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RIPLEY RHINOS LADIES XV 10-7 NEWARK LADIES XV
NATIONAL CHALLENGE EAST MIDLANDS DIVISION 2
Sunday 27th April 2008
Newark Ladies made the trip to Mill Hill for Rhinos Ladies last match of the season. Rhinos knew a victory could move them up to 5th in the league and skipper Claire Brickley made it clear to her side that a performance full of passion was required. Her team certainly didn't let her down from the kick off and hammered into the Nottinghamshire side.
Rhino's ability to recycle possession through the phases was typified by only once scrum in the first five minutes of flowing rugby. The pack were powerful with second rows Robin Buck and Vicky Lounds offering a firm base form which the front row of props Lorna Hunter and Lizzie Fletcher and hooker Liz Trubee made the afternoon very tough for the ever-changing visitor tight five. Newark had a powerful runner at No.8 but she wasn't a patch on Ripley's Anna West whose constant ball carrying always got her team over the gain line. Brickley was always well fed by scrum half Laura Blackwell-Moore and it was the speedy No. 9 who got the first score when she broke away from a ruck, spied a gap in the cover defence and powered through it to score a try against her former team. She duly kicked the conversion to put Ripley 7-0 ahead. Newark had a period of pressure on the Rhino line but solid defence from winger Gemma Geary and centres Liz Gration and Dianne Severn kept them out to leave Ripley ahead at the break.
Second half saw more of the same - Brickley able to run mazy lines and always have Severn or Gration in support to make more yards. Newark defended well but when they got the ball to try to spread it wide they didn't get any change out of tough-tackling winger Becky Melhuish or full back Amy Dunne. Gration was the leader in the aggressive defence that served Rhinos so well in this game and she forced Newark into a mistake that gave Ripley a penalty in front of the posts - Blackwell-Moore stepped up and slotted the kick to move Rhinos two scores in front. Ripley could have had more but Newark rallied at the very end of the game and eventually forced their way over the line with skipper Steph Carlyon touching down and then converting for a well-deserved score with the last kick of the match.
This was a positive end to what has been a positive season. Rhinos have found a decent depth of squad with all the players turning out showing class at times. The player of the match for this game went to centre Liz Gration, moved back from her usual flanker position, whose crash running and aggressive defence showed her teammates the example to follow.
Rhino's rugby training for both men and women will restart in May at the back of the Beehive pub in Ripley - all new players are welcome - for more details ring 07816 779018.