15 October 2006

Nerves and inexperience got the better of Old Leamingtonians Ladies when they lost to a depleted Worcester II site on Sunday.

Having not played for almost a month, Old Leams travelled to Worcester hoping to put their hard work in training to good use on the pitch. Worcester was not able to field a full team so expectations were high.

Worcester, fielding only 11 players, came out all guns blazing, determined not to be over-run by Old Leamingtonians. Perhaps it was nerves, perhaps it was a lack of concentration but the match did not reflect the quality of the Old Leams team in any way. For many players it was only their second competitive match in rugby and many times, players found themselves out of position or making wrong choices.

It took 13 minutes for OLs to open the score when Captain Kelly McLeod stormed over the Worcester line.

Only 3 minutes later, Worcester II levelled the score when they exploited the slow response from the Old Leams defence. Winger Sam Bree broke through the defence on the left side and sprinted across the line for the first of her 3 tries of the afternoon.

Old Leams looked disappointed when some lovely play did not result in a score. Too many times, OLs were unable to use their numerical advantage; instead it seemed to confuse them. They were non-committal in the rucks but when they did go in, they kept the ball with them for too long, ignoring the big overlaps for the backs.

When the ball was finally released to the backs, McLeod promptly scored her second try of the afternoon. Danni Benge’s conversion hit the post but went through. OLs were now 5 – 12 up.

A period of better Old Leams play followed and it wasn’t long before scrum half Claire Penna scored the 3^rd try for Old Leams. With a Worcester player hanging on her legs, she pushed her way across the line. Still, Old Leams did not look like the confident team that had started the season so well against Witney last month.

Before half-time, Worcester ran in their second try, making the match much tighter than it should have been.

The second half saw a disastrous start from Old Leams when they lost their Captain, Kelly McLeod, on her way to scoring her 3^rd try, to a serious knee injury. It was clear that Old Leams were losing the mental battle, with Worcester feeling more and more like they could win the match.

With 5 minutes to play, the score was 24 – 17 in favour of Worcester. Old Leams had a glimmer of hope when Charlotte Hewer reduced the deficit to 2 points when she pushed over the line but it was Worcester who had the final say when the last play of the match resulted in a converted try, bringing the final score to 31 – 22.

Old Leams were left wondering how they managed to lose this game. Fortunately there were many positive points as well with new and inexperienced players getting the chance to play competitive matches. They will need to take the lessons from this match with them when they meet their next opponent Newcastle under Lyme in 2 weeks time.

Player of the Match was Charlotte Hewer for her good work in the centre and determination in scoring the last Old Leams try.