Ashford 17 vs TWRUFC Ladies 1st XV 24

29th Sep 2024, KO 14:00

Ashford - Away

Match Report & Information

Thanet Ladies entered the first round of the Papa John’s cup anticipating a challenge against Ashford ladies. Last week’s league game saw a tough contest between the ladies, but with Thanet coming out

Fly-half Alex White begun the game kicking to Ashford ladies, which saw a chase from Thanet and there, the battle of physicality begun.

Georgia Elks, coming in with strength and power, dominated Ashford in a ruck, leading to a turn-over and gave Thanet’s backs an opportunity to show off their hands. An opportunity is all Rachel Austerberry needs, as she broke through the Ashford’s defensive line, met by Ashford’s fallback, who probably regretted the attempt after Rachel was able to recover from the tackle and off-load to Tabitha Raymonde leading to an early try by Thanet. Tabitha has been a very much welcomed addition the squad, whilst the cup game may be her 4th ever game of rugby, this does not reflect on her game-play and we look forward to seeing her progress throughout the season.

A try down and with Ashford’s forward-heavy style of play, the game’s physicality increased. One half of the bish-bash duo, Megan Bish, covered the wings with such tenacity, we have forgiven her yellow card offence of a high-tackle.

With a man down, Thanet saw a battle in our 5 which, despite Louise Rubens efforts of a hold-up, observed by all except the ref, saw a try from Ashford. Score sitting at 5-5. Unfamiliar with such scores, Thanet ladies stepped up their game. A knock-on from Thanet, saw a scrum in their 22, a well-directed call from Alex White saw Georgia take the ball in, seeing the challenge of two Ashford players as light work and scoring a try.

As the game progressed, the score at 5-10, Ashford weren’t easing and continued to put pressure on Thanet Ladies. Despite Rebecca Hewitt and Emily Williams giving Ashford a hard time with their strong carries, a line-out in our 22 saw a pick-up and go from one of their players, leading to a try and unfortunately, a conversion. This left the score at 12-10 to Ashford at half-time.

Ian Lodge utilised his pearls of wisdom and gave the team a talking to. Whatever he said, it must have worked. The second half saw Lia Armstrong embark on an incredible yet seemingly effortless 75metre run to the try line. With Ashford simply unable to keep up the pace, she was able to place the ball past the try line, in the middle of the posts. This set Alex up perfectly for a conversion.

Pulses of all onlookers returned to normal pace as the score sat at 12-17. The game continued, seeing Fleur Moat execute a draw and pass, to Megan who used quick hands to pass to Tabitha. Tabitha, making a break, ran 40 metres and managed to dummy step three players on her route to the try line. Another try from Thanet converted by White meant it was now 24-12.

Another try from Ashford meant the final score was 24-17.

A win for the Wanderers may not come as a surprise, but our squad is now heavily relying on new and inexperienced players, stepping up to play first-team rugby. As a team, we are grateful for all the players putting their body on the line, week in and week-out, to ensure we progress as a team and keep earning these wins for the club.

Thanet Ladies take on Lordswood in the second round of the Junior Cup on 27th October at Home. We would like to see as many supporters as possible!