SevenAyles were paired against arch rivals Tunbridge Wells in the Kent Cup semi-final in what was always going to be a tough tight contest…and the SevenAyles girls fought with grit & determination to pull off a well-earned win & be rewarded with a place in the Kent Final!
In a bright first half SevenAyles made the first move with a short penalty passed to Bronte who made good ground followed by Nat getting closer to the line. The ball is sprayed across the left with passes from Maddie to Georgia to Imogen to Libby and to Erin but she is tackled inches from the line in what proved to be a common theme in this tightly fought contest.
With SevenAyles keeping up the pressure the deadlock is broken from around 20 yards with Libby finding Amber who makes good ground & feeds Georgia who bursts through a couple of tackles from 5 yards out to open the scoring! 5-0 to SevenAyles!
The pressure is kept on with Nat, Suskia, Alys & Maddie all getting within inches of scoring the second try only for some excellent committed defending from TW. With half time beckoning SevenAyles were desperate for another score to reward the pressure and with another 5 yard scrum Libby finds Imogen who passes to Suskia who again gets within inches of the line …but she pops the ball up to the well supporting Jaime who is in the right place at the right time and is able to power the ball over the line! 10-0 to SevenAyles who deservedly have some breathing space at HT.
The second half proved an even tighter affair with TW throwing everything they have but SevenAyles heroically defending for their lives making many try saving tackles to deny every scoring opportunity created. SevenAyles themselves came close to adding that killer third try but again were denied by more excellent defending from TW.
With the game in its dying moments TW break free and look certain to score under the posts but are denied by another last gasp tackle from Imogen & Jaime forcing the ball to get dropped just a couple of yards from the line. The ball is cleared from the scrum & the full time whistle is blown and SevenAyles are in the Kent Cup final!
In the post-match get together Suskia is awarded back of the match and Georgia forward of the match. The final is on 1st May and it will be against Ashford who narrowly beat Medway 15-12 in the other semi final. Best of luck to the girls let’s bring home the trophy