3 from 3 with a hard-fought win away at Ormskirk

The result moves the Ladies to second in the league on points difference to Barnsley Ladies.

Crewe had 3 clear chances early into the game, with both Mollie Latham and Katie Heirene breaking the Ormskirk defence, with handling errors ultimately preventing a score. Winger Jodie Leigh Wilson looked to have broken the deadlock from some fast hands through Katie Leetham and Laura Hollinshead but the final pass was adjudged forward. Having spent the majority of the first quarter in the Ormskirk half with nothing to show for it, Crewe opted to go for 3 points through Sally Cox when Ormskirk were penalised for a high tackle on Mollie Latham just outside their 22.

Crewe attacked hard through the re-start, with a strong break down the right wing through Hannah Thornhill and Katie Heirene. It looked as if the backs would finish the move in the left corner, but again an infringement for coming in at the side gave Crewe a penalty 15 yards out. Sally Cox took the quick tap and fed Fuchsia Sussanne Marie Woodward who crashed through 4 tackles to score a much needed try.

Ormskirk struck back quickly through some excellent phase play, scoring under the posts through their fly-half to close the score to 10-7, but the introduction of Georgie Lilly Perris-Redding 10 minutes before half time quickly yielded results with an excellent recycle from a mistake forced by Hannah Thornhill and Katie Heirene chasing a long kick-off, creating fast ball from Sally Cox to the back. Georgie scored with her first touch of the game following some quick handling from Laura Hollinshead and Jordan Morris.

Ormskirk kicked long to Simone Christopher who took an excellent high ball at pace and gaining territory in the Ormskirk half. A quickly won ruck through Katie Heirene and Christy Roberts gave Jordan Morris a bit of space. Spotting the defence flat and out of position she put a beautifully weighted kick behind the line of defence, causing the winger all kinds of problems. Hannah Thornhill was quick to react and made an excellently judged kick-ahead before gathering and touching down for the score. Georgie quickly added another score from open play before half-time, the game already seemingly out of sight for Ormskirk.

Ormskirk started the second half strongly, driving hard at the Crewe defence drawing big tackles from Mercedes Lyons and Cat Baker-Wood. Crewe have a well-earned reputation for punishing inaccuracy, and yet again Georgie proved her pedigree with an outrageous score from deep in her own half. Gathering an attempted kick for touch, she got on the outside shoulder of her opposite centre, shrugged off the covering flankers tackles before burning both the winger and full-back for pace to complete her hat trick.

With the score at 32 – 7, Crewe could easily have switched off or totally run away with the game, however in the end it was Ormskirk who clicked into gear, taking advantage of some repeated over-eagerness at the breakdown to gain territory, scoring 22 unanswered points in a spell of accurate, direct rugby, crashing over from a penalty and scoring twice through their back row by changing the angle of attack, finding mis-matches in and around the midfield. Jordan Morris left the field injured, with Katie Leetham moving to 10. Fortunately the Crewe pack learnt their lessons from the referee, and some aggressive offensive tackling from Fushsia Woodward and Louise Reade gave Crewe some good field position, eventually giving Georgie a bit of space on the left to give Crewe a bit of breathing space. Hannah Thornhill added her second try a moment or two later, and whilst Ormskirk came back again for a final attack (and yet more penalties from the referee!), Kerry-Ann Dynan, Fuchsia and Louise managed to win a well-timed scrum against the head, with a strong run from Katie Leetham and Jodie Wilson down the right alleviating some of the territory pressure. The final whistle gave Crewe a good win against a strong team, coming through a major scare in the process.

Congratulations to Maddie on her first taste of league rugby, coming through a 20 minute spell well as a substitute- Keep at it Maddie!
The Ladies play Altrincham and Kersall on the 16th October at home.