Norwich Medics 0 Harwich & Dovercourt Owls 39

In the muddy conditions, the Harwich forwards quickly assumed the ascendency and dominated the opposition pack both in the set piece and at breakdowns. The home side were tenacious in their tackling and kept the visitors at bay but the Harwich backs were moving the ball well and good running lines from centres Sophia Tricker and Dena Gibbons were a constant threat. The deadlock was nearly broken when a Medics’ centre intercepted a pass and broke away only to be abruptly halted with a textbook tackle by Owls full back Yas Amber.

Strong running and support play by the Harwich pack kept the Owls on the front foot and only desperate last gasp tackles or handling errors prevented any score. When the Medics did lay their hands on the ball they were met with a solid defensive wall from the Harwich team. Eventually the pressure from Harwich told when Amber crashed over for a try following some great work by the forwards.

The second half was a repeat of the first but as the Medics started to tire under the pressure and conditions, the gaps started to show. Strong runs by Di Woods, Beth Lemessurier and Gemma Jones moved the Owls up field and good handling by the backs sent Lauren Richardson through to score. This seemed to open the flood gates. Tricker scored with a good run after she pulled off an audacious show and go to send the home defence the wrong way; Abi Cutts ran half the length of the pitch after being sent clear by a neatly timed pass from Maisie Green. Bron Skipworth and Laura Hudson were linking well with the back line and fly half Amber Wadlow was now in control of the game. The pack set up a rolling maul ten metres out from the home line and Berh Lemessurier blasted over for a try. Richardson showed her strength and speed breaking through tackles to score two more tries to complete her hat trick.

Yas Amber slotted over two conversions from drop kicks...not an easy thing to do in such muddy conditions and a special word must also go to Chloe Inglis and Julia Harding for offering to play for the Medics when they went down two players because of injuries.
The game was finished early when the teams were needed to push an ambulance, attending one of the injured players, out of the mud!

Overall, this was an excellent team effort by the Owls, who showed great skill under such terrible conditions.