East versus Thames Valley U18 Girls: Match report

Thames Valley kicked off and for the first 10 minutes camped themselves in East 22. Thames Valley won a seriesof penalties and ran the ball on each occasion but the East tackling was powerful and they were unable to score.

Thames Valley then won a line out but the up-and-under from the outside-half (who kicked well all game) went sidewards and East began to move up the pitch. Thames Valley knocked-on giving East a scrum on the half-way line. The East scrum was under pressure all first half but good picking up and breaks by Sasha allowed East to get into Thames Valley territory for the first time. Now it was East’s turn to attack and Thames Valley had to kick to relieve pressure on several occasions allowing East backs to charge back. 

East backs began to look dangerous with Hannah Gallagher a constant threat at outside half. The first East try came from a ruck, the ball was sent down the back line and Megan Williams burst into the line and side stepped the full back to score under the posts. Hannah Gallagher converted. East maintained the pressure after the restart and Hannah Gallagher broke through to score the second try. The first half finished at East 12 Thames Valley 0. 

East kicked off and immediately put TV under pressure as they tried to run from defence -- big hits coming in particularly from Frankie Dawson. Thames Valley were now struggling to relieve their lines with the East back row putting the scrum half and outside half under pressure. From a ruck just inside TV half Emma Burgess burst forward and then set the backs flowing with India putting Hannah Gallagher in the clear. A great cover tackle by the TV girls stopping the try.  East were now dominating the scrums allowing good ball for the backs. An inside pass from Emily Scott allowed Hannah Gallagher to slice through the defence and get over the try line to score. Hannah converted to make the score 19-0. 

Thames Valley now fought back into the game and a cross field kick put pressure on East backline and the resulting scrum went to TV on East’s 5 metre line.  Pressure was maintained for 5 minutes but East tackling was superb. The East forwards then took a scrum against the head and cleared their lines. Great line out catching by number 18 helped East move up the field and then in a replay of the earlier move Emma Burgess charged forward and then set the backs going. The ball moved smoothly through the entire backline and Frenchie spun through the tackle to score in the corner.  

East were now showing all kinds of tricks with Emily Scott juggling the ball and carrying it on the back of her neck for 5 meters. East continued with flowing back line attacks and Hannah Gallagher broke through again to score a hat-trick. Emily Scott hit the posts in attempting the conversion. The final minutes saw another charge by Sasha. The ball was recycled and Sam Voyle made good ground before sending India over the final try.

Final scoreline was East 34 Thames Valley 0