Ladies arrive in style

Following a minute’s silence in memory of HM Queen Elizabeth, Old Albanians got the match underway. No.8 Sian Hobday gathered the ball safely and the moment we had all been waiting for had arrived: Beckenham Ladies were into their inaugural match in Championship 1. The visitors had finished second in this league last season and they were quick to the breakdown, stealing the ball. Beckenham had worked hard in training and the defence was solid, as the first of several big hits from inside centre Lizzy Nicholl helped turn over the ball. Bree Hill kicked wisely in the 10 shirt and showed her class in picking out open space for the wingers to chase and pressurise the opposition.

Weather conditions were pleasant, albeit with a wind blowing hard across the pitch from the direction of the clubhouse, as Bree slotted a grubber kick through the defence, soon resulting in a Beckenham scrum. The visitors were very strong in the scrum but Sian grabbed the ball from 8 and took on the opposition with venom and power. OAs were penalised for not releasing and Bree kicked to the corner with pinpoint accuracy. The lineout was won and Beckenham set up a strong rolling maul followed by a number of pick and drives by the forwards. OAs were penalised again for a high tackle, and then a deliberate knock-down of the ball by their outside half saw the referee brandish an early yellow card.

From the penalty, Bree found the corner again but the lineout throw was taken off course by a gusting and tricky win. The forwards fronted up and won possession against the head in the resulting scrum after a great hook from Jen Bracken supported by Mallory Bott and Katie Gent at loose and tight heads respectively. Scrum half Bobbie Haywood, in her Beckenham debut, spun the ball out and Lizzy exploited the gap provided by the absent 10 for OAs, despite two opponents trying to stop her she managed to reach out and put the ball on the line to score the first try for Beckenham in the Championship. Bree bisected the uprights with the conversion to give the home team a 7-0 lead.

After the restart Emma “EJ” Johnson kicked through and chased her own kick placing pressure on the OA’s player. There ensued a kicking battle, where Bree’s execution of this skill led to further possession in the OAs half when the referee awarded Beckenham another penalty for high tackle. Bree pointed to the posts and slotted her second kick of the day to take the score to 10-0.

Bobbie collected the kick off and off loaded perfectly to Bree, a razor sharp pass to flanker Emma “Gibbo” Santamaria who penetrated the defence and made spectacular metres. Beckenham were awarded another penalty for high tackle and from the resulting lineout Sian with her distinctive red hair rose like the phoenix to gather the ball, the ladies piled over but could not get the ball to ground and OAs had a goal line drop out to restart the game.

Beckenham kept up the pressure, outside centre Chloe Graves leading the charge with straight hard running. She was tackled but had the presence of mind to release the ball, get to her feet and pick and go again, as she approached the try line she was able to offload to Mallory who in turn was able to set the ball up for the next phase. It was fast and furious rugby which saw Chloe the Cyclone join her centre partner on the score sheet with a magnificent demonstration of determination and strength. Bree was not going to miss and guided the ball through to add the two extras: 17-0.

Spurred by a lively start, Beckenham received the ball from the kick off and swiftly won another penalty where Jen took the quick tap and go. The ball was recycled quickly at the breakdown and there was space on the left hand blind side, the eagle-eyed Gibbo spotted the gap, pinned back her ears and jetted off down the wing to score in the far corner, the conversion sadly held out by the gusting wind: 22-0.

The spectators were in awe of the performance of the home team but experience tells us that good sides do not lie down and shortly after the restart OA’s had a sustained period of pressure on the run up to half time which was rewarded with a five pointer of their own, just before the referee’s whistle blew: 22-5 at half time.

The visitors clearly regathered themselves over half time and restarted with sustained periods of attack. The defensive efforts of all the blue and gold players was heroic, however OAs won a scrum and shipped the ball out quickly to the wing who scored out wide, unconverted to bring the score the 22-10.

Both teams were trading possession and slugging it out like two heavy weight boxers. The intensity of the play was phenomenal, Gibbo provided a crowd pleasing moment with a hand off to the upper body of one of the OAs players who was skittled back at a rate of knots onto her backside. There was also great commitment in the tackle and set piece by Lucy “Chas” Mills, Amy Hooton and Abby Pottier and also by Amy Fitzgerald who had replaced Mallory at loose head.

The arm wrestle continued and thundering tackles were the order of the day from both the centres. OAs went on the attack and Bobbie’s attempt to catch and intercept went awry, resulting in a yellow card mirroring the referee’s first half decision. OA’s took advantage of the extra player and a quick tap penalty resulted in a try plus the extras to bring the score line to 22-17.

The visitors continued to dominate in the scrum and a penalty against the home side was given, but the kick didn’t make touch and fullback Beth Pickernell made a textbook catch to set Beckenham onto the attack. Launching the ball into the OAs half, Sian held up their attacking player and ripped the ball from her grasp, the ball was strategically kicked by Bree to the visitors who coughed up possession but won the following scrum. As Mallory rejoined the field to replace Amy F with a rib injury incurred in the scrum, the tension was building: could Beckenham hold on to their lead or could OAs come back and nick the game?

Beckenham’s parsimonious defence was in full swing, when captain Izzie “Westie” West on the wing brought one of the attacks to an abrupt halt with a tackle round the ankles at pace. A thumping tackle from Lizzy forced an infringement from the OAs ball carrier, about 35 metres out in front of the posts. Bree took charge and kicked the penalty to take the back above seven points, meaning OA’s would need to score twice for a win. With less than ten minutes left on the clock, the pendulum had swung back in favour of the hosts: 25-17

Chas caught the kick off, recycled possession to Bree who produced a howitzer of a kick to space, EJ sprinted to exert pressure on the player, with time ticking away. Beckenham were awarded a further penalty to the left hand side of the pitch. A challenging kick for any kicker, particularly with the wind blowing fiercely, but with game management in mind Bree pointed to the posts and stepped up to the kicking tee. The wind drifted the kick wide of the posts, but a strong chase from the Beckenham backline saw Chloe tackle the catcher, before her partner in crime Lizzy won the ball from the jackal and, seeing that the space in front of her had opened like the parting of the Sea of Galilee, surged over for her second try and secure the try bonus for Beckenham. Bree took the conversion and this time there was no missing, as the referee blew the final whistle: 32-17

One of the most pleasing aspects of the game was the mental fortitude of the team to endure a period of sustained pressure and hold on to the lead, only to add icing on the cake with the last 2 scores. A phenomenal start to Beckenham’s inaugural season in Championship 1.

Forward of the match: Jen Bracken
Back of the match: Bree Hill

Match report by Gareth Nicholl