Widnes Vikings 0 Manchester Swinton Lionesses 52
Alan Dixon at Halton Farnworth Hornets ARLFC
Manchester Swinton Lionesses completed the league campaign unbeaten with an emphatic 52-0 win over the Widnes Vikings. All eyes now turn to the play-offs where they will play Warrington Wolves at home.
Both sides traded possession at the start with the Lionesses defence keeping Widnes in their own half. The Lionesses started to get the better of the Vikings defence and were soon camped on their line. Tamika Bull was tackled short of the line. The ball was moved out wide, but the Vikings knocked the ball down. Grace Pritchard picked up the ball but was tackled into touch. No advantaged gave the Lionesses head and ball at the scrum. The ball was moved out to Tiegan Shaw who was tackled short of the line. Maddie Higson spun out of the tackles from dummy half to score. She converted her own try to equal the career goals record. They scored again when a Georgia Briggs run got them to halfway. Further runs by Amelia Newton and Lauren Ellison got the Lionesses near to the Vikings line. Tamika Bull moved the ball out to Grace Arrowsmith who cut back inside to score. Maddie Higson converted to set a new career goals record. The Lionesses continued to attack the Vikings line with good runs from Tiegan Shaw, Lauren Ellison and Maddie Higson. Tamika Bull was tackled short of the line. The ball was moved out to Grace Arrowsmith who sent Grace Pritchard over in the corner. Good tackling by the Vikings prevented her from grounding the ball.
The Lionesses knocked on coming out of defence. From the scrum, Widnes moved the ball out to Becky Webb. She sent the ball out to Naoimh Gill-Ward who was tackled into touch. A penalty to the Lionesses allowed Maddie Higson to go on a run to set up good field position. Louise Fellingham ran across the Vikings line before sending Sammi Simpson through a gap to score. Maddie Higson converted. An incorrect play the ball handed possession to the Vikings. Runs by Carraghan Hannon and Evie Price-Horrocks got them close to the Lionesses line. The ball was moved across to Kaitlyn Fraser who was tackled short of the line by Grace Pritchard. A penalty to the Lionesses allowed Lauren Ellison and Tiegan Shaw to set up the next attack. A Maddie Higson run got them into the Vikings half. Eve Ashcroft went on a run out wide before moving the ball back inside to Louise Fellingham who sent Tamika Bull through a gap to score. The conversion was missed. Widnes went for a short kick off but knocked the ball on. From the scrum, Tamika Bull sent Eve Ashcroft on a run before passing the ball onto Grace Pritchard who cut back inside. She passed the ball onto Skye Jackson who went on a run before moving the ball onto Louise Fellingham whose pass found Kerrie Evans who was tackled short of the line. The ball was moved across to Lauren Ellison who was also tackled short of the line. Maddie Higson spun over from dummy half to score. She converted her own try. Kerrie Evans took the ball up from the restart. Good runs by Georgia Briggs and Lauren Ellison got them close to the Vikings line. The ball was moved across to Grace Pritchard who cut through the Vikings defence to score. Maddie Higson converted.
Widnes were awarded a penalty for a late hit. Sammy Traynor and Chloe Richardson got the Vikings close to the line. Ellie Reid was held up over the line. The ball was moved across to Naoimh Gill-Ward who was tackled short by Chloe Newbigging. Aimee Wood tried to go over from dummy half but a superb tackle from Chloe Newbigging prevented her from scoring. The Lionesses worked the ball away from their own line and were awarded a penalty for a high tackle. Amelia Newton went on a run and passed the ball onto Tamika Bull who broke through the Vikings defence and rounded the fullback on a 55-metre run to score. Maddie Higson converted. From the restart, runs by Kerrie Evans and Chloe Newbigging sent the Lionesses back on the attack. Tamika Bull moved the ball out to Ella Topham who sent Grace Pritchard away on a 30-metre run to score. The conversion attempt was missed. The Vikings recovered the restart. Runs by Jenny Moss, Carraghan Hannon and Ellie Reid got them close to the line. Hollie Jones chipped the ball over the top. Sydney Alderman-Smith caught the kick and launched the next Lioness attack. Georgia Briggs went on a 20-metre run before moving the ball back to Tamika Bull whose chip over the top was taken by Grace Pritchard. Her pass inside to Tamika Bull could not be taken with a clear run to the line. Widnes knocked on coming out of defence. From the scrum, Louise Fellingham passed the ball out to Chloe Newbigging who was tackled short of the line. Quick hands by Louise Fellingham, Tamika Bull and Ella Topham sent Grace Pritchard in at the corner. The conversion was missed.
Widnes put pressure on the Lionesses line. Good tackling kept them out. Chloe Richardson broke through the Lionesses defence but a superb tackle by Sydney Alderman-Smith prevented her from scoring. Hollie Jones chipped the ball over the top, but it was taken by Lauren Ellison. The ball was quickly moved across the line to Sammi Simpson who broke through the Vikings defence to go on an 80-metre run down the wing to score. The conversion was missed. The Lionesses continued to attack with runs from Tiegan Shaw, Liv Argent, Kerrie Evans and Chloe Newbigging. Louise Fellingham kicked through the Vikings defence, but the ball went dead before anyone could get to it. Widnes were quickly attacking the Lionesses line but another superb tackle by Sydney Alderman-Smith knocked the ball loose. They lost the ball coming out of defence which allowed the Vikings to go back on the attack. Good defence by the Lionesses kept them out. A kick through by Aimee Wood forced the Lionesses to concede a drop out. Attacking runs by Ellie Reid, Sammy Traynor, Evie Price-Horrocks and Marnie-Lee Kelly put pressure on the Lionesses line. Superb defence by the Lionesses kept them from scoring. Another knock on by the Lionesses allowed Widnes to attacking the line but a kick into the in goal by Hollie Jones was too long. The Lionesses went back on the attack with runs from Eve Ashcroft, Georgia Briggs, Tamika Bull and Ella Topham but the set ended with a knock on.
Teams:
Widnes Vikings: Hannah Quirk, Naoimh Gill-Ward, Becky Webb, Evie Price-Horrocks, Kaitlyn Fraser, Hollie Jones, Aimee Wood, Carraghan Hannon, Juliet Porter, Ellie Reid, Jenny Moss, Rachael Porter, Marnie-Lee Kelly. Subs: Tracey Peet, Sammy Traynor, Chloe Richardson, Lowri Jones.
Manchester Swinton Lionesses: Eve Ashcroft, Chloe Newbigging, Kerrie Evans, Grace Arrowsmith, Grace Pritchard, Tamika Bull, Louise Fellingham, Tiegan Shaw, Maddie Higson, Amelia Newton, Sammi Simpson, Lauren Ellison, Georgia Briggs. Subs: Sydney Alderman-Smith, Skye Jackson, Ella Topham, Liv Argent. 18th Player: Leila D’Symonds.
Tries: Higson (10,38), Arrowsmith (14), Simpson (25,65), Bull (35,50), Pritchard (39,53,60)
Goals: Higson 6
Pens: 2-6 Half Time: 0-34
**** All photos from MKS Photography ****
