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Quins Ladies Beaten at Home

©Jo Everett
By Jo Everett October 1 2002
(Harlequin Ladies 12 – Plymouth Albion 20) Sunday saw the Harlequin Ladies narrowly beaten in their close-fought game against Plymouth Albion.
Playing at Kingston Warriors RLFC for their first home game of the season, the Harlequin Ladies made a strong start to the game, quickly forcing their way into Plymouth territory.

It was not long before the Quins Ladies turned pressure into points, when Number 8, Leah Carey, took the ball from the back of the lineout and powered over the line. (The try marking the end of a very exciting month for Carey, during which she has been selected for the England Under-19 squad.) Fly-half, Kate Sinfield, promptly followed up with the conversion.

Plymouth fought back hard, with their strong scrummaging making it very difficult for Quins to get clean ball on their put-in. Once they had secured possession for themselves, their backs then created the overlap they needed to score.

Minutes later, Plymouth made good use of a kick and chase to break up Harlequins’ tight defensive line and take themselves into the lead. The remainder of the first-half saw many turnovers of possession, with mauls collapsing and many penalties being conceded. The Quins Ladies made the most of one such turnover, with Alex Burbidge crashing through the Plymouth defence to equalise just before half-time.

The second half opened in much the same vein, with both teams working hard in defence to keep the score at 12-all. However, a second kick and chase, with a lucky bounce for Plymouth, enabled them to break up the Quins defence and score their third try.

Plymouth continued to make good use of their kicking game to gain territory and keep Quins on the back foot. When Quins conceded a penalty under the posts, Plymouth kicked themselves into an 8 point lead.

Far from giving up or letting their heads drop, Harlequins really raised their game for the final twenty minutes: dominating possession and forcing the Plymouth defence to work hard to keep them off the line.

Quins may not have won the game, but with the knowledge that every player had given their all for the full eighty minutes, the team was able to walk off the pitch with their heads held high.

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