Women’s Nines Festival.

Alan Dixon at Edge Hill University

It was a long day for the Manchester Swinton Lionesses as they played in the first and last games of the tournament. They can be very proud of their performances in getting all the way through to the Challenge Grade Grand Final.

They kicked off the tournament against Wigan Warriors. It only took two minutes for the Lionesses to score when Tamika Bull sliced through the Wigan defence to score out wide. Wigan knocked on from the restart which gave the Lionesses excellent field position. The ball was soon moved out to Grace Pritchard but, she lost control of the ball as she reached out to score. Wigan lost the ball trying to come away from their own line. It didn’t take long for the Lionesses to move the ball out to Grace Pritchard who scored out wide.  They decided to go for a power play try. They quickly moved the ball across the field to Chloe Newbigging who scored in the corner for an extra three points. The Warriors eventually got out of their own half and attacked the Lionesses line. It ended with a superb tackle by Sammi Simpson forced Elara Llewellyn-Sharrock to lose the ball. The second half started with Wigan applying pressure to the Lionesses line.  A Morgan Pearson break relieved the pressure and sent the Lionesses back on the attack. Another Wigan knock on was punished by the Lionesses. The ball was moved out to Grace Pritchard who teamed up with Morgan Pearson to get the Lionesses moving. The ball was moved back to Grace Pritchard who raced down the wing to score under the posts. The ball was moved out to Chloe Newbigging who scored her second power play try.

Due to a team pulling out of the competition, they had to wait two hours before their next game. This impacted their performance against Leeds Rhinos. The Lionesses knocked on at the kick off. This allowed Leeds to attack the line with Millie Sadler going over to score. Another Lionesses knock on allowed Kiera Brooke to score. The Lionesses eventually got on the scoreboard after Sammi Simpson broke through the Rhinos defence. The ball was moved across to Tamika Bull who sent Grace Pritchard in at the corner. The Lionesses lost the ball while attacking the Rhinos line. The ball was out to Isabel Davies who raced down the wing to score under the posts. Phoebe Wilson kicked the conversion. Another lost ball allowed Millie Sadler to score under the posts for Leeds. The Lionesses lost the ball at the kick off. Millie Sadler recovered the ball to score. The ball was then moved out to Eva Green to score a power play try.

It was now the halfway stage of the tournament and the rugby took a break. It was now time for the Rapid Nines. All the teams were invited to send a representative for a race down the pitch and touchdown at the other end. The Lionesses were represented by Grace Pritchard. After a slow start, she raced away to win the race.

After finishing second in Pool B, the Lionesses faced Pool A winners Huddersfield Giants in the semi-final. The undefeated Giants had the first chance to score. Elle Frain broke through the Lionesses defence but her pass out wide went into touch. They attacked again two minutes later when Sam Hulme broke away. Her pass to Mollie Iceton was dropped. The Lionesses responded with a Tamika Bull break. The ball was moved out to Amber Harmon who took on the Giants defence before passing it to Grace Pritchard who broke through two tackles to score under the posts. Martha Hodgson then broke through the Lionesses defence A last ditch tackle by Morgan Pearson prevented her from scoring. Huddersfield were the awarded a penalty. They moved the ball out to Faye Barraclough who had a clear run to the line. A superb tackle by Grace Pritchard forced her to lose the ball. Good runs by Morgan Pearson and Jasmine Wilson got the Lionesses back on the attack. A chip over the top by Emma Welsford forced the Giants to knock the ball dead. From the drop out, the ball was moved out to Grace Pritchard to score. The ball was moved across the field to Emma Welsford who forced her way over for a power play try and an 11-0 lead. The Giants went back on the attack. Faye Barraclough broke away down the wing, but a Grace Pritchard tackle forced her into touch.  A Sam Hulme kick forced Grace Pritchard to knock the ball dead. From the drop out, the ball was moved out to Mollie Iceton to score. From the kick off, the Lionesses lost the ball. This allowed Abi Liu to score under the posts. The Lionesses held on for the win.

