By Florence Fudge

BSRFC Women kicked off their season spectacularly this past weekend achieving a 51-5 win over Braintree Vixens at home.

With the weather holding out and following a successful recruitment drive over the summer which brought in a pool of new talent, the ladies took to Pitch 3 to demonstrate their dominance and give a flavour of what they plan to exhibit during the coming season.

Despite being a bigger pack, the Vixens were no match for the Stortford forwards who were really put through their paces from the offset, with two scrums in 10 minutes setting the tone for the match. With new coach, Kyle McDonald, at the helm, the ladies in blue looked well drilled and well organised, demonstrating their technical abilities and really putting Braintree through their paces.

The first try of the match came fifteen minutes into the game, with Captain and scrum half, Jasmin Bice, picking and going from the back of a breakdown at the 5-meter line. The second try followed shortly after with, Kiera Chadburn, making a strong carry out of the back of another ruck.

Chadburn also secured the third and final try of the first half, following a glorious kick from Amy Vernon which saw the ball fly down the pitch from one 10m to the other. Vernon went on to provide the conversion for this try bringing the score to 17-5 at the conclusion of the first half.

Not a team to give up easily, Braintree came back fighting, and the game looked physical from the sidelines, with a handful of stoppages required due to injury. Stortford won a number of lineouts and continued to push Braintree hard, making excellent ground even when they were not in possession of the ball.

Powerhouse, Kim Welsh, provided try 4, dragging defenders behind her as she went, with Becks O’Mahoney securing the fifth try after a magnificent show of teamwork from the Stortford ladies initiated from a line out at the opposition's 5m line.

Tight pod work from the forwards and quick feet from the backs, enabled Elise Sauvary to bring in the sixth try, with Welsh securing try 7 from beyond the halfway line. Despite their grit and determination, Braintree could not keep pace with the ladies in blue and seasoned vet, Harriet Creasey - too fast for their tiring defence - secured the penultimate try of the match.

With the clock ticking down and full time approaching, Georgia Butler, in only her second appearance for the club, secured the ninth and final try with a magnificent break down the wing which enabled Donna McDonald to send the ball flying between the posts to secure a conversion and bring the score to 51-5 as the final whistle blew.

Special acknowledgements should be given to Bethan Jones and Becks O’Mahoney for making their debut appearances, and to the coaching staff - Kyle McDonald, Tom Brady, Dave Walker, and Imogen Spanton - who work tirelessly each week to ensure that the team are equipped with the skills and strategy to confidently pull off victories such as these.

Stortford have started the season as they mean to go on and will undeniably be a force with which to be reckoned over the coming months.

• Forward of the match: Sarah Harvey
• Back of the match: Harriet Creasy

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