Oban rugby ladies put Annan to the sword
Oban Lorne Ladies Annan Ladies National Plate 24 0
Oban rugby ladies put in a dominant performance at Glencruitten Park to record a bonus point win against Annan in the National Plate.
It was clear how Oban wanted to play from the kick-off with their scrum providing a solid platform for the backs as Selena Kelpie made an impressive early break.
Oban looked dangerous whenever the fly-half was able to ship the ball along the back line and a Poppy Mckillop break set up the first try.
Firstly, the hosts’ forwards put Annan under severe pressure and this created an overlap, which Kirsty Sinclair exploited to make it 5-0 on six minutes.
Amber Love’s tricky conversion attempt sailed wide, but the hosts remained dominant, with Julie Campbell and Jordan MacIntyre gaining good ground in the loose.
When they had clean ball, Oban looked unstoppable and their second try came from a superb piece of interplay between the backs.
The ball was passed out to Sinclair, who provided Mckillop with the chance to beat two Annan defenders on the outside for a fantastic score.
Love did well to add the extras and Oban led 12-0 with a quarter of the match played.
Even when the visitors found gaps, Oban’s defence was well organised and there were some strong driving tackles, with Caitlin Fowler helping to shift momentum with one of these in Oban’s 22.
This led to the hosts’ third try, which followed three strong carries by Rebbeca Sims to put the hosts in a promising position.
After an initial try was chalked off, Oban easily exploited an overlap, putting Sinclair in for her second on 35 minutes.
Love missed the tough conversion and Oban could have scored again just before half-time, if not for an error at the lineout in Annan’s 22.
Oban extended their lead after the break when Mckillop collected the ball in her own half from the kick-off and set off down the right wing, leaving a trail of Annan players behind her for another superb score.
Love’s conversion made it 24-0 and Oban had their bonus point try wrapped up seconds after the re-start.
They emptied the bench as the match went on and Lucy Stewart made an instant impact, stopping an Annan attack in its tracks by ripping the ball at pace.
There were impressive debuts from the bench for Ruth Neville and Fie Cunnigham as Oban searched for a fifth try, coming up just short twice.
▮ Oban Lorne Under 16 girls recorded a stunning 39-38 win against Caithness in Inverness to take home the National Under 16 Girls Plate.
On their road to the final, the girls defeated Edinburgh Harlequins and had been training hard in preparation for the final since it was rescheduled from December 11 2022.
For a full match report visit The Oban Times website www.obantimes.co.uk.
Elsewhere, the Oban men’s fixture against Strathendrick in West League Two was called off as a result of availability issues for the opposition, while the Isle of Mull men beat Hyndland 31-17.
This moved Mull up to ninth in the table as they recorded their fifth win of the season, while also celebrating the contribution of Mull players Jamie Lee, Evie and Gemma to the Oban Under 16s win.
There was also exciting news for Aimee Johnston from Appin, with the former Oban tighthead prop selected for the Scottish Futures squad ahead of their match against England Under 20s this week.