NORWICH MEDICS 20

HARWICH AND D OWLS 17

Women’s NC South East East Two

TOO many defensive blunders cost Harwich dear.

They travelled with a rearranged team and no substitutes, to face opponents they easily beat five months ago.

However, no two games are the same and so it proved.

With two of the side playing their first-ever games of rugby, the Owls put the Medics under pressure from the kick-off, winning the ball at the first ruck.

Harwich played constructively through the phases and Annalise Allan scored the opening try, after looping her centres to score.

From the restart, the Medics put the visitors under pressure and the first defensive lapse by Harwich allowed the home side’s outside centre to break through the tackle to score.

The Owls lost centre Kimberley Hutchins soon after and had to play the last 70 minutes down a player.

This meant Naomi Dobner, one of the most effective forwards, covering this position.

Harwich’s scrum was dominating the set-piece but the Medics, now with a player advantage in the backs, snuffed out any Owls’ attacks.

For the rest of the first half, the game took place between the two 22-metre lines, without either team really threatening to score.

The Medics began the second half strongly and pinned Harwich in their own half.

From a ruck, the Owls overloaded the wrong side and offered the Medics an overlap, which they took full advantage of to score in the corner.

Harwich began to put the home side under pressure but handling errors and poor running lines cost them greatly and the home side soon put them under pressure again.

From a quickly-taken penalty just outside the Harwich 22, the Medics’ fly-half waltzed in for a try, without Harwich forming a defensive line.

The restart soon put a confident Medics team on the front foot and only a couple of bone-shaking tackles by Harwich full-back Yas Amber slowed their progress.

However, a missed tackle in the centre allowed the home side’s outside centre through for another try.

From the restart, a good catch and run by Katharine Jack put the Owls into the Medics’ half and some good recycling took them close to the try line. Newcomer Joanne Bruce drove forwards and, with the help of the Harwich pack, she crashed over for a try in her first-ever match.

The home side kept pressuring and try-saving tackles by Bron Skipworth and Amber again stopped the home side widening the margin.

Harwich went on the attack again and Dobner took a good pass from Allan and crashed through two tackles to score a try that was converted by Allan.

The Owls continued to pressure and were camped in the home 22, but the final whistle blew before they could add to their score.

Although a player down for most of the match, the Owls were close to winning but cannot afford to keep making such basic defensive mistakes.