On the 7th October it was time for Bracknell Ladies to lace up their boots again in preparation to take to the field against Hackney Ladies II. The girls had been working hard over the last few weeks to prepare to go against Hackney who had been scoring high in their previous matches.
This would not make Bracknell back off, instead this gave the girls passion and fight to get the first points on the board against Hackney, and they done exactly that. A high ball by Zara King from kick off allowed Amber Ledger and Tash King to put pressure on Hackney from the offset and soon the ball was flowing nicely through the hands, when suddenly the ball was sent wide to Mia McCreesh and a try was well in their grasp. A try and then a successful conversion from Bracknell Ladies left the girls 7 points up in the first few minutes.
Hackney weren’t going to make the game easy and came back quickly 4 tries and one successful conversion in the next 20 minutes of the game. Bracknell had to work hard, with it being a game of 10s, it felt like they had a lot of the pitch to cover. Bracknell worked hard to defend and kept pushing Hackney back, and soon enough it was time for Bracknell to come back. A line out in Bracknell’s favour allowed Esmee Sturgees to crash through the park, with great support running from Shiv Jamieson they were well passed the half way mark and she continued to smash through the defence. Tash King was on the shoulder of Shiv and managed to get over the line making it 22-12 to Hackney.
The trend continued as Hackney came back with another two tries despite great hits from Rachel Rickett, Leanne Smith & Amanda Cooper. Before the half time whistle blew Bracknell came back fast and hard as great hard lines were run by Amber Clark & Hannah Taylor, allowing space to be made out wide for Mia McCreesh to get another try and also take a successful kick.
Half time score 32-19
The half time whistle went and a rolling ball into Amber Clark’s hands allowed Bracknell to crash through Hackney and make good ground towards the try line. Bracknell kept the ball alive by offloading through the hands of what seemed like each player on the pitch, before Lauren Clark pushed the ball through to find the hands of Mia McCreesh who showed her fast feet by stepping inside two players and outpacing Hackney to make the score 32-26.
The next try of the game was going to come from Bracknell’s newest player Joy Westlake. Once again Bracknell used their offload game as the ball went through the hands of the players and its way to the wing, Joy Westlake who showed pace and strength as she pushed off Hackney and got a try under the posts, followed by a successful conversion by Mia McCreesh.
Bracknell were working hard and attacking well. Bracknell used this forwards momentum to get the ball to Zara King, who quickly passed the ball out wide to Rachel Rickett who had pace over Hackney and ran hard to get her first try for Bracknell ladies. The score was now a nail biting 32-38.
Hackney were a well worked team and came back with another four tries. It was a great match which showed determination and great set game play from each side. Bracknell are looking forward to welcoming Hackney II’s to their home ground in 2019!
Final score Hackney 52-38 Bracknell
A few words from our captain, Hannah Taylor; “Nothing would have dampened the spirits of the team today, not even playing 10s which we aren’t used to. Every single player went out there and delivered. The pace was quick, the ball was well controlled and our defensive line improves with each game. So proud of you all.”
Forward of the Match: Amanda Cooper for working hard in the forward pack, carrying strong and reacting fast.
Back of the Match: Leanne Smith for pressing quickly in defence and not shying away from any tackles.
