Lincoln Ladies Away vs Coalville 16 Apr 2023
Lincoln Ladies Away vs Coalville 16 Apr 2023.
Away Win 20-34
Lincolnite Report
Lincoln Ladies captain Abi Lee crossed for a hat-trick of tries as her team showed great resilience to claim a 34-20 win at Coalville.
Jenna Bierton grabbed a brace of tries and Emily Nelson scored one, as well as adding two conversions to complete a great victory on the road for Lincoln in Women’s NC 1 Midlands. The match also saw Charlotte Bousfield put in a superb performance at flanker.
Lincoln opened the scoring after good pressure saw them move the ball out from the back of a ruck. A good slick pass from the captain then set up Bierton, who broke the line to run in for a try under the posts. Nelson added the extras.
The visitors made a lot of ground back through Jade Morgan straight from the kick-off. More pressure saw Bierton attacking the Coalville line before Nelson crashed over to score from five metres out.
From the kick-off, Lincoln took a drive in on their own 22, but it was stripped by Coalville. As Lincoln had not set the pod properly, it allowed the hosts to score down the right-hand side.
Lincoln moved further in front after a great break by Clare Brooker-Brown down the right-hand side of the pitch. She was tackled just two metres short of the line before Lincoln recycled the ball over three or four phases.
The ball was then passed out wide and, after it bobbled a bit on the floor, Clare Hanson-Church popped it up for Lee to go over for a try.
Coalville reduced the deficit to just seven points going in at the break after Lincoln’s defensive line didn’t move forward fast enough, allowing their opponents to go in for a try in the corner.
Coalville started the second half well and, from a scrum on Lincoln’s five metre line, they went blind and scored wide out on the right to cut the gap to just two points.
Straight from the kick-off Lincoln won the ball back and on Coalville’s 10 metre line they went straight over one pod. Clare Brooker-Brown broke through in the centres and went around the full-back before being dragged down just short of the line, but captain Lee was on hand to finish the move with a try.
Coalville then continued to put pressure on and, after Lincoln were penalised for a high tackle, the visitors didn’t respond quick enough to a tap penalty which allowed the Leicestershire side to score.
With only two points in it the game could have gone either way, but Lincoln added further tries to ensure they would emerge victorious.
Lincoln stole the ball on Coalville’s 10 metre line after good work at the ruck. The ball was then recycled through the backs and captain Lee went over for a try to complete her hat-trick and Nelson successfully added the extras.
From the restart, Lincoln carried the ball up and broke through the middle of the pitch. The ball was then recycled to the left and into Coalville’s 22 before the visitors took a drive off the ruck. Lincoln then passed the ball through the backs to set up Bierton to break through from 15 metres out to complete the scoring with a great try.
POST MATCH COMMENTS
After the match Lincoln Rugby Club’s Head Coach Brian Kelly said: “The ladies had identified a game plan they felt would work against a much bigger pack and stuck to the task well.
“They knew that Coalville were strong at the ruck and worked hard to keep the ball moving and stretch the play across the field.
“Despite having the majority of the play during the game, we managed to miss three or four chances in the second half and let Coalville back into the match, but the ladies showed a lot of resilience and made sure they pulled away in the last 10 minutes for a comfortable win.”
Lincoln Ladies captain Abi Lee added: “The ladies pulled it out of the bag. Coalville were very strong in their pack and our forwards battled hard to maintain possession in scrums and jackal for turnovers.
“The back line showed more cohesion allowing us to use our pace. Overall, it was our fast game play and support running that allowed us to get the better of our rivals.
“The team really stepped up! We still have work to do around securing break downs and getting the ball out wide. However, this match has built a positive platform for us to develop and improve on, in preparation for our final league fixture against Cannock next Saturday.”
