In the 2016-17 season, SCRFC ladies finished second in National Challenge 2 last year, being pipped to the post by St Francis. Cast your minds back to the first game of this season in September 2017, and St Francis were still able to display their dominance up front beating the home side 24-10. Streatham-Croydon have had an incredible season since then, losing only 3 more fixtures - to a strong Canterbury team away, and ultimate league and play off winners Medway twice. Therefore, going into the last game of the season away against St Francis they had a huge point to prove.

Streatham came out of the blocks hard. With a full squad of 22, and with the end of the season in sight, it was a case of leaving everything on the pitch. Some big hits came in early, with Alix Bushnell leading the defensive line and keeping St Francis pinned in their half. Early carries came from Rosie Carr, Kat Tucker, and Paige Abbs, all consistently breaking the gainline and showing the power in our small pack. Streatham were dealt an early blow as scrum-half Rachel Drapper took a boot to the face, but were fortunate to have half back replacement Catherine Kingston on the bench to take up the mantle as blood replacement.

Some tactical kicking put pressure on an inexperienced St Francis full back, giving us the scrum in their 22. Number 8 Mel Laidlaw-Anderson demonstrated her trademark pick from the back of the scrum, taking the ball to the 5m line, but was unable to get the ball away. It was quickly recycled and Kingston denied her inner back-row to take it into contact, instead swiftly putting the ball through the hands of the backs to winger Grace Moore who went over for Streatham’s first. Dani Davies comfortably converted in a stiff wind.

Davies was under a reasonable amount of pressure throughout the game with a fair few decent kicks coming from backs and forwards alike in the St Francis team. Streatham were making hard work of a dominant start, with ill-discipline especially at the breakdown, giving possession back to the home side. Despite the boggy conditions, the aim to get the ball wide to the wingers was achieved and Moore was able to brush off a defender leaving only a boot behind, and run in 30m for her second, also converted.

From the start, the back line had done a competent job of containing the dynamic centres from St Francis, with strong defence from Helena Solomon at inside centre and Hannah Goddard on the wing. However, constant pressure saw a powerful tight line run by St Francis skipper Kiri Baxter at outside centre, and a missed tackle from captain Millie Ross forced the two-on-one with Davies at full back and St Francis went in under the posts.

There are always significant points in any game, and the 5 minutes or so before the half time was crucial for Streatham. Giving away repeated penalties at the breakdown on the 5 metre line, saw a huge effort in try line defence. However, no matter what approach the home team took they were unable to break through the wall of claret, and an extremely well defended maul saw a welcome half time whistle, with the score at the half 14-7, and all to play for.

The second half was something of an ongoing battle, with handling errors on both sides as the conditions worsened. After multiple warnings, Catherine Kingston was the unfortunate recipient of a yellow card, that was a consequence of cumulative offences by SCRFC. After a brilliant tackle on the wing, Rachel Drapper was able to get back to her feet and turnover the ball. Laidlaw-Anderson spotted the gap around the ruck, and broke away, with Grace Moore on her shoulder to go over for her hat-trick.

The end of the game saw further defending and the concession of another try for St Francis, which went unconverted as the ball bounced off the uprights. But Streatham had done enough, and it was with relief that the skipper was able to clear the ball into touch at the final whistle. Full time 19-12.

We will post a full round up of the season once we’ve caught our breath, but this victory sees Streatham comfortably finish third in National Challenge 1. This weekend they will head to Barnes 7s Development Tournament and any players wishing to join should contact Millie Ross.

Back of the match: Grace Moore
Forward of the match: Katherine Tucker
Scores: Grace Moore (3T), Dani Davies (2C)
Photo credit: Dave Burt