Rochford Vixens v Witham Ladies

Match report credit: Kate Petts

---

How do you write an unbiased match report when your heart is bursting with pride for one team!

Sunday 13 March saw Witham Ladies team take on Rochford Vixens, in a development game hosted and supported by Southend Rugby club. It’s been 25 years since Witham had a ladies match and some of the original Witham Amazons were there to cheer their successors on. Witham put out a team of 14 players most of them playing their first ever match and some after only a couple of weeks of training. Southend Ladies helped fill the gaps and provide Witham with subs, and all the players slotted together brilliantly and played as one team.

The game kicked off with Sophie Cobb taking charge and the team chasing up. A solid set from Rochford put the defence under pressure, but Witham held out. After further attacks Rochford scored, but missed the conversion. Witham continued to battle with crunching tackles from Donna Grace and Leah Smith. The scrums stayed solid with a combined front row of Emma French, Penny Kirkham and Nikita Wilcox. The line outs saw Amanda Harker lifted high by Nicola Roe, Chloe Webb and Mel Jolly for good possession allowing Witham to absorb some good Rochford attacks before succumbing to a second try and conversion. The score was 12-0 heading into the break.

Moving into the second half the greater experience of Rochford started to tell, with a couple of bursting runs that led to tries, with some stunning conversions by the Rochford fly half. Witham kept sticking the tackles with some outstanding ones from Kate De Bastos. The backs combined for some go forward drive linking Yng Vi Kopp, Becky Cook and Rachel Brookes. Jenny Chenery came on as a sub and did worked hard playing out of position in the backs, moving up to front row when injuries forced some further changes late on. Witham came their closest to a try with a darting run but a good tackle and lack of support stopped the opportunity.

The final score was 32-0, a closer match than the final score suggests. Rochford were worthy winners of the match but Witham Ladies should be proud of their first efforts as a team, they showed heart, spirit and a lot of tenacity. Witham Ladies return to training this week, looking to how they develop for their next fixtures and their future as an exciting team. Southend were gracious hosts of the game that featured only 7 of their players. Their generously to support the development of the women’s game in Essex was fantastic to be part of.

Witham player of the match: Donna Grace

Witham coaches: Kate Petts and Darren Smith

Referee: Peter Doolin

Photos: Gideon Tozer