Lorne Ladies turn on the style in first home game
Oban Lorne Ladies took to the field on Sunday for their first home outing of the season against Howe of Fife.
Previous home games this season have been postponed due to opposition teams failing to raise a side. Oban went into Sunday’s game with a 100 per cent record in the league so far including an impressive away win to Ayr.
This was set to be a good strong game going on previous seasons’ fixtures between the two sides and, with Howe of Fife sitting mid table, they would provide a stern test.
Oban kicked off to start and although not playing their best rugby they managed to attack in the Howe of Fife 22 for the first 15 minutes of the match dominating the majority of possession in the process. The home side were working hard to break down the strong Howe defence who worked hard to halt a barrage of Oban attacks. Howe of Fife were not making life easy for the Oban, contesting strongly in the scrums and at breakdowns.
Oban finally managed to break down the away side’s resilience with Ellen Barlow touching down the first try of the game which was then successfully converted by Lucy Stewart. It was much the same play for the majority of the first half of the match with the away defence holding strong. The Oban centre pairing of Kirsty Sinclair and Erika Skofca again this weekend caused problems with their powerful runs and great supporting play.
Although Oban were attacking well they were dealt a blow when hooker Hannah Cringles went off injured.
With no substitutes available, Oban played the remainder of the game with only 14 players. This did not affect the Oban ladies and they continued to work hard heading into half time with a score line of 24-0.
During half time coach Corrie Louw spoke to the girls encouraging them to keep on top of the game as Howe of Fife could easily hit back on the scoreboard.
After a good team talk, the Oban Lorne Ladies started the second half playing much better and like the team they have been in their previous matches this season. The home defence was much stronger with big tackles from captain Laura MacCormick and strong turnovers in the rucks from prop Ellie MacNiven. Lucy Stewart in at stand off was connecting well with her centre pairing of Sinclair and Skofca managing to break through the line of defence to create space for wingers Ellen Barlow and a Rachel MacDonald allowing them to break free and score.
This provided a much faster flow of rugby making the Howe of Fife defences’ lives difficult. After a rocky start to the game Oban ladies successfully secured a 43-5 win.
Try scorers were Ellen Barlow 2, Rachel MacDonald 2, Heather Fothergill 1, Kirsty Sinclair 1, Laura MacCormick 1 and Erika Skofca 1. Lucy Stewart converted four out of seven. Sunday’s win lifts Oban Lorne Ladies six points clear of second-placed Garioch RFC in the league with a maximum of 30 points from the games played so far.
Oban Lorne Ladies are back in action on Sunday October 14, away to Garioch for a repeat of last season’s National Bowl Final.