Sunday's NC2 home fixture was always going to be a big ask for East Grinstead Ladies! Guernsey who were playing in NC1 last season were two from two and had just beaten Worthing 66-0! However, G's were well up for the challenge!

Guernsey had a very large forward pack and they ran hard and straight, testing G's defence right from the outset, but our ladies never took a backward step. Unfortunately for Gs they lost their wonderful No.8 and pack leader Vicki Pellet early in the game to a serious knee injury. But with our ever adaptable team they pushed on.

With a strong show of support play and explosive physical rugby from Guernsey, G’s needed to show plenty of resilience and strength in defence, keeping Guernsey at bay and unable to score for the first 20 minutes. Guernsey had a penalty awarded after some poor discipline from G's, but luckily the shot at goal fell short keeping the score 0-0.

However, Guernsey were soon rewarded with their first try of the match. A nice simple draw and pass move putting their player through a tight hole. Converted 0-7.

Gs saw themselves with some possession, and ran a nice set piece move of their own, bringing fullback Leah Sullivan into the line,
but sadly just one pass away from releasing wing Comfort Wallis. Most of the game had been played in the middle of the pitch, with Gs back line having a hard job but after a bunch of successful tackles, Guernsey used their beast of a No. 8 to crash over the line making the game 0-14 at half time.

Starting the second half strongly, Gs were on the attack, but again, just a lack of timing saw a couple of opportunities wasted. With a real battle on our hands G’s kept in the game, with possession bouncing from either team and big hits left, right and centre! G’s finally found themselves on the front foot. Unfortunately, a great individual try from Guernseys No.8 followed. She cut through the line bringing the score 0-21.

Soon after, G's had possession and after a great running line from Ash Greenslade in her new position at inside centre, and some strong forward carries getting them close to the try line, G's captain Naomi Lewis, aka Hobbit, put in a dive that Tom Dayley would have been proud of to score in the corner.

G’s now with their backs up, found they had more possession in the last quarter, with a couple of good runs from the back 3 and big carries, they were looking like a second try was in reach but we just weren't able to take our chances.

G’s stayed strong in defence all day and the tackle count resembled more of a cricket score! But the final score remained 5-21 full time!

Special mentions. Angie Hulst who got more minutes this week and showed her strength up front. She is learning more and more with each minute she’s on.

Sian Lewis at scrumhalf also got a lot of messy ball at the breakdown, but she managed to look after the ball well and was one of the G's biggest tacklers on the day.

Lynne Forsythe is another player growing in confidence with each game and again showed she is not afraid to get stuck in on both attack and defence!

New player Lucy Bingle-Williams made some strong carries on the right wing! But Player of the Match goes to Ash Greenslade whose usual position this season has been No.8. Today she played at inside centre and carried the ball strongly with some great running lines off Naomi Lewis at 10. Ash also had the highest tackle count on the pitch, which at a guess was in the high 20’s with a 99.9% success rate (wink wink). What is exciting about her switch to 12 is how good her and G’s speedster, Steph Shackel at 13, looked together. Ash offered strength and power on the inside, while Steph's support lines and genuine pace will be a thing of joy to watch as their combination grows throughout the rest of the season!

Thanks to Guernsey for the challenge and we look forward to facing you again in April.