Tough away day in South London for the Ladies

Streatham & Croydon Ladies 40 Heathfield Ladies 19
Streatham & Croydon (S-C) Ladies deservedly won this entertaining National Challenge 1 League fixture by six tries to three but the score line gives a harsh impression of what became a fiercely contested affair.
Heathfield had a distinctly disappointing first half which can be partly ascribed to traffic issues which meant that several players arrived not long before kick off and also to the lack of any match practice for over a month.
The home side effectively won the game in the first half with excellent back play involving direct pacey running, good support and accurate passing. They had first use of a variable breeze which also carried occasional rain, in spite of the forecast promising a dry day. S-C also kicked more effectively than Heathfield in this period with the visitors’ kicks generally lacking distance and just giving S-C easy possession.
Indeed the first try came from a weak kick out of defence that was effectively run back through several pairs of hands. At this stage Heathfield were continuously under pressure with big contributions by skipper Becky Taylor and Sophie Saunders being the main reasons that damage was limited. Georgia Reed-Davies and Poppy Eacott were noted with some brave carries and Ella Watson was making some serious tackles. However the Heathfield coaches were concerned with a general lack of energy by the team at this point.
The second try arrived after twenty five minutes when after a period of pressure in the visitors’ 22 a S-C player was ‘adjudged’ to have grounded the ball when diving over a heap of bodies under the posts while most thought that she had lost the ball a couple of feet earlier.
Their third try came a few minutes before the interval when a succession of penalties had Heathfield under pressure and good hands resulted in a score in the right hand corner, impressively converted from wide out.
In the last play before the half time whistle Sophia Skinner received a painful leg injury and was replaced by Alex Young coming into the second row and Reed-Davies moving to the centre.
The half time score of 19-0 was a fair reflection of the game thus far. However the tries had all come through back play. The packs appeared evenly contested with Heathfield starting to build some pressure in the scrummage.
The referee will doubtless have benefitted from some half time advice by Heathfield’s youthful touch judge.
The second half started in much the same vein as the first with another S-C try again involving good handling in their backs. However from here on the tenor of the game changed as the Heathfield pack in particular started to have a big influence. Increasing pressure by the green pack started to result in errors and penalties by the home side, with the S-C number 8 now being binned after four successive penalties.
The visiting coaches were now commenting on the apparent higher energy being shown by the pack in particular which meant that most play was in the home half. Young was making some very effective runs in heavy traffic and new player Moana Muller was also starting to make an impact ball-in-hand.
While the home defence mostly contained the building pressure it could not withstand another fine charge by Young who touched down under the posts, converted by Reed-Davies (26-7).
The good news continued as most of the game was in the home half and another sequence of penalties kept the pressure on with Amy Cook finally working her way over in the left hand corner. Cook, who was having her first senior game, grew in confidence and effectiveness as the match went on and will have learned much from the experience. Heathfield need to make better use of the potential out wide through such as Cook and Emily Sowell and hopefully will have learnt from the skills shown by their opponents today.
S-C did reply when they counter-attacked from deep and then when a defender was adjudged to have deliberately knocked on they efficiently tapped and went for a simple seven points.
However the visiting team were not to be discouraged and more effective close driving by the pack with Amber Lovick and especially Saskia Sullivan often making many yards in heavy traffic finally ended with Saunders working her way over as a worthy reward for her whole-hearted and useful efforts all game.
With just a couple of minutes left Heathfield may have entertained thoughts of a fourth and bonus point try but instead S-C showed their quality and resilience by charging back into the top corner for the final score.
Results elsewhere in this league are slightly confusing and may suggest that some teams do not travel well. Heathfield will be disappointed at the result today but the second half suggested that the reverse fixture should be a closer affair.
After a week’s break Heathfield next have four successive games which will put pressure on the depth of the squad with the first two of those games being against two of the higher ranked teams in the league. Today’s performance, if not the result, suggests that they are now playing at their right level and, injuries and availability permitting, they can continue to have a competitive season.
Next Heathfield entertain London Irish at Cross-In-Hand (17 Nov 2.00).

Team
1.Hannah Overy 2. Poppy Eacott 3. Saskia Sullivan 4. Moana Muller 5. Georgia reed-davies 6. Amber Lovick 7. Sophie Saunders 8 Becky Taylor 9. Carla Monson 10 Lesley Coulter 11 Amy Cook 12 Sophia Skinner 13 Ella Watson 14 Emily Sowell 15 Lauren Duly 16 Marie Eggleshaw 17 Cydney Stanyon 18 Alex Young