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Sussex Ladies overcome heat and a tough Middlesex team in County Championship
Philip Bell24 May - 20:02
Middlesex Ladies 17 Sussex Ladies 22
Sussex battled their way to a bonus point win over a highly competitive Middlesex team in this Gill Burns Womens County Championship match with the result in doubt till the last play.
On the hottest day of the year so far, conditions were demanding and much credit goes to those who played the full eighty minutes. The game was played on the grass pitch in front of the clubhouse at Wasps FC (the amateur version) rather than the nearby AGP surface. The pitch was hard and a patchy grass covering provided only a slight cushion. As well as the very necessary water breaks there were repeated injury interruptions so the game lasted nearly two hours. There was no significant slope or wind.
Sussex started brightly. Possession from a strong scrum took the ball into the left hand corner resulting in a penalty which was tapped and after a couple of phases Georgia Reed-Davies boshed her way over for the opening try, duly converted by Sissy Goldfinch-Dimmock. However almost immediately Middlesex struck back as they exploited a tap penalty for a converted try.
Sussex immediately returned to the other end and good hands ended with Lauren McInerney just failing to ground the ball in the left hand corner. Nonetheless most of the play was in the home 22 and soon Bob Tetlow charged over for a deserved try although the conversion was missed (7-12). With three tries in just 12 minutes on the clock it looked as though this could be a high scoring occasion but thereafter scores became increasingly rare.
Middlesex were looking dangerous through several strong runners (who the Heathfield players recognised from league games in the season just ended). Full back Britt Mole made two critical try-saving tackles in this period.
However Sussex generally had more possession and position in this period. One promising attack was thwarted by a holding on penalty. In some scrappy play I noticed Tetlow making a useful interception in close play to break up a threatening home attack.
Middlesex then started to build some pressure back on the visitors. When Sussex did manage to turn the ball over a kick out of defence merely played into Middlesex hands and good hands allowed their left wing to collect a fine try.
The half time score of 12-12 was a fair reflection of the game thus far. The set piece was a mixed bag for Sussex. The scrum had an edge at this stage without being dominant. However the lineout was seriously fallible with maybe just one success in the half.
As at the start of the game, the second half started with a flurry of scores. Again Sussex started strongly with a big carry by Reed-Davies carried on through several hands before Sophia Skinner found Bella May for the try. Naturally Middlesex immediately replied as a penalty gave them an attacking lineout in the left hand corner and an efficient catch and drive produced a try to level the scores with at least half an hour remaining.
Among the replacements Lauren O’Brien-Howarth and Alex Norman were particularly noted for their contributions in the second half.
Much of the rest of the game was a dog-fight with neither side able to assert control. The Sussex scrummage was starting to become more dominant (in spite of varying personnel) and their lineout finally started to function. However the Middlesex big runners were always looking threatening.
One good Sussex move ended with Meg Baker-Butler being adjudged to have been held up in the left hand corner and a drop out resulted.
Entering the last quarter a potentially key moment arrived when replacement Sadie Graham was binned for a robust handoff to an opponent’s head which was considered dangerous. Perhaps crucially Middlesex were unable to exploit the extra player.
Some of the play now became messy and somewhat frantic as legs inevitably tired in the demanding conditions. Then the Sussex scrum, even though still one short, turned over Middlesex ball and quick hands moved the ball to Ella Sezen for the decisive, and bonus point, try.
There was still time for one last scare as Sussex won a penalty at the scrum. Given the Sussex dominance in that phase they sensibly opted to scrum again only for Middlesex to turn them over and move the ball to the other end, threatening to snatch at least a draw or even the win. There were a few tense moments before the ball was turned over and soon the ball was booted into touch to end the game.
This was a team performance in demanding conditions. Lib Lawrence at scrum half controlled the game well, playing the full eighty and was an obvious choice as Back of the Match. Reed-Davies was the Forward of choice although Tetlow and Christi-Rose Pretorius won’t have been far behind in that respect.