In the final, the Lionesses face Leeds Rhinos who defeated St. Helens in the other semi-final. The Rhinos knocked on at the kick off. Amber Harmon attacked the Rhinos line before the ball was moved out to Sammi Simpson to score out wide. The Rhinos levelled it up five minutes later when they moved the ball out wide to Teigan Roberts who scored in the corner. The Lionesses lost the ball four minutes later. This allowed the Rhinos to attack the Lionesses line. Lillie Dow dived over to score under the posts from close range. From the restart, the Lionesses moved the ball out to Grace Pritchard who raced 40 metres to score under the posts. The Rhinos hit back straight away from the restart. They attacked the Lionesses line before moving it out to Millie Sadler to score out wide. With two minutes to go, the Lionesses lost the ball near the Rhinos line. The Rhinos quickly moved the ball downfield before getting the ball out to Imogen Kerr who scored in the corner.

Manchester Swinton Lionesses 18      Wigan Warriors 0

Lionesses: Chloe Newbigging, Grace Pritchard, Tamika Bull, Maddie Higson, Sammi Simpson, Amber Harmon, Morgan Pearson, Leila D’Symonds, Eleanor Atherton. Subs: Kerrie Evans, Grace Arrowsmith, Emma Welsford, Madeline Neale, Sydney Alderman-Smith, Jasmine Wilson.

Tries: Bull (2), Pritchard (5,17)

Power Play Tries (3 points): Newbigging (5,17)

Warriors: Emily Coop, Ava Wilson, Briannah Cunliffe, Caitline Padgett, Ruby Brown, Jess Taylor, Elara Llewellyn-Sharrock, Grace Brindle, Lily Stockton. Subs: Annie Williams, Chloe Ashley, Charlotte Edwards, Charlie Fitzpatrick.

Half Time: 11-0

Manchester Swinton Lionesses 4      Leeds Rhinos 25

Lionesses: Chloe Newbigging, Grace Pritchard, Tamika Bull, Maddie Higson, Sammi Simpson, Amber Harmon, Morgan Pearson, Leila D’Symonds, Eleanor Atherton. Subs: Emma Welsford, Sydney Alderman-Smith, Tiegan Shaw, Amelia Morton, Grace King, Jasmine Wilson.

Try: Pritchard (6)

Rhinos: Millie Sadler, Imogen Kerr, Trinity Gallagher, Daisy Ginger, Grace Larvon, Diamond Osobu, Kiera Brooke, Ciara May, Isabel Davies. Subs: Sienna Kilner, Phoebe Wilson, Imogen Hallas, Eva Green, Keziah Cama, Olyssa Cruise.

Tries: Sadler (2,16,17), Brooke (4), Davies (13)

Power Play Try (3 points): Green (17)

Goal: Wilson

Half Time: 4-8

Manchester Swinton Lionesses 11      Huddersfield Giants 8    Semi-Final

Lionesses: Chloe Newbigging, Grace Pritchard, Tamika Bull, Sammi Simpson, Amber Harmon, Morgan Pearson, Emma Welsford, Liela D’Symonds, Eleanor Atherton. Subs: Grace Arrowsmith, Maddie Higson, Sydney Alderman-Smith, Jasmine Wilson.

Tries: Pritchard (5,13)

Power Play Try (3 points): Welsford (13)

Giants: Faye Barraclough, Elle Frain, Caitlin Cox, Mollie Iceton, Becky Grady, Sam Hulme, Gracie Hobbs, Maddie Hutchinson, Georgia Cussons. Subs: Abi Liu, Lauren Exley, Martha Hodgson, Leah Beckett.

Tries: Iceton (17), Liu (18)

Half Time: 4-0

Manchester Swinton Lionesses 8      Leeds Rhinos 16      Final

Lionesses: Chloe Newbigging, Grace Pritchard, Tamika Bull, Sammi Simpson, Amber Harmon, Morgan Pearson, Emma Welsford, Leila D’Symonds, Eleanor Atherton. Subs: Grace Arrowsmith, Maddie Higson, Sydney Alderman-Smith, Jasmine Wilson.

Tries: Simpson (1), Pritchard (14)

Rhinos: Millie Sadler, Teigan Roberts, Imogen Kerr, Trinity Gallagher, Phoebe Wilson, Daisy Ginger, Grace Larvon, Diamond Osobu, Ruby Sharpe. Subs: Lillie Dow, Kiera Brooke, Eva Green, Keziah Cama, Annabelle Stuttard, Isabel Davies.

Tries: Roberts (7), Dow (11), Sadler (15), Kerr (18)

Half Time: 4-4

Rapid Nines Winner: Grace Pritchard