Abbey Women continued their winning streak in an excellent victory over Richmond Women in testing conditions on Saturday.
The win takes their home winning streak at home to an impressive 17 games.
Abbey’s forward pack was the star of the show as they showcased their dominant scrum, which saw them turnover balls against the head and even march it over the line for skipper Annabel Hawkins to dot down for her side’s second try.
It was a performance that oozed dominance and one that saw the whole team work for each other in both attack and defence.
Due to the conditions, much of the game was played in the middle of the pitch as kicks from both sides struggled to find touch as both teams acclimatised.
Richmond attacked well initially, with strong runs from Zoe Barber and Tatum Gabriel, but these were equally matched by strong tackles from Tori Kiff, Hannah Gale and Hawkins.
As Richmond threatened Abbey’s try line, aggressive defence caused them to spill the ball, and Abbey escaped time and time again.
With second-row Hollie King winning an important turnover penalty, Abbey kicked for territory up the pitch until they were inside Richmond’s 22.
Then the tactic changed to utilising their dominant scrum for penalties.
Richmond’s Esme Newton saw yellow, and Abbey had the player advantage at set piece.
After two disallowed tries for King and prop Jess Potter, yet another excellent set piece platform allowed fullback Lou Pullan to run a hard line.
Outside backs Kelsea Montgomery and Hayley Matthews added to the attacking pressure, before fly-half Bevan threaded a grubber through that centre Mia McCreesh managed to dot down in-goal, before converting her own kick. Half time and Abbey were 7-0 to the good.
The conditions did not improve in the second half, but Abbey adapted well – Pullan restarted with low kicks that were challenging for Richmond to gather and debutant scrum-half Alex Wilkinson utilised quick taps well to keep her team on the front foot.
Simplified carries brought Abbey huge success over the gain line and before long, they were back in Richmond’s 22. Hawkins chose a scrum at a penalty and the front row of Gale, Stevens and Potter, supported by the rest of their pack, marched the scrum over the line for Hawkins to extend her side’s lead.
Credit to Richmond, they continued to play until the final whistle and Abbey’s defence was severely tested in the final quarter with Pippa Robinson and then Wilkinson both seeing yellow for respective foul play incidents.
Despite playing with 14 for the final fifteen minutes of the game, Abbey shut out Richmond’s spirited attack and kept a clean sheet in front of an enthusiastic crowd of supporters.
This was an important win for Abbey, who climb to sixth in the Championship South 1 table, and who have now won half of their games this season.
With one more game before the Christmas break, Berkshire’s leading women’s team will be looking to consolidate their mid-table position; the highest they have ever been in Championship 1.
Photo credit: Col Palfrey
