Didsbury Ladies Move Forward in the Cup

Match Report – Halifax 22.11.15
It finally stopped raining in Manchester long enough to play rugby, giving way to a cold bright day for the second round of the cup competition. Didsbury Toc H got off to a good start, putting in some hard hits in the early minutes to put Halifax under pressure quickly. A chip and chase from number 9 Hannah Watson put Toc H in the opposition 22, unfortunately we couldn’t capitalise, and were turned over by the larger Halifax pack. Toc H put in some quality turnovers mid way through the half taking control of possession, but after a promising backs move a forward pass relinquishes control back to Halifax. With 15 mins to half time, Halifax livened up, and their big kicking 10 put in some good kicks for territory, luckily our fullback Alice had it covered and easily fielded their attacks. Lots of hard hitting from both teams and rapid turnovers kept the game central for the last 10 mins of the first half, and we went into the break 0 – 0.
Toc H came out after the break to a slow start, and were put under quick pressure by Halifax. Some great forward runs from the opposition almost put them over the line, but some incredible last ditch defence from Toc H kept their winger out of the corner. We finally got going, and some great running from Zoe and Inge again put us in a great position in their 22. Toc H started to really put the pressure on, and a series of cracking runs and good hands from the backs lead to two penalties in quick succession for Toc H. Halifax could’t handle the pressure and fantastic hands and a strong run saw Olivia cross the line for the first score of the game. Halifax came back fighting determined to equalise, and the last 20 mins of the match was spent furiously defending our own line. Halifax piled on the pressure, and the ball was held up over the line. The fans were getting very stressed on the sidelines, as another wave of attack threatened to broach the line. The final whistle went as the ball was held up once again, and Toc H emerged winners. Full time Didsbury Toc H 5 – 0 Halifax.

Claire Shutler