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Colchester Iceni 14 Westcliff 12
Doug Boulton2 Dec - 06:14
Report by Steve Whiteman
In damp conditions on Sunday afternoon the Iceni took on visitors Westcliff Lionesses in the Papa John Ladies Rugby competition. Both Essex sides were evenly matched in this enthralling game, with Iceni getting the better of their opponents by converting both of their tries as opposed to the Lionesses.
Right from the start both sides battled it out trying to break through their opponents defences but with no success. Eventually after 15 minutes the Iceni got the ball to centre Yas Amber on the halfway line and she sprinted through the defence to touch down for the first try, which she converted. 7-0 but the Lionesses weren’t lying down and proceeded to launch several attacks at the Colchester team.
Soon they had a scrum on home side’s 10 metre line which they won and moved the ball right to their powerful inside centre who sprinted through to score and convert a fine try. 7-7 and all to play for.
The remaining 20 minutes of the half saw the ladies battling it out in pursuit of victory. Iceni’s forwards were efficient in the many scrums often driving their opponents backwards and only good defence by the Lionesses stopped the slick passing Blacks from breaking through.
Accurate passing by both sets of backs was commendable given the wet conditions with skipper/scrum half Jess Brennan, often feeding the Goate twins with quick passes off the back of dominant scrums.
Early in the second half winger Jade Baker had to come off due to a shoulder injury but coach Graham Seal filled the gap with, in turn, Beth Philpott and Anna Fox. Another replacement used was Kay Blackman standing in for fullback Lucy Philpott on a couple of occasions.
Ten minutes into the second half Iceni were awarded a penalty on the centre spot for a high tackle. The ball was moved swiftly to the left along the backs to Beth who touched down in the corner. Yas Amber stepped up to take the long distance conversion attempt and much to the delight of the home supporters slotted the ball brilliantly between the posts
Iceni were again in the lead 14-7 but back came the resolute Lionesses. At one point during the rest of the match it appeared that the visitors had scored after a catch and drive lineout but the referee deemed that the ball was held up .
After constant pressure the Lionesses eventually got into Iceni’s red zone and battered away at the defence to go over left of the posts.
14-12 and the home nerves were jangling. If successfully converted it would be a draw and 15 minutes each way would have to be added to the game time to get a result. But the conversion was missed and Iceni were through to the next round of the Papa John cup which will be played at home on 2nd February 2025.
Player of the match was Lucy Philpott for her fast running and excellent tackling. The Under the Radar award went to inside centre Zoe Goate for the same reasons.
Right from the start both sides battled it out trying to break through their opponents defences but with no success. Eventually after 15 minutes the Iceni got the ball to centre Yas Amber on the halfway line and she sprinted through the defence to touch down for the first try, which she converted. 7-0 but the Lionesses weren’t lying down and proceeded to launch several attacks at the Colchester team.
Soon they had a scrum on home side’s 10 metre line which they won and moved the ball right to their powerful inside centre who sprinted through to score and convert a fine try. 7-7 and all to play for.
The remaining 20 minutes of the half saw the ladies battling it out in pursuit of victory. Iceni’s forwards were efficient in the many scrums often driving their opponents backwards and only good defence by the Lionesses stopped the slick passing Blacks from breaking through.
Accurate passing by both sets of backs was commendable given the wet conditions with skipper/scrum half Jess Brennan, often feeding the Goate twins with quick passes off the back of dominant scrums.
Early in the second half winger Jade Baker had to come off due to a shoulder injury but coach Graham Seal filled the gap with, in turn, Beth Philpott and Anna Fox. Another replacement used was Kay Blackman standing in for fullback Lucy Philpott on a couple of occasions.
Ten minutes into the second half Iceni were awarded a penalty on the centre spot for a high tackle. The ball was moved swiftly to the left along the backs to Beth who touched down in the corner. Yas Amber stepped up to take the long distance conversion attempt and much to the delight of the home supporters slotted the ball brilliantly between the posts
Iceni were again in the lead 14-7 but back came the resolute Lionesses. At one point during the rest of the match it appeared that the visitors had scored after a catch and drive lineout but the referee deemed that the ball was held up .
After constant pressure the Lionesses eventually got into Iceni’s red zone and battered away at the defence to go over left of the posts.
14-12 and the home nerves were jangling. If successfully converted it would be a draw and 15 minutes each way would have to be added to the game time to get a result. But the conversion was missed and Iceni were through to the next round of the Papa John cup which will be played at home on 2nd February 2025.
Player of the match was Lucy Philpott for her fast running and excellent tackling. The Under the Radar award went to inside centre Zoe Goate for the same reasons.
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