This Sunday the ladies braved the wet and cold conditions to tackle Horsham Lionesses away for their final match of 2022.

With a 14 woman squad the ladies were in for another long shift and wow was it a busy game for them all.

From kick off the ladies were fast out the blocks, chasing the ball down with Lewis (Naomi) quick to turnover the ball with her iconic style. After a few strong phases of forward attack, Davey spots the space and powers through the line to score the G's first try of the match! Successfully convertred by Lewis (Sian).

Quick to go again, Lewis (Naomi) collected the ball off a long kick from the oppostion and ran it back up the pitch with her weaving feet. Followed by some excellent forward pod work from Teasdale, Sasserath and Muggeridge, the G's edged further up the pitch. With Lewis in the ruck, Gayle thought fast and stepped in at 9 for a quick pass out to a rampaging Pullen, storming through to score the G's second try of the match with Lewis narrowly missing the conversion. The G's lead 0-12 but concern hits as Pullen comes off injured, dropping the G's to 13 players against Horsham 14.

Despite the overlap and scrums now being uncontested, the G's showcased excellent defense, keeping the opposition in their own half for the majority of the remaining first half. With terrible conditions, both sides saw a number of knock ons and loose balls, filling the first half with many scrums and unfortunately no more tries for the G's.

0-12 going into the second half and playing a woman down, could the G's hold on? The first 10 minutes of the second half suggested they could! With Wallis on the end of another long kick, her long legs covered metres of the pitch with Kraus in support to get the ball in a good attacking position. Strong protection from the G's facilitated some excellent phases of play from dynamic forwards Carrick, Jacobs and McCarthy. However, Horsham's defense proved difficult to break through. After a series of quick pick and go's, Davey exploited a gap and steamed through to score her second try under the posts, successfully converted by Lewis (Sian).

Showcasing a variety of skills in their arsenal, Lewis (Sian) explored the space out back with a superb cross field kick from half way. Wallis, Davey, Shackel and the opposition on the chase down - who was going to win the race? Close to the dead ball line, Davey gets there first, securing herself a hatrick with Lewis (Sian) converting, putting the G's firmly ahead.

A few minutes later, Lewis (Sian) again plays a smart move with a quick tap and go, with the opposition failing to get back 10, allowing her to weave under the posts for another G's try. Such great positioning allowed for an easy conversion.

Still a woman down and energy levels starting to deplet, the opposition fought hard to get points on the board. Exploiting the wing, they found space and managed to sprint half the pitch with some commendable footwork to score a try in the closing minutes. This was unconverted and left the final score at 5-33, a brilliant performance from the ladies!

Big welldone to FOTM Vicky Teasdale, BOTM Ruby Wallis and POTM Elodie Davey. Merry Christmas from all of East Grinstead Ladies.

Massive thanks to Ben for these great pics: Match pics