SevenAyles kicked off 2023 where they left 2022 with another fine but hard-fought victory to make it 5 wins from 6 in the league this season. After finishing 2nd out of 6 in the ‘Conference A’ league they now faced a trio of tough games against the top 3 sides of the ‘Conference B’ league – namely Basildon, Ashford & Tunbridge Wells.
First up was Ashford who wasted no time getting on the attack from the kick off, but the SevenAyles girls defended valiantly with some great tackles from Libby and holding up the ball on the tryline, Ashford could not make their pressure pay.
Eventually an excellent clearance from Niamh allowed SevenAyles to finally get on the attack…and after putting the opposition under pressure an error leads the ball being picked up by Chanel about 20 yards out and she jinks her way through for the opening try! Niamh converts and it’s 7-0 to SevenAyles.
But Ashford come back strong and after more good defending there is a momentarily lack of concentration that allows Ashford to break through and score under the posts. The conversation follows and it is 7-7 at half time.
With a large matchday squad SevenAyles had the luxury of making several HT changes and it did not take long for the fresh legs to find their mark….Imogen & Emily combine well on the left hand side for Emily to sprint over the line for a try just minutes after the restart! 12-7 to SevenAyles.
More pressure follows and from around 10 yards out Niamh finds Nat who passes to Maddie who powers through the attempted tackles to get the ball over the line for her first try of the season! Niamh converts and it is 19-7 to SevenAyles.
The final try comes from Saskia after she makes a break down the left hand side to outsprint the tiring legs of the Ashford defense. Final score 24-7 to SevenAyles.
So after a dominant second half SevenAyles win but were made to work by a strong Ashford side who fought to the end. In the post-match get together Libby is awarded back of the match and Nat forward of the match. Two more tough games to follow so let’s hope SevenAyles can continue to build on what is an improving season…!