of fixtures to the end of the season.
Forward of the Match: Rhian Thomas
Back of the Match: Charlotte Crocker
Report by: Dan Pearce
