BIRMINGHAM MOSELEY WOMEN 10

LINCOLN LADIES 46
WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP MIDLANDS 2
BY JOSEPH VERNEY

Lincoln Ladies made a dream start to life in Championship 2 with a great team performance, leading them to a 46-10 win away against Birmingham Moseley Women.

Hannah McCabe crossed for a hat-trick of tries, Izzy Atkinson grabbed a brace, and new captain Nicole Allison, Isha Lever and debutant Jordan Brown each scored one.

Emily Nelson, who was named as Forward of the Match, successfully slotted over three conversions. The game also saw Isla Sullivan, who was named as Back of the Match, and Kelsey Orr make their debuts for the club.

Lincoln started strongly and opened the scoring inside the opening seven minutes. From a scrum on halfway the backs played to the left-hand edge before a flat pass from Jade Morgan put Atkinson into space.

Atkinson then drew the defender in and tipped it on to McCabe who beat the full-back to run in for a try under the posts, which Nelson converted.

Lincoln increased their lead when Allison carried in field from a scrum and recycled quickly thorough Morgan. McCabe joined the attacking line to create the overlap and drew in the last defender before passing to Atkinson, who beat the cover defence to run in for a try from 25 metres out.

The centre was soon in again just five minutes later after a move which started with Morgan making good metres over the halfway line, before offloading to Nelson who kicked down to the right-hand channel for Isha Lever to chase.

The resulting pressure produced a penalty which Lincoln kicked to the corner before a strong lineout and maul got the visitors to within five metres of the try line. Lincoln then spread the ball wide left and recovered from a fumbled pass before a great one-handed offload from Morgan put Atkinson in for her second try of the match.

Although Lincoln lost the ball in a ruck from the kick-off, they piled pressure onto their opponents to win a penalty. A quick tap and hand-off from Allison made another 20 metres before Nelson picked up at the base of a ruck and carried into the left-hand channel. She drew in a defender and put McCabe clear and the winger sprinted 30 metres to score a try under the posts.

Nelson successfully slotted over the conversion to give Lincoln an impressive 24-0 lead going in at the break.

Birmingham reduced the deficit with an unconverted try, but Lincoln soon regained control. After a good scrum move, Lincoln were held up just five metres short and the ball was recycled back in field to Brown. Brown then stepped round the first defender to run in for a try 15 metres to the left of the posts, which Nelson converted.

Birmingham scored their last try of the match, but it didn’t affect the result as Lincoln ran in a further three tries to secure a brilliant victory.

After a scrum just inside the opposition 22, Lincoln attacked left towards the posts through Emily Hird. Two more phases in midfield followed before brilliant handling by McCabe and Hird put Lever in for a try in the corner.

Another scrum set up Lincoln’s next try as Allison picked from the base and went around the Birmingham scrum-half, handed off the next defender and dragged another player over the line with her as she scored 10 metres to the right of the posts.

From the kick-off Lucy Ellis made great metres in midfield after a tip on from Nayeli Dacres. Quick ball then fed Hird, who put Morgan, running a brilliant line, in to a gap in the defence. The long-serving Lincoln player then made 40 metres before passing on to McCabe in support, who ran in to score 20 metres to the right of the posts to complete her hat-trick.

POST MATCH COMMENTS

After the match Lincoln Ladies Head Coach Brian Kelly said: “Promotion brings with it a new set of problems to solve. New players, new moves, and not least, that of playing against more competitive teams, further away.

“The ladies have not only risen to the challenge, they’ve started the new season without breaking stride from last year.

“An excellent all-round performance in slippy conditions and already a candidate for try of the season.

“I’m really proud of this group and look forward to what they are capable of achieving together this year.”

Captain Nicole Allison said: “Overall, I couldn’t have asked for a better team to take out on Sunday.

“Everyone did their role exactly as they needed. The forwards worked hard, working around and putting in amazing hits. Every forward used their tip option at some point and had amazing decision making.

“Em Nelson was awarded forward of the match, she ran hard, had great kicks and made the right decisions when I needed her to.


“Isla was our Back of the Match and debutant - she went in with all the confidence and we all backed her 100%. She ran hard, caught high balls and smashed her first ever game in Champ 2.

“I’m proud of the team I took out and I am so proud of everyone, especially our debutants - Isla, Kelsey and Jordan - who all fit into the team perfectly.”