WITHAM Rugby Club Ladies XV put in a markedly improved performance against Dartfordian Ladies coming just short of winning in the dying minutes of the game, writes KATE ONIONS.
The teams last met back in October, when Dartfordians thrashed Witham 60-0.
If supporters had expected the same kind of one-way traffic in this game though, they were to be surprised.
In the first 15 minutes of the game, the Witham pack absorbed pressure from the opposition, eventually conceding a try to a lucky line break from a mid field position.
However, this was the only portion of the game in which Witham were not the dominant force on the pitch.
Lieze Prins soon made a break up the right wing, sprinting into the corner for Witham’s first try of the game.
Another opportunity came moments later when full back Donna Grace was bundled into touch just short of the line.
The second half brought another try apiece.
With the outcome of the match hanging by a thread, the final 20 minutes saw Witham camped out on the Dartfordian try line, with three opportunities to take the win narrowly missed.
As the final whistle blew, both teams and supporters assumed the match to have been a draw, with the referee later ruling that the first conversion by Dartfordians, believed at the time to have been missed, had been awarded.
It meant Dartfordian Ladies won 12-10 but regardless of the final score, this was a massively improved performance from the Witham Ladies and a step up in terms of focus, aggression and skill.
Players of the match were Lieze Prins and Rachael Brookes.
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