Market Harborough beat Lutterworth 26-17 in a well fought match

Market Harborough U15s Girls travelled the short journey to Lutterworth to play in a ‘friendly’; their defensive performance turned out to be the differentiator in a well contested game of rugby.

With both Olivia Perrin and Hannah West unavailable due to illness, credit must go to the Girls for adjusting accordingly. Just like last week, it was Cassie Holyoak to open the scoring with a well-taken try, following some strong running from Fran Brimm. Phoebe Andrews successfully converted to make the score 7-0 to the visitors. Harborough continued to apply pressure and deny Lutterworth any quality possession. The ball was well distributed and when it was passed to Tahei Baikeinuku, she once again displayed her strength by running through the opposition defence to score Harborough’s 2nd try, duly converted by Phoebe. All credit to Lutterworth for then raising their game and responding well. 2 well-taken tries from the opposition resulted in a half-time score of 14-10 to Harborough.

The momentum stayed with Lutterworth at the start of the second half and Harborough soon found themselves defending their own line. If it wasn’t for a hugely impressive defensive effort from Harborough, in particular Rosie Tremlett, then Lutterworth would have expected to have taken the lead. However, Harborough’s defence was solid and Phoebe’s tenacity in the loose eventually turned the ball over. It was then quickly distributed to Tahei, who then proceeded to run practically the entire length of the field to score her 2nd try. With Phoebe’s 3rd successful conversion, the pressure was back on Lutterworth, who responded well with a try of their own to reduce the deficit to just 1 score.

All credit to Harborough for not losing their composure. Before the game, we had talked about the importance of good supportive play; so it was great to see Harborough putting this into action. Forwards and Backs inter-linked well and kept the ball alive. It was therefore fitting for the captain, Sabine Brewster, to cross the line and seal victory for Harborough. Final score : Lutterworth 17 Market Harborough 26.

Back Row: Francesca Brimm, Lucy-May Burman, Ruby Evans, Pippa Haslam, Sophie Grahamslaw, Eleanor Wilkinson, Tahei Baikeinuku
Middle Row: Mairead McErlean, Eve Pollard, Rosie Tremlett, Cassie Holyoak
Front Row (or lying on the floor): Phoebe Andrews, Sabine Brewster