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Written by Sarah McLoughlin
York Women’s 1sts stormed past Sunderland and into the semi-finals of the BUCS cup, as the team proved that they are still in top form, despite the recent cold weather thwarting their efforts to train.
The York women have a history of rivalry with Sunderland, so a focused team stepped off the coach into the frosty air of Sunderland, determined to take home a win. York played confidently in the initial minutes of the game. While their phases took a while to produce any results, they kept the ball alive and exerted constant pressure on their opponents.
The opening they needed soon came, when Emma Cooper blasted up the right wing, leaving the Sunderland players in her wake. Cooper found enough time to curve right round to place the ball under the posts, setting up a sure conversion for kicker, Kirsty Wheeler. Sunderland’s right wing proved a weak point that Cooper exploited again several minutes later for another try, and when Chrissie Leahy closed the half with the first of her three tries, York had a comfortable lead of twenty-one points.
The away side had reshuffled their pack for this match, following the departure of former line-out jumper, Kate Lewington, but the scrum and line-out remained strong, with Fiona Parr replacing Lewington as jumper. Quick and determined hits by York in the scrum put Sunderland on the back foot, with the front row working as a unit to repeatedly steal the opposition’s put-in. A shuffle of Sunderland’s front row in the second half did not help them, and they chose to move to uncontested scrums.
York continued to dominate in the second half, scoring four more tries, but it was much less of a one-sided contest than the first half had been.
Leahy scored the first try of the half, driving forward through a tackle to ground the ball in the left corner, finishing with a painful landing as her legs twisted one way and her body another. York were soon back in action with some very maul-heavy phases and their willingness to pile in and drive paid off against a more tentative Sunderland pack.
Inside centre, Aimee Miller, made her first try for York with some skilful running, before the ball was passed quickly out from a scrum in midfield to Miller, who dodged past several Sunderland players to take York’s lead to thirty-one. Sunderland made one last attempt to score, as they recycled the ball in a series of rucks, pressing up the field and putting relentless pressure on York’s defence.
York defended their try line ferociously and when a mess of bodies fell over the try-line, at least three York players were under the ball, holding it up, and denying Sunderland their try. When the referee awarded a scrum five metres out, Sunderland showed admirable perseverance, getting straight back on the attack. Again they managed to drive the ball over the line, but it went loose, where it was quickly grounded by Leahy.
Then the remainder of the fight was driven out of Sunderland, and re-energised York, who were now free to relax and enjoy the concluding minutes of the game. A Sunderland kick, intended for touch and a line-out, was commandeered by York scrum-half, Emma Hodgson, who kicked the ball up-field towards the try line. When she was eventually tackled, a quick ruck allowed Kerry McQuigg to score the penultimate try of the match, before Leahy scored again with 5 minutes left.
This match was conclusively York’s, but when they meet Sunderland again in the BUCS league, their opposition will be eager to repay this defeat. With this win, York move forward to the semi-finals of the cup, where they will once again face Sheffield Hallam, the only team to beat York so far this year.
Team: 1 - Chelsey Sprong, 2- Vic Cusick, 3 - Kirsty Wheeler, 4 -Fiona Parr, 5 - Sarah McLoughlin, 6 - Louise Blockwell, 7 - Gemma Parry, 8 - Lizzie Prance, 9 - Emma Hodgson, 10 - Chrissie Leahy, 11- Sabrina Ammi, 12 - Aimee Miller, 13- Emma Cooper, 14 - Kate Fullilove, 15 - Clare Beer.
Subs: Kerry McQuigg, Nikki Parker.
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