A strong home win signals a return to form

West Bridgford ladies hosted Novocastrians ladies in what was always going to be a tough encounter and this fixture did not disappoint. West Bridgford were keen to put previous weeks poor performances behind them having worked hard off the pitch to improve. Skipper Laura Moore chose to receive the ball from the kick off to ensure that the home team set the tone of the game. With the ball hanging high, the pack swept around in support and West Bridgford immediately made yardage through number eight Amy Harding’s elusive running and the power of props Bethan Arthur and Pippa Arkle.

West Bridgford welcomed hard-hitting fly half Sarah Roper to the team as she looked to release the back-line, with centres Amanda Stafford and Tanya Bird running at pace. Bridgford looked comfortable on the ball as they worked through several phases, winger Jasmine Coyne was tacked short of the line, but Stafford wasn’t to be denied as she powered her way to the line to open the scoring for the afternoon. This woke up the Novocastrians defence and they turned the ball over to work their way up-field, with Roper making a crunching hit, backed up by Kay Searcy and Laura Moore from their flanker positions, they held firm. The Bridgford backline seemed untouchable, working the ball up either touchline and winger Jordan Bixley dived for the corner on the half hour mark to take the score line to 10 – 0. Moments later, a perfect running line was hit by outside centre Bird as she touched down unopposed, with Moore adding the extras to make it 17 – 0 on 35 minutes. Bridgford didn’t put a foot wrong in the remaining minutes and winger Coyne darted around her opposite number and ensured that Bridgford finished the half on a high, scoring a well-earned try, Moore again adding the extras making it 24 – 0 at the break.

Half time allowed Novocastrians to regroup and they put together a number of strong runs, but good work at the breakdown from hooker Laura Groves saw the ball turned over, Coyne was quick to pounce and she out-stripped the would-be tacklers to score an unconverted try. Stung by this, Novocastrians played the better rugby for the next ten minutes as West Bridgford conceded penalties, giving up possession and territory as Novocastrians went in unconverted from close range, taking the score line to 31 – 5. Bridgford’s frustration at the breakdown and stream of penalties gave the referee no option to but to issue a yellow card to Roper and Novocastrians made their player advantage count as they scored again from close range, with the score line at 31 – 10 and Novocastrians on the front foot, Bridgford struggled to find their rhythm from the first half. As Roper returned to the field, hooker Groves was shown yellow for a technical infringement and replacement flanker Georgina Saunders showed her versatility by shoring up the Bridgford scrummage, winning the ball against the feed. Novocastrians were pushing hard and found themselves in losing bonus point territory as they rounded the defence to score, taking the score to 31 – 17. Bridgford were now up to full strength and punching runs from replacement prop Nikki Hudson, allied to a powerful hand off from Tanya Bird gave Bridgford one last play to take the bonus point away from Novocastrians. The Bridgford pack worked their opposition and played simple but effective rugby, making space for Nia Cambell-Watson who crossed the line to ensure that West Bridgford finished the game 36 – 17 winners.

West Bridgford can be pleased with the turnaround in terms of performance and commitment and will look to build on a very good first half as they wrapped up a bonus point win in some style. The player of match award was awarded to debutant fly half Sarah Roper for the manner in which she controlled the game in attack and defence.

West Bridgford are next in action on Sunday as they travel to Camp Hill Ladies, 2pm kick off.