Bletchley consolidate their lead atop the table

When the teams last met, Bletchley were sitting behind Wymondham; now they sat three places ahead. The aim today was to gain another bonus point, to consolidate the ladies position at the top of the table.

Bletchley opened the match; Wymondham took the catch and pushed forward. They worked through the phases, then had the ball ripped at a ruck. Bletchley passed the ball out, then knocked on, giving possession back to their hosts. Wymondham passed back and forth, but were pushed back.

After patiently going through the phases, they dropped the ball on the halfway line. The referee played advantage, which Bletchley made full use of, working the ball out to Rachael Taylor, who drove forward into the host’s territory. Jennie Davies made a break to the 22.

Now it was Wymondham’s turn to use the advantage from a knock on; they rucked and passed till they were in a position to kick the ball up the pitch. Alex Sutton took the catch and ran back at them. Bletchley set a maul from the halfway point, pushed up and then passed out across the pitch.

Wymondham stole it from a ruck and pushed back into Bletchley's half. Bletchley then ripped from another ruck, passed the ball along the line to Taylor who ran through into Wymondham’s half and continued on to the line, to put the ball down in the corner: 5-0, six minutes into the game.

Wymondham chased the kick from the restart and took the catch, pushing deep into Bletchley's half. An attempt at in intercept resulted in a knock on, giving Wymondham the scrum, just short of Bletchley's 22.

Bletchley turned this over, passed out to Caroline collie, who made a break. The ball was knocked back in a tackle, but Bletchley re-secured it and set up a ruck, which resulted in a penalty; Taylor made touch deep in Wymondham’s half. Beth Metcalf took the ball in the line out and pushed forward.

Again they worked through the phases, till another knock on just short of the 22 gave Wymondham a chance to clear their lines. Sutton took the catch, set up a ruck, only to have Wymondham steal it back.

Their reprieve was short-lived, with another conceded penalty just in Bletchley's half. A quick tap and a strong push forward took Bletchley back where they wanted to be. The ball worked back and forth, then found Collie, who took it over the line: 10-0.

Wymondham dug in from the restart. Both teams pushed hard, but after quarter of an hour, Wymondham’s patience paid off and they took the next points: 10-5.

They then took the ball on the bounce at the restart, pushing forward to try and even the score. A knock on trounce this idea, giving Bletchley the scrum in the middle of their host’s territory. They weren’t giving up though, and another knock on gave it back to them. they passed out from the scrum and kicked up the pitch, making touch. Bletchley secured the line out and continued their progress up the pitch.

After steady progress, Bletchley set up a maul, passed through the hands to Nicky Coaker who pushed up the pitch. She passed out again, the work found Collie who put in a further run, passed to Laura Hussey, swung back in to retake possession and put the ball down for the final points of the half: 15-5.

Wymondham started the second half with renewed vigour and it took Bletchley a good quarter of an hour before it began to look as though they would get more points. They blocked a maul from Wymondham, taking the resulting scrum in the middle of the pitch. A break from Collie took the game to within 5m of the try line, before a knock on from a pass gave possession back to Wymondham briefly.

They cleared their lines, only to have Bletchley run straight back at them; again they got to the 5m line, worked through a couple of phases then drove Jodie Denton over the line. Taylor made the extras, taking the score to 22-5.

Just five minutes later, Collie set Steph Craig up for a try to take the score to 27-5, to mark the halfway point of the second half and secure the bonus point.

Denton took the catch from the restart and pushed up. Wymondham too the ball from a ruck, only to have it ripped back by Bletchley just minutes later. They worked forward, then Hannah Prescott took the ball within sight of the line, before Wymondham managed to intercept a pass. They passed out and set up a maul, only to knock on as it collapsed, giving Bletchley the scrum.

They worked back up to the 22, before giving Wymondham another opening with a penalty. Bletchley's defence dug in, and Wymondham set up a ruck on their 22, passed out to the left and attempted a tap over the top, only to have it charged down. They gathered the loose ball and tried again, with the same result. Bletchley took it this time, set up a ruck, passed through the hands to Davies, who put it down for the next points: 32-5.

Wymondham’s restart kick didn’t make 10, giving Bletchley the scrum in the middle of the pitch. They drove forward, then were further assisted by a penalty form their hosts. Wymondham fought back and tackled Bletchley out on touch, taking the line out.

Their reprieve was short-lived, as they knocked on, giving possession back to their visitors. They pushed up, only to be tackled out again on Wymondham’s 22. They resulting line out throw wasn’t straight, so Bletchley continued their progress, pushing hard on the line.

Several foiled attempts were finally wiped out as collie managed to get the ball down for the last points of the match, taking Bletchley to 37-5 with just five minutes to play.