With one win and one loss secured for Petersfield Women so far, Sunday’s game against Aldershot & Fleet Herons provided an opportunity for the Rams to keep their winning streak going and set them up nicely at the top of the league table.

Having beaten the Herons earlier this year in a friendly, the spiritsn in the Petersfield camp during warm ups were high, and confidence seemed to ooze from every player. This fixture is a special one, as both Petersfield and Aldershot & Fleet Women’s sides competed in the Inner Warrior League last year, meaning this season is many of the players’ first in NC3.

With the beginning of rain threatening to fall, Petersfield kicked us into action. The home side’s shape and communication from the start looked much improved, with quick passing and strategic handling almost putting 5 points on the scoreboard within the first minute! Unfortunately, the ball was knocked on in the 22, putting possession in the Heron’s hands.

After a few minutes of both teams trying to find their feet, Petersfield number 10 Tegan Kinch received the ball and immediately hunted for space, finding it and delivering the first try of the game. Kinch then added 2 to the score with a smooth conversion to send the score to 7-0. At this point, Petersfield seemed as if they were settling into their positions and nailing their comms to utilise their speed and agility on the wings.

5 minutes later, a scrum at the half-way line fed Kinch the ball and allowed her to weasel past a lost-looking Aldershot & Fleet side, setting up Maddy Hall to find another try. Kinch misses the conversion to put the score at 12-0. From here Petersfield continued to tighten their grip on the game, with number 3 Maddie Drennan and number 8 Soph Sinclair-Black utilising their pure power and strength to bully the Herons back into their own half.

Aldershot & Fleet seemed to click into action at the 15 minute mark, creating opportunities to push back against a dominant Petersfield side. Hope didn’t feel so far off for the visitors, with metres being gained and the ‘Field tryline getting closer and closer. This attack pursued over the following 10 minutes, without A&F being able to find the space to bring home the bacon. Suddenly, a quick change in possession allowed Kam Carty to pass to Holly Mullard, who utilised a blind spot on the wing to sprint from within the home 22m to the tryline without being caught. Unfortunately, Tegan couldn’t find the posts to convert, but another 5 points added brought the score to 17-0. Suddenly Petersfield have their mojo back.

From the restart, the kick landed like a gift into Kam Carty’s hands, where she mirrored the brilliant run of Mullard mere minutes before to score another try for ‘Field. Kinch is denied another conversion, encouraging her side to avoid scoring under the posts so she could kick at a slight angle. 22-0.

At the 35 minute point, Petersfield seemed unstoppable, feeding the ball wide with impeccable timing to break away from the Aldershot & Fleet defensive line. The Herons made the mistake of offering Tegan Kinch a gap and she took it, offloading to Sasha Ward who secured her first try in a Petersfield Jersey! A beautifully slotted kick from an angle by Kinch brought the score to 29-0. Soon after, Tegan teared through the middle of the pitch, leaving a flurry of Aldershot & Fleet players scrambling after her with no avail.

Just before the half-time whistle, Kinch provided 7 more points from a converted try; 36-0.

Although Petersfield were on the front foot going into the second half, historically fatigue has allowed their opposition to take advantage and get their own points back. In the first 10 minutes after the second half whistle blew, it seemed history was about to repeat itself, with the Herons gaining territory and showing a different attacking side than that of the first half. ‘Field were lucky not to concede points here, just managing to cover their space and force errors in the opposition. It was becoming obvious that the home side’s shape and structure was falling apart, and they needed to band together to prevent an A&F comeback.

With tiredness and fatigue tends to come injuries, which was the case for a lot of the second half. Thankfully no players suffered anything serious, but some hard collisions led to a few stoppages in play to allow the physios to complete their checks.

The game appeared to have evened itself out, with both the Rams and the Herons making simple mistakes. But one thing that gave Petersfield the edge was the pure endurance and speed from the backs, which allowed Maddy Hall to break away at the 35 minute mark and assist Francesca Ellis to her first try in Petersfield colours; 41-0.

Soon after came Aldershot & Fleet’s closest attempt of the day, pushing right up to the tryline before it was held up by a determined Petersfield side. This huge push by the visitors left their legs and lungs knackered, putting their defensive structure into chaos.

Capitalising on this, Kinch and Sinclair-Black become something of a dream team to provide another 17 points in quick succession. In the final minutes of the game, Ellis manages to squeeze another try in, which Kinch converts to bring the final score to 65-0.

The sheer persistence and determination shown by Petersfield during this game is a testament to their character and continual development as an NC3 team. Although there were moments of weakness from ‘Field, they always managed to claw their way back to control, keeping the opposition’s scoreline at 0 for 80 minutes.

Aldershot & Fleet provided us a brilliant game of rugby, which we won in points but also we won in terms of learning and experience. On another day the result could’ve been vastly different, with the Herons coming close on multiple occasions and Petersfield lacking structure in their second half. But we will take this win and use it to become even better for our game against Havant II in 2 weeks time.

Congratulations to Tegan Kinch, Madeline Hall, Kam Carty, Holly Mullard, Sasha Ward, Francesca Ellis, and Soph Sinclair-Black on their tries! Special congratulations to Rachael Hunt who was awarded the Player Of The Match award sponsored by The Good Intent. Without her, many of the tries scored wouldn’t have happened.

A massive thank you to Aldershot & Fleet Herons who made the journey down, you were a dream to host and play against. We look forward to meeting you again later this season!

Try-Scorers:
Tegan Kinch - 5’
Maddy Hall - 10’
Holly Mullard - 29’
Kam Carty - 33’
Sasha Ward - 35’
Tegan Kinch - 38’

Fran Ellis - 65’
Tegan Kinch - 70’
Soph Sinclair-Black - 75’
Tegan Kinch - 78’
Fran Ellis - 80’

Conversions:
Tegan Kinch - 5/11 conversions made