Preston Grasshoppers           12
Ormskirk Ladies                     35
(Tries : R Cowan 2, A O’Malley 2, C Nixon, G Myles, E Gander)
The Ladies together with the girls from Wigan WRUFC took on Hoppers … this season’s winners of Division North 2 … and beat them comfortably. To be fair their Preston were seriously understrength and a couple of knocks robbed them of two of their more influencial players once the game got underway. Nevertheless the result give an indication that, should they win promotion, the Ladies would not be out of their depth in North 2.
The game started well and badly. With a full front row for once the Ladies were able to scrummage. This gave hooker Lesley Kenny, striking like a cobra in a fat suit, the chance to show her class. Within the first ten minutes she had stolen the ball twice from Preston scrums. The result was that Preston went 12 - 0 up. With handling as nervous as a squaddy with his first live hand grenade the Ladies chucked gold plated possession into the arms of their opponents. Hoppers took full advantage.
Having been reassured by Coach Sam Botfield that catching the ball wasn’t against the rules the Ladies finally got on the board with a try from centre Emma Gander. Wing Rachael Cowan brought in back to 10 - 12 with a wonder try. Taking scrappy possession in her own 22 as a Preston attack broke down she beat three defenders in the space of 10m and then jetted the length of the pitch to score. Scrum half Anna O’Malley … the chubby one in last week’s feature on Ormskirk Ladies … gave the Ladies a 15 - 12 half time lead when she scuttled in from half way.
The introduction of Army flanker Titilia Fisher into the centres at half time sealed Hoppers’ fate. To paraphrase Wellington, ‘We don’t know what she does to the enemy but, by God, she frightens us’. The rest of the game was one way traffic. With Kenny continuing to play Burglar Bill in the scrums and a measure of assurance coming into their handling the Ladies took a stranglehold on the game. No 8 Lou Prescott, Gander, Fisher and centre Kayleigh McDonnell snuffed out Hopper’s attack and the bulldozing … or should that be cowdozing? … runs of Fisher and Gander tore holes in their defence.
Further unconverted tries came from O’Malley and wing George Myles. The Ladies were rapidly closing in on their 100th try of the season. 17 year old lock Catherine Nixon, surely Ormskirk Ladies’ Young Player of the Year, bagged her first try for the club and the Ladies’ 98th of the season. Cowan completed the scoring with her second try and set up next Sunday’s League game for this team to become the first Ton Up Tarts in the history of Ormskirk Ladies.
Report by Sam Botfield
Team : Lesley Kenny, Jenny Schofield, Suzanne Gibson, Cath Nixon, Lou Prescott, Anna O’Malley, Kate Traynor, Emma Gander, Kayleigh McDonnell, Rachael Cowan, Gail Kendall
Visitors from Wigan : Tasha, George Myles, Titilia Fisher and Gill Allen
