Manchester Swinton Lionesses 22        Cardiff Demons 18

Alan Dixon at Heywood Road

Manchester Swinton Lionesses secured the National Championship League Leaders title with a hard-fought win over a stubborn Cardiff side.

Defences dominated the opening exchanges with neither side threatening the try line. As the game started to open up, the Lionesses came out of defence. A Tamika Bull kick rolled into touch to pin Cardiff near to their own line. Cardiff launched their attack and got Francis Layton a clear run down the line. A good Tackle by Chloe Newbigging sent her into touch. The Lionesses went back on the attack with Emma Welsford going on a 20-metre run before passing the ball onto Tamika Bull. Her pass out wide to Grace Arrowsmith could not be taken. Cardiff recovered the ball and launched an attack of their own. A chip over the top was taken by Frances Layton. A superb tackle by Chloe Newbigging forced the ball loose. The Lionesses recovered the ball and quickly moved the ball downfield. A Tamika Bull kick was taken by Amberley Ruck who went on a run down the wing. A superb cover tackle by Grace Pritchard force her into touch. From the handover, Emma Welsford went on a 25-metre run before passing the ball to Eleanor Atherton who ran 15 metres to score under the posts for her first Lionesses’ try. Maddie Higson converted.

From the restart, Eleanor Atherton drove the ball up. The ball was moved across to Tamika Bull who dummied her way through the Demons and went around Leanne Burnell on a 50-metre run to score under the posts. Maddie Higson converted. The Demons went back on the attack. A high ball was dropped by the Lionesses. From the handover, the ball was moved out to Lucia Davies who crashed over the line to score in the corner. Mary-Ann Gittings missed the conversion attempt. Eight minutes later they scored again. A Lionesses mistake gave Cardiff good field position to launch their next attack. The ball was moved out to Zoe Heeley who scored in the corner. The conversion attempt was missed.

The Lionesses attacked straight from the second half kick-off. Good runs by Madeline Neale, Skye Jackson and Amber Harmon allowed the Lionesses to get the ball out to Grace Arrowsmith who sent Grace Pritchard away down the wing. The Demons cover defence stopped her short of the line. The Lionesses were awarded a penalty near the Cardiff try line.  The ball was moved out to Skye Jackson who was tackled short of the line. Abbie Singleton moved the ball out to Maddie Higson who sent Kerrie Evans on a run to the line. She passed the ball onto Chloe Newbigging who cut back inside to score. The conversion was missed. From the restart, Madeline Neale launched the next Lionesses attack. Her pass to Leila D’Symonds got her to halfway where she was awarded a penalty for a ball strip. From the penalty, runs by Emma Welsford and Skye Jackson got them close to the line. Maddie Higson carried the ball across the front of the Demons defence before her pass to Kerrie Evans sent her through a gap to score her fiftieth point for the club. Maddie Higson converted. The Demons reduced the arrears when they recovered the ball from a Lionesses knock on. The ball was moved across the field where they were tackled short of the line. The ball was moved back to Amberley Ruck who passed the ball to Hannah Bluck. Her long pass sent Frances Layton in at the corner. The conversion was missed. Errors by the Lionesses kept Cardiff in the game with good field position. From a knock on, the Demons went on the attack with runs from Sue Neumann and Tara Finnegan. Amberley Ruck sent Leanne Burnell through a gap. A good tackle by Leila D’Symonds prevented her from scoring. The ball was moved back to Amberley Ruck whose kick through the Lionesses defence went dead in goal.

The Lionesses were soon back on the attack. Good runs by Yasmin Parton Sotomayor, Abbie Singleton and Emma Welsford got them near to the Demons try line. Quick hands by Sammi Simpson, Maddie Higson and Kerrie Evans created a chance for Chloe Newbigging. Unfortunately, she was tackled into touch whilst trying to score. The Demons quickly moved the ball up field. Sara Jones broke the Lionesses defence to score under the posts. Mary-Ann Gittings converted. The Demons next possession end with a knock on. Sammi Simpson got the Lionesses close to the Cardiff line. The ball was moved across to Chloe Newbigging who was tackled short of the line. The Ball was moved back inside to Tamika Bull whose long pass out to Grace Pritchard was allowed to bounce which allowed the Demons to make the tackle at the end of the set.  Cardiff hit back with runs from Sue Neumann and Katie Carr. The ball was quickly moved across the field by Enya Lackie, Amberley Ruck, Lucia Davies to Frances Layton whose kick behind the Lionesses defence went into touch. Another error by the Lionesses gave Cardiff possession near their own half of the field. Runs by Enya Lackie and Sara Jones got them close to the line. The ball was moved across to Zoe Heeley who cut back inside to go through a gap in the Lionesses defence. She was pulled back for obstruction. From the penalty, Amber Harmon, Skye Jackson and Emma Welsford got the Lionesses close to the Cardiff line. Maddie Higson put in a high kick which was taken by Hannah Bluck. Emma Welsford followed in to tackle her on the line. The Lionesses were awarded a penalty. An Eleanor Atherton run set up good field position. Tamika Bull kicked the ball across the field. Amber Harmon kicked the ball on. The ball was recovered by the Lionesses and quickly moved across the field by Maddie Higson, Emma Welsford and Sammi Simpson. The Ball was moved back to Maddie Higson whose kick out wide was dropped.

Teams:

Manchester Swinton Lionesses: Leila D’Symonds, Chloe Newbigging, Kerrie Evans, Grace Arrowsmith, Grace Pritchard, Tamika Bull, Maddie Higson, Eleanor Atherton, Abbie Singleton, Yasmin Parton Sotomayor, Sammi Simpson, Amber Harmon, Emma Welsford. Subs: Sydney Alderman-Smith, Skye Jackson, Madeline Neale, Louise Fellingham. 18th Player: Eve Ashcroft.

Tries: Atherton (20), Bull (23), Newbigging (44), Evans (48)

Goals:  Higson 3

Cardiff Demons: Leanne Burnell, Frances Layton, Enya Lackie, Hannah Bluck, Zoe Heeley, Mary-Ann Gittings, Amberley Ruck, Sara Jones, Jasmine Gibbons, Sue Neumann, Erin Jones, Sioned, Young, Katie Carr. Subs: Rhiannon Parker, Tara Finnegan, Lucia Davies, Olivia Williams.

Tries: Davies (29), Heeley (37), Layton (55), S. Jones (62)

Goal: Gittings

Pens: 5-2                  Half Time: 12-8                  Referee: Liam Breheny