The air carried a light breeze and a warm touch at Penns Place the morning of October 11th, where Petersfield Women faced fellow NC3 side Horsham 2XV in their first home match of the season. Coming off the back of a loss away at Alton last week, the Rams were ambitious to learn from past mistakes and kick off on the right foot.

Straight from kick-off, ‘Field did just that. A first minute break and carry by number 1 Ayah Alzetani gave the home supporters some early hope, however Horsham managed to switch on just in time to apprehend the loosehead prop and turnover possession for a Horsham scrum. This wasn’t enough for Horsham to keep Petersfield out of their territory, though, with some clever communication and pinpoint passing giving Kam Carty the opportunity to land the first points of the game, which she does in her brilliantly casual manner. Tegan Kinch then steps to the tee in an attempt to add 2 more to the score, however it is a near miss. Just 4 minutes into the game the score sits at Petersfield 5 - 0 Horsham.

For the next 20 minutes, everyone's focus is on the Petersfield show, with some excellently executed passes, breaks, and runs in attack bringing ‘Field ever closer to the tryline. An opportunity for Tegan Kinch to get her first try of the match is stopped by a strong Horsham tackle, however Kinch dusts herself off and folds around to the wing, where she receives a pass and battles through to score. A well-placed conversion by Kinch herself brings the score to 12 - 0. It’s not long before the Rams are banging on Horsham’s door again, with some relentless runs from Soph Sinclair-Black and Ayah Alzetani gaining metres and breaking up the visitors’ defence. Once again, Kam Carty finds a way through and places the ball over the line for try number three. Kinch makes it another 7 points, taking the score to 19 - 0.

At this point, Petersfield have slotted right into their home rhythm, running circles around the Horsham defence and linking up passes like it’s second nature. The flow of play between the forwards and the backs is much improved from the game they played in Alton only 7 days before, demonstrating the determination and focus exhibited by ‘Field in preparation for this game. Carty scores another on the 20 minute mark, with another near miss by Kinch bringing us to 24 - 0.

The energy that was created on the pitch by the home side in the first half felt effortless and only compounded with every point scored. Another brilliant try by Lucy Shaw-Hill and conversion from Kinch put Petersfield at 31 - 0, the whole team in perfect harmony.

The rest of the first half saw some decent attempts in attack for Horsham, who were finding their pace and groove in the game, not letting the scoreline slow them down. Unfortunately for them, a couple of minor mistakes and lapses in communication kept them from getting points on the board, with ‘Field also showing signs of fatigue with a knock-on close to the Horsham tryline stopping them from adding more to the score. The half-time whistle allowed both teams to huddle up and recollect themselves.

At the start of the second 40, ‘Field acknowledged they needed to maintain their dominance to keep control of the game. This seemed no problem for number 10 Tegan Kinch who slotted the ball right between the posts for another try, then kicked it back over for an additional 2 points. The score now sitting at 38 - 0, Horsham knew they had to change tactics to overcome this Petersfield possession.

Although Petersfield had the upper hand thus far, all their attacking efforts had left them heavy-legged and tired. This was quickly apparent on the pitch as Horsham began gaining traction in attack and pushing ‘Field back into their own half. The Rams managed to hold Horsham off for a while, holding them up to prevent a try 15 minutes in, however their defence did not last long, with the visitors finding their first points soon after. A missed conversion meant 38 - 5.

Horsham presented a newfound confidence after their first try, and ‘Field became stuck on the defensive. Two more Horsham attacks trickled through to bring the score to 38 - 15, with no conversions made. With 10 minutes to play, Petersfield looked knackered and Horsham were pushing to see how far they could go. With some encouragement from their coach Cam Thomas and the impact players on the bench, the home side snapped back into the game and kept possession in attack. Despite some opportunities to add to the scoreline further, the undeniable fatigue of the game had caught up and some little mistakes kept the score at 38 - 15. As the final whistle blew, cries of celebration erupted from the home supporters and players, with both teams shaking hands amicably to thank each other for an entertaining and challenging game.

This game saw some standout performances from certain players, including Soph Sinclair-Black who received the Player Of The Match award for her incredible line breaks and tackles, and our tryscorers Tegan Kinch, Kam Carty, and Lucy Shaw-Hill.

After the game, Coach Cam Thomas said to his team, “A great performance today. You should all be so proud of your efforts, I know as coaches we are. That 7 day turnaround was immense, and a huge testament to what this group is all about.”

Special congratulations to Tegan Kinch, whose try-scoring and kicking performance provided Petersfield with 18 points!

Try-Scorers:
4’ Kam Carty
8’ Tegan Kinch
12’ Kam Carty
18’ Kam Carty
21’ Lucy Shaw-Hill
42’ Tegan Kinch

Conversions:
Tegan Kinch made 4 of 6 conversions.