By John Vandermeer
Sunday saw Southport Ladies welcome Chester Ladies to Waterloo Road in a top of the table clash. A win for Southport and they would take the league title with 2 games still to play. The anticipation of such an important game drew a good crowd to the ground and after only a narrow win against Halifax the week prior, Southport were ramped up and ready to put on a good show for the loyal supporters.
The home side got the game underway with a clean take by Chester. They started to make their way up the pitch towards the half way with some decent carries but a good steal by Port in the Chester half put them on the front foot and they began to make their way to the 5 metre line. A timely steal by Chester stopped them in their tracks until the clearance kick found outside centre Rouffignac who caught the ball and made a darting run through the Chester defence and scored under the posts with only 2 minutes played. The conversion hitting the posts.
From the restart the ball found winger Kipling who made a strong run down the wing and with good support play from 2nd row Gray and Number 8 Welsh, Port set the platform. Strong carries from prop Meath and 2nd row Plunkett kept Port on the attack. A great little kick through and gather by fly half McKeown allowed Port to make ground into the Chester 22 and when scrum half Rouffignac picked the ball cleanly from the ruck, it found Captain Walton who made a pile driver of a run and crashed over the line to score Ports second. With the conversion good, Port were ahead 12-0
Chester kicked the restart and when the ball was stolen, they began to make their way into the Port 22 with some strong carries. A penalty for Port not rolling away allowed Chester to get some points on the board with a nice kick for the posts. Score 12-3.
With advantage being played from a knock on by Chester at the restart, Port made good ground and a great run by flanker Griffiths put Port deep into the Chester half. A confident run by replacement second row Malmgren, enabled Port to make further ground and when the ball found winger Jessop, she made a lovely darting run to breeze over the try line and score Ports third. With the angle too wide, the conversion was missed. Score 17-3.
Strong running from replacement second row Dale and flanker Lane, with her signature line break runs, put Chester on the back foot and a lovely wrap around and offload by outside centre Rouffignac meant fly half McKeown could run in Ports 4th try under the posts and add the extras herself. Score 24-3. Chester showed some good defence for the last few minutes of the first half and Port were unable to penetrate their strong line keeping the score at half time 24-3.
Chester got the second half underway and a clean take by hooker Morris set a good platform for Port. A great clearance kick by McKeown forced the knock on and Port had the scrum deep in the Chester half. Both teams proving solid in the scrums and a nice clean ball for scrum half Rouffignac,out to McKeown, she popped it off to centre Rouffignac who ran a fantastic line to score under the posts. An easy conversion for McKeown. Score 31-3.
From the restart play continually switched in the centre of the field with both teams forcing errors trying to find a way through the others defensive line. Finally the break came for Port when centre Rouffignac ran a great line and danced her way over for her hat trick. The conversion just wide. Score 36-3. Chester kicked the restart and a positive run by replacement prop Palmer, and strong rucking by Duggan, gave way to some nice build up play by Port and saw them trundle up the pitch but when Chester stole the ball they rumbled their way up to the Port 22 and an infringement by Port gave them the penalty in front of the posts. A tidy kick by Chester taking the score to 36-6.
Port kicked the restart and strong tackling by inside centre Simpson and a good steal by Port put Chester on the back foot. A nice offload by full back Ambrose found Jessop and she made metres down the wing. An injury forced a stop in play but from the Port scrum restart, nice fluid play by Port saw the ball find Jessop who ran in her second of the game. The conversion just short.
With the final few minutes played out in the centre of the field, Chester held Port at bay and when the final whistle blew Port ran out clear match winners and league winners. Final score 41-6.
Two league titles in the last two seasons and unbeaten in the league to date, is testament to the hard work and dedication that the ladies and the coaches have put in. A fabulous display by Southport Ladies over the last two seasons will see them deservedly promoted and progress into what will be an extremely challenging league next season. Having said that, the Ladies still have two games left – a home game against Eccles on 12th March and the final game away to Broughton Park on 2nd April.
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