*** Emma Welsford on the attack – Photo credit Paul Cowan / Mediapac Sports
*** No way through the excellent defence – Photo credit Paul Cowan / Mediapac Sports
London Broncos 10 Manchester Swinton Lionesses 38
Alan Dixon at Richmond Athletic Ground
The Lionesses made history by winning their first ever game in the capital. In doing so they moved into second place in the table.
London regained possession of the ball at the kick off. A drive by Danyelle Shobanjo took them close to the line. Kathryn Salter and Iona McCusker moved the ball out wide to Freya Conlon but good defence from Grace Arrowsmith and Kerrie Evans forced her into touch before she could touchdown. London continued to put pressure on the Lionesses line. Rebecca Smart sent Emily Bell through a gap, but she was tackled short of the line. Jade Walker put a kick into the in goal. Maddie Higson managed to knock the ball dead. From the drop out, the ball was moved across to Tamsin Barber who broke through the defence to score. Kathryn Salter missed the conversion. The Lionesses started to apply pressure on the London line. Chloe Newbigging was tackled short of the line. The ball was moved across the field but a wayward pass to Tamika Bull had her going backwards to retrieve the ball. She managed to get a kick away across the field for Chloe Newbigging to chase. London got to the ball first and knocked it dead. From the drop out, Eleanor Atherton drove the ball in before being tackled. The ball was moved out to Sammi Simpson who was tackled short of the line. Abbie Singleton dived over from dummy half to score. Maddie Higson was unable to convert. The Lionesses knocked on at the kick off. Sian McLaughlin drove the ball in and crossed the line. Good defence by Sydney Alderman-Smith, Chloe Newbigging, Sammi Simpson and Leila D’Symonds held her up and forced her dead in goal.
London continued to apply pressure to the Lionesses line. Good defence held them at bay. The Lionesses were now making mistakes as they panicked trying to come out of defence. The introduction of Emma Welsford and Morgan Pearson settled their nerves and got them going again. After a London knock on, Amber Harmon drove the ball up close to the line. A Morgan Pearson pass to Tamika Bull drew in the defence which allowed her to put Grace Arrowsmith through a gap to score. The Conversion attempt was missed. London went back on the attack. Good defence by the Lionesses kept them at bay. Jade Walker tried to put a kick in behind the defence, but it was caught by Amber Harmon who immediately set off on a run to set up the next attack. A Morgan Pearson pass from dummy half sent Emma Welsford through a gap. She side stepped the full back on a 50-metre run to score. Maddie Higson converted. The Lionesses got a penalty on the next set. Emma Welsford went on a run into the Broncos half before being tackled. Morgan Pearson took the ball from dummy half and weaved her way through the Broncos defence on a 30-metre run to score under the posts. Maddie Higson converted.
The Lionesses went on the attack at the start of the second half but were unable to keep hold of the ball. London recovered the ball and were soon pressurising the Lionesses line. They moved the ball out to Freya Conlon, but she dropped the ball with an open line. The Lionesses were unable to make much ground on their next possession and were forced into a kick. London recovered the kick and went on the attack. This time Tamsin Barber dropped the ball with an open line. The Broncos continued to apply pressure to the Lionesses line. A good tackle by Kerrie Evans prevented Tamsin Barber from scoring. The ball was moved into the middle where Emily Hughes was prevented from scoring by Sammi Simpson. The ball was moved out to Jessica Valentine to score. Kathryn Salter converted to reduce the arrears to ten points. London continued to attack the line. A lost ball was recovered by the Lionesses. Runs by Eleanor Atherton, Sammi Simpson and Amber Harmon set up the Lionesses next attack. Morgan Pearson weaved her way through the Broncos defence to the line. As she was being tackled, she got the ball out to Tamika Bull to score. The conversion was missed.
London continued to attack. Good tackling by Leila D’Symonds and Kerrie Evans forced them to lose possession of the ball. From the scrum, Leila D’Symonds broke through the defence before being tackled. Tamika Bull took the ball to the line before passing it out to Grace Arrowsmith who took defenders over with her to score. Again, the conversion was missed. The Lionesses continued to attack. A kick on the last tackle was dropped by London. Morgan Pearson recovered the ball and moved it out to Sammi Simpson who was tackled short of the line. The ball was back to Tamika Bull who put in another kick. Again, London were unable to handle it. Tamika Bull recovered the ball and slipped the ball out to Leila D’Symonds to score under the posts. Maddie Higson converted. The Lionesses had the last say in the game. London were penalised for not binding in the scrum near their own line. From the penalty, Morgan Pearson passed the ball to Tamika Bull who moved it onto Grace Arrowsmith who slipped the ball out to Kerrie Evans to score in the corner. The conversion attempt was missed.
Teams:
London Broncos: Rebecca Smart, Freya Conlon, Iona McCusker, Emily Bell, Oli Davies, Jade Walker, Ffion Lewis, Emily Hughes, Polly Roberts, Danyelle Shobanjo, Sian McLaughlin, Tamsin Barber, Kathryn Salter. Subs: Eleanor Hunt-Pain, Jessica Valentine, Ellie Redfern, Siobhan Crosley-Hughes.
Tries: Barber (6), Valentine (51)
Goal: Salter
Manchester Swinton Lionesses: Leila D’Symonds, Chloe Newbigging, Sydney Alderman-Smith, Grace Arrowsmith, Kerrie Evans, Tamika Bull, Maddie Higson, Amelia Newton, Abbie Singleton, Eleanor Atherton, Sammi Simpson, Amber Harmon, Georgia Briggs. Subs: Emma Welsford, Morgan Pearson, Yasmin Parton Sotomayor, Jasmine Wilson. 18th Player: Tiegan Shaw
Tries: Singleton (11), Arrowsmith (28,64), Welsford (35), Pearson (39), Bull (57), D’Symonds (69), Evans (77)
Goals: Higson 3
Pens: 4-4 Half Time: 4-20
