Harlow Ladies 7 - 34 H&D Owls

From the kick off it was clear that the Harwich side were going to be a dominant force as they pinned the home side in their own half. Within six minutes the Owls were on the scoreboard. A terrific break by full back Yas Amber was stopped by a textbook tackle by the Harlow full back but Amber offloaded to flanker Sian Fahie who broke through a covering tackle to score.

Harwich kept up the pressure as Harlow struggled to clear their lines. Winger Ellie Firth caught a clearance kick on the ten metre line and after an arcing run straighten between the centres to score under the posts. Annalise Allan kicked the conversion to give the visitors a 12 - 0 lead.

Harlow were having to work hard to defend their line and their full back continued to prove an immense last barrier with some immense tackles. The Owls crossed the try line three times only to have the referee deem the attempts to be held up or knocked on. When Harlow did gain possession of the ball, the Harwich defence stopped them in their tracks and frequently were able to turnover the possession. Just before halftime a flowing move followed by quick recycling saw Fahie unselfishly pass to centre Becki Hare to score her first try for the club.

The second half started in the same style with the visitors on the offence and the home side defending bravely. From a lineout the Owls set up a driving maul that drove them forwards for ten metres before flanker Bronwyn Skipworth broke off the back to slip the ball to Allan who dived over the try. Shortly after this Harlow’s full back kicked over the advancing Harwich defence and the was fumbled in the Harwich half. She followed it up well and after kicking it on collected it to score under the posts giving her side an easy conversion.

Keeping up the pressure the Owls soon scored again. A good piece of teamwork and smart handling saw the ball reach winger Poppy Flatt who finished the move with a try at the corner flag. Allan’s conversion from wide out hit the post before bouncing off the crossbar and over for the two points. With both teams losing a player to yellow cards, Mimi Montgomery, whose strong running had caused problems for Harlow all afternoon, crashed through a tackle and then outsprinted the covering defence to score the final try of the game.

A good performance from Harwich has lifted them to second in the league. A special thanks must go to the Harwich ladies who played for the opposition to ensure the game was competitive. The Owls now face Tabard at Low Road on Sunday in a key game to decide the runner up spot in the league.