02.10.22 at The Ridings
Following their first win of the season against Tewkesbury Women, Chipping Sodbury were keen to keep the momentum going with their second outing on home turf. Kicking off, it wasn’t long before Sodbury put the pressure on their opponents to gain back possession and due to quick thinking from the back line, Kate Neal was able to go over the line with 2 minutes on the clock.
It wasn’t long before Neal was going over the line again. Following the kick off, Emma Evans had a great run but was stopped short. Katie Summerville was on hand to support and passed to Neal, who went over for her second and with only 5 minutes on the clock.
The third try was scored in a similar manner but this time a strong run by Inside Centre Ria Jefferson-Gleed allowed the Home Team to gain ground quickly and was ultimately finished by a great effort by Lock Laura Northfield. Sodbury found themselves 15-0 up with only 8 minutes gone.
Keen not to get complacent, Sodbury continued to dominate in all areas of play. The pack were confident and controlled in set pieces and a maul from a line out resulted in Scrum Half Ellyse Hopkins passing a quick ball to Wing Charlotte Taylor who took advantage of a gap in the defense and went over the line. Scrum Half Ellyse Hopkins was on hand to add the conversion and the score was 22-0 with 12 minutes gone.
The back line came into their own in open play and following a turnover, Katie Summerville broke through but was stopped just before the line. Wing Kate Neal was in support and scored her third try of the day – 27-0.
Cheltenham Civil Service were determined to keep possession and a good bout of attack forced Sodbury to make an error and Scrum Half Ellyse Hopkins found herself on the wrong side of a yellow card for a deliberate knock on. Despite being a player down, the home team didn’t concede and maintained possession for the 10 minute duration. Ellyse Hopkins returned to the pitch and following a great line of defense, Sodbury were awarded a scrum. It was passed out to Wing Kate Neal who went over for her forth of the day and with a conversion made the score 34-0.
The final try of the half came from some dynamic play from the back line with a break from Katie Summerville from the kick off. A cross field pass from Fly Half Louise Romanowski and great individual runs from Ria Jefferson-Gleed and Lock Laura Northfield almost reached the visitors try line, luckily the ball found its way to Fullback Emma Evans who went over in the last minute of the half.
39-0 Half Time
Sodbury started the half with as much gusto as they had in the first with 2 tries scored within the first 5 minutes. Ria Jefferson-Gleed broke through the defense to score the first, and Katie Summerville went over the line a couple of minutes later.
Summerville continued her scoring streak by going over again a few minutes later following a break from the back of a scrum. Ellyse Hopkins converted to make it 58-0.
The visitors restarted, only to see their kick not make the distance. The Sodbury pack dominated the resulting scrum and following a few phases of open play, a forwards try saw Susan Stewart go over the line.
Cheltenham Civil Service fought back and the next 15 minutes saw some excellent defense which prevented Sodbury adding to the score line. Possession changed hands and the home team found themselves on the receiving end of attacking play. Great tackles were made by Josie Port, who was playing in only her second competitive game, as well as Angel De’Mar who had come on as a replacement just a few minutes earlier. A few bouts of injury time extended the game a little and Sodbury were awarded the scrum to restart the game.
Captain Amy Wheeler picked up from the back of the scrum and after passing the ball back to Susan Stewart, provided support to get Stewart over the line for her second of the game. Ellyse Hopkins converted, making the score 70-0.
The last 10 minutes saw an equal amount of possession on both sides, with Dani Vaughan and Ellyse Hopkins both making some big tackles. However the final play of the game saw Captain Amy Wheeler use her strength to go over the line for her first and the final try of the day.
Final score 77-0
Match report written by Martine Richardson.
