Smart and Solly hat-tricks blow Berkshire away
SARAH Smart and Danielle Allen Solly both scored hat-ricks to secure Leicestershire the Gill Burns Division 1 trophy against Berkshire.
Smart was electric throughout the first half which she ended with two tries, that quickly became three two minutes after the restart.
Allen Solly joined Smart’s hat-trick party after her all-round performance was capped with a triplet of tries to give Leicestershire a comfortable victory.
The only time Berkshire dented that lead was through Annabel Hawkins, who wrestled her way through to score a rememberable try.
Leicestershire captain Daphne Fromes said: “I’m ecstatic, we have been waiting for this for so many years. We have been in the final before, but we came up short last time, so we had a point to prove. The win means everything to us.
“It’s a thrill to play at Twickenham, it’s the home of rugby where everyone
wants to play. Berkshire put us through our paces, all the way down to the last minute so well done to them for bringing the heat.”
Smart opened the scoring through a ruthless counter attack that started when Lucrezia Lavarone’s offload to Daphne Fromes caught Berkshire’s defence in array allowing Smart to take advantage.
A quick release from the maul again caught the Berkshire defence slacking and Smart collected the ball on the spin and sped away from the chasing defence to score her second try.
Smart was involved again as Leicestershire finished the first half strongly, with Allen Solly scoring her third try.
The winger kept the move alive with a flick to release Bryany Chalk who moved it on to allow Allen Solly to finish the move off.
It was a dominant first half display from the Midlanders, that was supported by Smart’s brace that would become a hat-trick two minutes into the second period.
The winger picked the ball up in her own half, and rounded the full back to race away under the posts.
But despite the deficit, Berkshire continued to fight and midway through the second half they broke down Leicestershire’s defence, with a powerful surge by Hawkins.
Lewis Jay’s side overturned possession and Hawkins was found as the ball came out the maul to force her way through challenges and bundle over the line, but it was no more than a consolation.
Solly scored her second try with a tenacious effort, and her third was through quick thinking to snipe the ball down, to seal a memorable win at Twickenham.