Fightback too late for North Down Women

Ophir got off to a strong start opening the scoring with a well worked try towards the end of the first quarter. From a scrum on the North Down Women’s (NDW) 10 metre line the Ophir scrum half went blind and moved the ball to their pacey right winger who looked certain to score under the posts. However, the NDW full back Mollie Moore had other ideas and cut her down just 8 metres from the line. The ball was quickly recycled and moved to the Ophir outside centre who touched down wide out to the right for an unconverted try.

The visitors went straight back on the attack from the restart and worked their way back into the NDW 22 where they remained encamped for the next 10 minutes. It didn’t seem to matter what the home team tried, they just couldn’t manage to settle into their normal stride. Each time they looked as though they had cleared their lines Ophir turned up the pressure and forced another error. When NDW were awarded a penalty on their 5 metre line it looked as though they had weathered the storm, but again things just didn’t go right when the kick for touch fell short of the line. Ophir moved the ball quickly to their out-half who spotted space on the right wing. The cross-field kick was weighted perfectly, and this time the right winger got over the line for her score. Score 0 - 10

While NDW’s struggle to settle into the game continued, Ophir seemed to become somewhat over eager and started to give away penalty after penalty. This eased the pressure a little and NDW were able to see out the half with not further score.

Despite now having the wind at their back in the second half it looked as though NDW were still not going to be able to pull themselves back into the game. While Ophir dominated the possession and territory NDW looked weary from the continual battering of the Ophir forwards who worked through a series of pick and goes from the base of the ruck to power off wide out in the right corner. Again Ophir failed to make the conversion. Score 0 – 15.

Discipline at the breakdown continued to be a problem for Ophir though, as they entered the final quarter the referee went to his pocket and issued a yellow card for a dangerous tackle. By this stage NDW started to take advantage of the penalties, and through some good strong drives they started to apply some pressure of their own. Unfortunately from one such assault on the defensive line Eimear Campbell sustained a knee injury resulting in her leaving the field. Five minutes later Kaitlin Eadie and Hannah Toner also picked up injuries. As NDW emptied their bench Captain Danielle Perry pulled the squad together for a few words of encouragement. This seemed to bolster the side and they started to play with a renewed confidence. It was now Ophir’s turn to defend for prolonged periods. From a scrum deep in their own half the Ophir out-half punted the ball over the half way line. Moore swept in from full back to collect the ball and carve her way through the defence to spot the ball down between the posts. Right wing Sam Smallwood stepped up to add the conversion. 7 – 15

At the restart NDW secured the ball and set up a series of short carries through Stacey Marshall, Megan Gallogly and Danni Perry in the pack, eventually winning a scrum when the ball got trapped in the ruck. No. 8 Sam Lowry picked the ball and powered forward, off-loading to scrum half Amy Harris who moved it to Georgie Montgomery who was now standing in at out-half. Montgomery gave a short pass to Michelle Presho who was in the unaccustomed role of blind side flanker. Presho showed that she is most definitely an outside back and through a combination of pace and footwork she weaved her way through the defensive line before offloading to fullback Moore. The Ophir right winger managed to work across and dragged Moore down just short of the 22 metre line, but was penalised for not releasing the tackled player. NDW reacted quickly with Moore opting to chip the ball over the disorganised defence. The Ophir outside centre stretched for the ball, but was just unable to get the hold of it before it bounced over try line and was touched down for an Ophir drop out.

Yet again Ophir were plagued by poor discipline at the breakdown. This lifted the NDW spirits further as they worked their way back up to the Ophir 5 metre line with a series of three tap penalties where tight head prop Pauline Moore picked from the base of the ruck and set up quick ball for open side wing forward Victoria Presho to scoop and burst through to score just left of the posts. This time Smallwood was unable to convert. Score 12 – 15

At the restart Ophir opted to keep the ball away from the NDW forwards who were now dominating the rucks and mauls. Instead they kicked left where inside Centre Eve Miller collected the ball and stepped outside the covering defender making a break down the right wing where she chipped ahead with Angie Eadie and Sam Smallwood in hot pursuit. The Ophir full back failed to catch the ball and knocked it forward into touch just inside the visitors’ 22 metre line. With only seconds on the clock NDW looked to move the ball quickly from the scrum with the intent of using their pace in the centre to find a gap in the defence. As they tried to stretch the Ophir defence with a couple of wide passes the ball failed to go to hand and was knocked forward. At this point the referee blew the final whistle, with the final score 12 – 15.

While the first half did not go according to plan for NDW their squad showed grit and determination in the second half as they clawed their way back into the game. Unfortunately the fightback came just too late, but the fact they were able to pick themselves up after a poor performance in the first half shows that the confidence within the team is building. They will now spend the week preparing for another away fixture to Queens. This time in the league, where they will hope to retain the number 2 spot.

Team: Megan Gallogly, Dannielle Perry (C), Pauline Moore, Kaitlin Eadie, Jill Shaw, Hannah Toner, Victoria Presho, Sam Lowry, Amy Harris, Eimear Campbell, Carly Lack, Eve Miller, Angie Eadie, Sam Smallwood, Mollie Moore, Stacey Marshall, Michelle Presho, Georgie Montgomery.

[report courtesy of Gary Presho]