On Sunday, Driffield Woldswomen sealed an emphatic win against Liverpool St Helens, in their second clash of the season. It was a momentous day for Driffield RUFC, hosting another successful sponsorship lunch, with over 100 guests sitting down to a delicious two course meal. Injured Captain Laura Harris took the opportunity to thank the club, supporters, friends, family and sponsors of the Woldswomen, for their continued support, and shared season highlights of the Woldswomen’s most successful season in championship 2.
The game itself was played in miserable conditions, rain and wind hitting hard and making it a muddy affair. St Helens were keen to make an early impression and scored the opening try of the afternoon very early on which was converted. Undeterred the home side dug in, with hard tackles from Tippi Wadsworth and Fi Piercy forcing St Helens to utilise their exceptional kicker in the 10 shirt. Jaz Naylor covered well, with Rianna Manson carrying hard, a theme for the afternoon for this player. St Helens, quick to react at the breakdown took their opportunities to pilfer the ball, utilising their 10 to make great yards against the home side. Driffield Scrums continue to be their superpower, with the dominant pack forcing errors at the set piece, taking the penalty. St Helens solid defence made things difficult for Driffield to punch holes, but the home side capitalized on penalties, including a couple of high tackles. Yards were made on quick tap penalties by the likes of Tippi, carrying hard into contact, also giving the home side the opportunity to put into play their set pieces straight off the training pitches, with Sophie Mawer causing chaos in the opposition 22. Unfortunately a try was held up, but the home side did not stop grafting. A dump tackle on captain Ellie Harding saw Driffield’s patience rewarded with yet another penalty move, this time finished by Rianna Manson scoring, unconverted. St Helens fought back, forcing the home side to concede a penalty and capitalizing with three points shortly before the half time whistle blew at 10-5 to Liverpool St Helens.
Into the second half, seeing handling errors by both sides as conditions worsened and the rain set in. The Woldswomen remained determined but patient, with Jess Heywood making great yards up the pitch. An error from the opposition winger saw her binned for a deliberate knock on. The penalty kick missed touch, but Chloe Brocklebank quickly turned over the ball and regained possession, making a break for the line only to be stopped 5 meters out by a hair pull- another yellow for Liverpool. Driffield grappled with the ball keen to make yards and take advantage with two players in the bin, and started to get a little frantic. Forwards grafted, taking every opportunity to make yards and seeing pack leader Emma Mitchell Williams over the whitewash, converted by Ellie Harding. With St Helens back to a full cohort, they found themselves once again marched back 10 for dissent, with Driffield capitalising. A scrum on the 5 almost saw Charlie Goode in as she expertly dribbled the ball at the back of the dominant scrum. It went out wide to see Chloe Brocklebank smash through 3 defenders on her way to the line for Driffield’s final try of the day. Liverpool had the last say, taking on a tired defensive line in the closing minutes and took the converted try, to see the game finish a close 20-17 to the victorious Woldswomen, an absolute testament to how far this team has come since they last met this side in November.
A 4 point win sees Driffield remain a strong second in the table. Oppositions player went to Ellie Harding for her game management at 10. Players player was awarded to Charlie Goode, and coaches player to Sophie Mawer for their tenacity and phenomenal work rate throughout the game. A special mention for prop Micha Newman, who played for Jamaica this weekend in a narrow defeat against England deaf women.
A huge thank you to all who supported the Woldswomen’s sponsorship lunch! If you want to be part of this amazing team, join us every Wednesday for training at kelleythorpe!