Having been let down for the second time this season with the scheduled opposition forfeiting the match due to an inability to pull a full team together, Bishop’s Stortford Women’s XV travelled away to Cheshunt for a friendly this weekend.

BSRFC Women, who currently play in the NC3 Midlands (East) League, arrived with aspirations of beating the opposing NC2 side, and were triumphant in pulling off a hard fought 12-24 win.

With 15 players on the pitch, and another 10 on the bench, Stortford looked strong from the starting whistle, demonstrating their prowess in both defence and attack and making a number of good carries in the first half. Playing a team from the league above, Stortford were pushed to work hard from the outset and utilise the discipline and skills they’ve been working on under new coach, Kyle McDonald.

A penalty awarded to Stortford for Cheshunt holding on to the ball in a ruck resulted in the first points of the match. Rebekah Coppen, back from a yearlong ACL recovery but looking as comfortable and capable as ever at 10, chose to kick to bring the score to 0-3.

The first try came quickly after this with number 8, Kim Welsh, creating a significant amount of ground to assist fullback, Harriet Creasy, in touching the ball down over the line, and Coppen kicking to secure the conversion.

After an accidental hand off from a Cheshunt player straight into the hands of vice-captain Yasmin Knott, Stortford continued to push the opposition hard to make significant ground; however, with no substitutions made, the team were tiring and an accidental oversight in defence enabled Cheshunt to make a break and achieve a try, bringing the score to 5-10.

With the half-time whistle approaching, Stortford continued to struggle against Cheshunt’s attack with the hosts driving hard towards their try line and ultimately scoring another try and conversion moments before the half-time whistle rang.

Having brought 10 subs, Stortford were looking fresh at the restart and their scrummaging was vastly improved from the first half against a now flagging Cheshunt.

A penalty awarded to Stortford at the 5m line resulted in Stortford’s second try of the match with scrum half, Donna McDonald, passing out to Kiera Chadburn who identified the holes in their defence and powered through across the line. Coppen was again able to convert, bringing the score to 12-17.

The final try of the match came again from Chadburn who managed to spectacularly reach the ball down across the line despite several Cheshunt defenders desperately trying to drag her backwards. Coppen once again proved her worth, converting the try under the pressure of a chase down to bring the closing score to 12-24.

This was a monumental performance from Bishop’s Stortford Women’s XV and a significant win for them. Despite this match being a friendly, they secured the victory against a team currently sitting second in the league above.

Special mentions this week go to debutants Lunette Opperman and Beth Kelly, as well as to Kiera Chadburn, who won Forward of the Match, and Captain Jasmin Bice, who, playing 12 for the first time ever, won Back of the Match.

Matchday squad:
1. C Kempton; 2. B Jones; 3. S Howell; 4. A Madigan-Rowe Ramos; 5. Y Knott (VC); 6. L Cushway; 7. K Chadburn; 8. K Welsh; 9. D McDonald; 10. R Coppen; 11. G Butler; 12. J Bice (C); 13. R Dougherty; 14. B O’Mahoney; 15. H Creasy; 16. L Opperman; 17. H Knight; 18. B Kelly; 19. S Harvey; 20. H Stoner; 21. I Brown; 22. E Sauvary; 23. A Borman; 24. S Schutte; 25. A Vernon