There were some tired players on a relatively quiet coach going home – although the chocolate brownies were excellent. The result means that Sussex have won their pool and their three bonus point wins gives them a home semifinal next week – opponents yet to be announced (Cumbria, Gloucester, …). This will probably be at Horsham – details to follow.
On the hottest day of the year so far, conditions were demanding and much credit goes to those who played the full eighty minutes. The game was played on the grass pitch in front of the clubhouse at Wasps FC (the amateur version) rather than the nearby AGP surface. The pitch was hard and a patchy grass covering provided only a slight cushion. As well as the very necessary water breaks there were repeated injury interruptions so the game lasted nearly two hours. There was no significant slope or wind.
Sussex started brightly. Possession from a strong scrum took the ball into the left hand corner resulting in a penalty which was tapped and after a couple of phases Georgia Reed-Davies boshed her way over for the opening try, duly converted by Sissy Goldfinch-Dimmock. However almost immediately Middlesex struck back as they exploited a tap penalty for a converted try.
Sussex immediately returned to the other end and good hands ended with Lauren McInerney just failing to ground the ball in the left hand corner. Nonetheless most of the play was in the home 22 and soon Bob Tetlow charged over for a deserved try although the conversion was missed (7-12). With three tries in just 12 minutes on the clock it looked as though this could be a high scoring occasion but thereafter scores became increasingly rare.
Middlesex were looking dangerous through several strong runners (who the Heathfield players recognised from league games in the season just ended). Full back Britt Mole made two critical try-saving tackles in this period.
However Sussex generally had more possession and position in this period. One promising attack was thwarted by a holding on penalty. In some scrappy play I noticed Tetlow making a useful interception in close play to break up a threatening home attack.
Middlesex then started to build some pressure back on the visitors. When Sussex did manage to turn the ball over a kick out of defence merely played into Middlesex hands and good hands allowed their left wing to collect a fine try.
The half time score of 12-12 was a fair reflection of the game thus far. The set piece was a mixed bag for Sussex. The scrum had an edge at this stage without being dominant. However the lineout was seriously fallible with maybe just one success in the half.
As at the start of the game, the second half started with a flurry of scores. Again Sussex started strongly with a big carry by Reed-Davies carried on through several hands before Sophia Skinner found Bella May for the try. Naturally Middlesex immediately replied as a penalty gave them an attacking lineout in the left hand corner and an efficient catch and drive produced a try to level the scores with at least half an hour remaining.
Among the replacements Lauren O’Brien-Howarth and Alex Norman were particularly noted for their contributions in the second half.
Much of the rest of the game was a dog-fight with neither side able to assert control. The Sussex scrummage was starting to become more dominant (in spite of varying personnel) and their lineout finally started to function. However the Middlesex big runners were always looking threatening.
One good Sussex move ended with Meg Baker-Butler being adjudged to have been held up in the left hand corner and a drop out resulted.
Entering the last quarter a potentially key moment arrived when replacement Sadie Graham was binned for a robust handoff to an opponent’s head which was considered dangerous. Perhaps crucially Middlesex were unable to exploit the extra player.
Some of the play now became messy and somewhat frantic as legs inevitably tired in the demanding conditions. Then the Sussex scrum, even though still one short, turned over Middlesex ball and quick hands moved the ball to Ella Sezen for the decisive, and bonus point, try.
There was still time for one last scare as Sussex won a penalty at the scrum. Given the Sussex dominance in that phase they sensibly opted to scrum again only for Middlesex to turn them over and move the ball to the other end, threatening to snatch at least a draw or even the win. There were a few tense moments before the ball was turned over and soon the ball was booted into touch to end the game.
This was a team performance in demanding conditions. Lib Lawrence at scrum half controlled the game well, playing the full eighty and was an obvious choice as Back of the Match. Reed-Davies was the Forward of choice although Tetlow and Christi-Rose Pretorius won’t have been far behind in that respect.
There were some tired players on a relatively quiet coach going home – although the chocolate brownies were excellent. The result means that Sussex have won their pool and their three bonus point wins gives them a home semifinal next week – opponents yet to be announced (Cumbria, Gloucester, …). This will probably be at Horsham – details to follow.
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