North Down lose out to Cooke in Junior Cup

Cooke went on the attack from the start, punching deep into the visitors half with strong carries from their forwards. The North Down girls stood strong and repelled the almost relentless attack for several minutes. This finally paid off with the ball was spilled in a tackle halfback Shel Laffin kicked the ball clear into touch in the Cooke half to relieving pressure.

Cooke continued to batter the North Down defensive line finally breaking clear for their first score after around 15 minutes. North Down responded well and made good roads into the opposition half with huge carries from Emma Coey in the centre and Colleen Hutchinson at No. 8. The set piece was also working well with Jilly Shaw winning good lineout ball, while the front row of Natasha Thurby, Julie Patterson and Danielle Perry put the Cooke pack under some serious pressure in the scrums.

The Cooke girls however were able to draw on their experience turning over North Down ball time after time at the breakdown. This paid off with a second score from a poor North Down ruck late in the first half. Half Time score 14 – 0

The start of the second half saw Cooke go straight back to where they left off at the end of the first half. They had a twenty-minute purple patch where they ran in a further three tries, two of which were again from North Down mistakes. Throughout this period however there were glimmers of what North Down are capable off. With some great tackles being put in by backs and forwards alike. The lineouts and scrums continued to work well and the team settled into the game. They were finally rewarded for their efforts when Shel Laffin dodged her way through the defence to score just left of the posts. Sam Smallwood stepped up to add the extras. North Down regained the ball immediately when Hutchinson showed her pace and pounced on a loose ball following an error by Cooke at the restart. The visitors took a lift from this and pretty much controlled the last quarter of the game. They were unlucky not to score a second try within minutes of this when try when the ball was shipped swiftly out the back line. Left wing Angie Eadie was finally stopped just short of the line being denied her first try. The girls in blue continued to attack and were again unlucky when a last pass to Emma Coey didn’t quite go to hand and was finally knocked on in the tackle.

Despite the disappointing score line the coaches remarked on the performance and attitude of the team who just simply would never give up. They will now have a few weeks off over the Christmas break, which will give an opportunity to look at the small things, which could make a big difference to their overall performance.