Bath battle hard but fail to rewrite history
Bath Rugby ladies travelled in confident mood having beaten top team Thurrock last month in atrocious conditions at Lambridge 12-7.
The game was billed as the top of the table clash, with three teams in contention for top spot, but perhaps more importantly a place in the top two to secure a play-off spot for what ultimately decides the champion team at Championship 1 level.
Bath have been playing Thurrock for a number of years, and have never come away with a victory there, but the players and coaches believed this was a huge opportunity to re-write the history books.
However, it didn’t take long for Thurrock to exert their power and physicality on proceedings, and it was their 13 that finished off a move on the left, cutting through the defence and powering over to score the opening try. The conversion was added and Thurrock led 7-0.
Bath kicked off and forced Thurrock into their own half. The game was very physical and aggressive, with Bath back-row pair Daisy Pearce-lyons and Robyn Price putting in some great shots in defence, and the front row of Trish Brown, Megan Wynne and hooker Hannah Stephens carrying hard to give Bath some momentum going forward.
A spilt ball in midfield was hoofed forward by Bath and, as Thurrock chased back, wing Hannah Meek turned on the afterburners and got to the ball first 5m out to kick it into the in goal area. The referee had a decision to make, as Meek was pulled back in the act of kicking on but he saw no foul play and the result was a goal line drop out.
Moments later it was Meek again who beat the defence for pace out wide and, coming one on one with the Thurrock full-back, Meek’s footwork bamboozled the defender who then tackled Meek around the head, resulting in a penalty to Bath. The kick to the corner resulted in a catch and drive, but again the defence held firm and Thurrock were off the hook again.
As half-time approached, Thurrock enjoyed a period of sustained pressure in the Bath 22. Some solid tackles and scramble defence from Bath could only hold Thurrock for so long, and it was one of their back row forwards that found a gap and burst through from five metres out, making the score 12-0 at half-time.
Bath were disappointed and frustrated by the opening stanza, but were confident that they could turn this around. However, it wasn’t to be, despite the best efforts of the ladies in Blue, Black and White.
The replacements all added to the performance during the second half, in particular centre Anya Small and lock Megan Barwick.
The game continued in the same vein, with both sides battling hard and few real chances of note to add points to the board. Thurrock managed to cross for a third try taking the score to 19-0, and despite Bath’s best efforts they came up short.
Bath now have two games left and require bonus point wins in both to stand any chance of making the top two, whilst also hoping that Thurrock can beat Old Albanians on the final day by more than seven points. It’s out of their own hands, but the squad will battle to the end.
With the Lambridge pitches still recovering, it was Avon RFC that again hosted the second side against Chew Valley Cats. Looking at the league table, it’s clear to see that it has been a season of struggle for Chew, and unfortunately for them it was another tough day in the office against the home side who introduced a number of their developing third team players into the squad.
Star of the show was wing Leah Mcgoldrick who was very impressive scoring five tries, as well as flanker and University of Bath captain Mairead Mcerlean who weighed in with a hat-trick. Number eight-cum-centre Catt Davidson crossed twice, whilst experienced back Kat Southwell slotted in at fly-half and marshalled the team expertly throughout, adding a couple of tries and eight conversions for a personal haul of 36 points.
This Sunday there is a double header of fixtures at Lambridge, with the first team hosting Blackheath at 2pm, as well as the second side hosting top of the table St Marys from Bristol. All support would be greatly appreciated.