Turriff RFC Ladies compete in Moray round of Aspiring League
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Turriff RFC Ladies were on form in their Aspiring League fixtures hosted by Moray Rugby Club, writes Daniel Chisholm.
With the sun shining and six of the Turriff players raring to go they were paired up with the Moray/Huntly ladies to form a team competing in 10s styled rugby.
Game one saw them face a mixed team of Stornoway, Ross and Sutherland and Skye, who formed a well drilled and determined opposition.
The opposition got on the scoreboard first with a well worked move out to the backs exploiting space on the wing and going over to open the score.
Soon after, however, Lila Fowlie found herself running hard into the tackle, taking in three defenders and offloading to the speedy Isla Jack who charged over to even the score.
Some good plays and great defence from the Turriff side saw Isla Jack again picking and going round the edge of the ruck and running home from 40 metres out.
The opposition got a well worked try off the back of a scrum to even the scores once again.
Half-time changes and a team talk saw a new mentality on the field with Danii Douglas powering through defenders gaining hard fought yards, the ball going out wide with Bella Hester set ready to pounce down the line but very good pressure from the opposition kept the Turriff team at bay.
Big tackles going in from Turriff players Lila Fowlie and Ashley Milne opened the door for Bobbie Jack to do what she does best and steal the ball.
Right on the final whistle after some hard hard yards Bobbie Jack saw herself diving over the line as the whistle went to win the first game
Game two saw the Turriff squad take on Highland, Mackie and Garioch in what was to be a very physical 20 minutes.
From the kick-off Isla Jack caught the ball and with some fancy footwork danced her way through the centre of the park and ran in for the first try of the game.
With Douglas and Fowlie working the pods well and gaining yards, a quick ball from them saw the Turriff side get over again.
With the attacking line firing well and both forwards and backs combining superbly, the Turriff team got another try.
It was the turn of the Turriff players to score again with more determined carrying and pod work from all – eventually the ball found Bella Hester's hands who got the ball over but was denied by double movement.
With play going the other direction Isla Jack yet again saw a gap in the line, broke through the centre and galloped in another 60m try.
The opposition ever determined and gaining yards through short crashes eventually broke through with a powerful run.
On the restart though, well worked phases and hands saw the Turriff side just shy of the 22 and a look up from Isla Jack saw her go around the breakdown again and run it in.
The opposition were last to put points down with a ball going out wide after some hard tackles the centre from Bobbie Jack and Milne.
The teams then mixed again to form two full teams for a game of 15s. This was an incredibly tight game, in which the opposition came out on top 0-5 after a quick turnover and speedy run up the touch line and under the posts.
Overall it was a great day for Turriff RFC Ladies, who are already looking forward to the next round hosted by Mackie on Sunday, November 27.
