Womens Team Match report - 25th Nov 2018

Photo 1- Christine McEvoy in action

Match report - Charlie Bryne and Gerard Shanahan.

Sutton Women 58pts v Rugby Lionesses 0pts

There’s simply no stopping these Sutton girls who this afternoon put the Lionesses from Rugby to the sword scoring 10 tries without reply in a comfortable 58-0 win at the RSG that sees them maintain their six point lead at the top of the table with the first half of the season matches now completed.

The visitors however were keen to make sure the current league leaders weren't going to have an easy day, with tough battles ensuing around the breakdowns putting the skills of Sutton's flankers Liz Fletcher and Jessica Nally to the test. Sutton's pack were more than up to the challenge however and managed to turnover possession several times. It was a quick turnover ball which resulted in Holly Wheeldon regaining possession. The hooker was on the front foot as she ran through a scattered Lionesses defence to open the scoring. Despite a strong restart from the visitors smashing hits from front row pairing Tara Wheeldon and Vicky Sullivan saw the leagues 4th place team buckle under pressure. Katie Gregory broke the defensive line with ball in hand before it was shipped wide to fly half Maria Crowfoot who dived for the line. Sutton's dominance soon started to show as Charlie Byrne added the third, quick ball from Christine McEvoy under pressure at scrum half put the centre into space before Byrne dashed for the line.

In a competitive game injuries soon tallied with both Byrne and second row starlet Athena Jai having to leave the field for treatment, replacements Natalie Hall and Natalie Kennett soon made their mark with strong carry's driving Sutton forward back into the oppositions twenty two. Crowfoot commanding the game at fly half made use of the space sent the ball down the Sutton back line to Alison Livermore who outpaced the remaining defender to score for Sutton. Con Livermore. Jessica Nally also added another try to her tally crashing over the line between the posts giving Livermore another opportunity to slot home another conversion. The first half scoring was completed by a further score from Wheeldon earning herself a brace before the break, Livermore adding a third conversion to leave the half time score at 34-0 with a bonus point already secured.

The second half saw Sutton hold up in defence put further pressure from Lionesses made it difficult for the home side to capitalise on further chances. Elise Graham fresh from her hat-trick last week was unlucky not to get further scores after several dashes down the wing only to be halted by the final defender. However after several high tackle infringements by the visiting side Rugby saw themselves given a yellow card and were sent down to 14 men in the sixty third minute. The league leaders soon took advantage of the extra man, Jessica Nally taking advantage of strong forward drives by the Wheeldon sisters before breaking the gain line to score again under the posts. Con Livermore. Pressure in the middle of the park by the back row led by Emma Clueit saw the infringements by the visiting side soon rack up, after a succession of penalties it was Sullivan who seized the space and put on the wheels to crash over the line for Sutton's eight try of the afternoon. Con Livermore.

The home side cheered on by another large enthusiastic crowd soon gathered their flow, Katie Gregory who earned herself a man of the match performance at centre used her formidable handling skills move the ball out to Livermore at fullback. Livermore adapting well to her new position, managed to draw the defence before popping the ball to Byrne who had returned to play on the right wing. Byrne managed to dodge the oncoming tackles before scoring her second try of the day. Holly Wheeldon completed her hat-trick with the last play of the game after being the first to react to a Sutton penalty, the front row player showed her speed and strength to finish the game on a high for Sutton.