Facing beautiful playing conditions and with two huge wins under their belt, Sussex women’s rugby stepped up to the plate confident that they would come away with a win against ICL.
Perhaps due to complacency, Sussex got off to a scrappy start, with ICL pushing strongly into our 22. Facing a hefty opposition and tough terrain, Sussex let their heads drop. However, a powerful run by Emily Robbins through the defence and under the posts gave Sussex our first try of the game, giving us a much needed boost of confidence. Captain Katie Wadeson kicked it over for a conversion, and our heads were back in the game.
This match proved a tough one, with Sussex facing constant attacking rucking from the opposition. However we held out ground with some great defensive pressure by Bethan Alexander, and Emily managed another run around the defence to score in the left corner. This was followed by another try by Emily from a tap and go penalty, completing her hatrick of hatricks scored in games so far this season.
With Sussex now up 17-0, we started to get too comfortable with our lead, giving ICL the opportunity to break our defensive line and score under the posts, which was subsequently converted. The half time whistle blew, and the game was far from over!
Sussex came into the second half battered and bruised, but determined to hold on to their win. Soon after the kick off our number 8 Petra Peussa made an impressive run past the defence, leaving their fullback stranded as she ran under the posts to score our fourth try of the game. This was followed by a well earned try by winger Natalie Haines, stepping through ICLs defence & sprinting across the pitch to slide the ball between the posts.
Sussex dug deep and sustained a high level of intensity through to the last ten minutes, with Emily making some strong tackles to stop ICL’s 15 from breaking through for a try. This was shortly followed by Claire Murray’s first try for Sussex rugby, crashing the ball through their defence to score, after an impressive line out steal. A special mention should be made to fullback Adlyiani Elmy, who threw herself into a thumping tackle in the last play of the game. Prop Carmel Leak also proved her strength with some exceptional rucking throughout the game, testing ICL’s forwards.
Final score – 32-7
Next weeks game is away at Hertfordshire – where we hope to continue our winning streak.
Forward of the match – Claire Murray
Back of the match/player of the match – Emily Robbins
