The Senior Beasts paid the ultimate price for a lacklustre first half display as a resurgent Old Brods exacted sweet revenge for a festival defeat just two weeks earlier.
Sandal were largely off the pace for much of a match where little went their way from any direction but there were no excuses from a group of girls who were simply beaten on the day by a better team.

Old Brods led 14-0 at the interval and whilst Sandal did battle back twice to level the scores, they were never in front and the final result was just reward for Old Brods’ impressive ball control and dominance at the ruck.
Sandal even struggled to retain possession at the scrum, an aspect of their game which is usually one of their strengths, and made little impression on the fringes, where their back division looked dull and jaded.
Some early pressure was rewarded with a converted try for Old Brods who were then fortunate to escape when Beth Treasure crashed over on the right only to have her claims for a try ruled out by a marginally forward pass. Sandal’s woes were compounded by the loss of Beth, who injured her shoulder in the act of ‘scoring.’
Accomplished recycling by Old Brods, allied to some half-hearted tackling by their opponents, saw Sandal concede a second converted try before the interval to open up a 14-0 lead.

The switch of Abi Ledger to fly-half following the restart gave Sandal a fresh impetus and after Abi and Chloe had taken them close, the Beasts bounced back with the first of two tries from Megan Slater.
The try owed much to the direction given the team by captain Liv Watson, who gave Sandal the momentum they needed with a storming run down the left flank from a line out to set up the position from which Megan’s sheer determination tool her in for a try between the posts.
Jess Matthew converted and added a far more difficult kick from some distance to the right of the posts after a dazzling handling move involving Abi, Imy Coxon and Ellie Greenaway had put Megan over for her second try.
Old Brods edged back on front with an unconverted try only to be pegged back by a try from Chloe Billington, who took a sweet pass from Jade Banks and held off three tacklers to reach the line.
Jess could not guide the ball through a swirling wind but the miss did not matter as shortly later Old Brods capitalised on possession from a penalty by punishing some half-hearted tackling to score a converted try and clinch their first-ever victory over Sandal.

Liv Watson was named player of the match, Jade Banks was most improved player and Beth Treasure was top tackler.

Sandal Girls Under-18s 19 (Tries: Megan Slater 2, Chloe Billington; Cons: Jess Matthews 2), Old Brods 26

Sandal Girls Under-18s: Liv Watson (c), Alana Bainbridge, Jade Banks, Angel Gunn, Courtney Nettleton, Imy Coxon, Molly Palmer, Naomi Garbutt; Jess Matthews, Tahnee Holmes; Megan Slater, Chloe Billington, Beth Treasure, Maddie Thompson; Abi Ledger; Hannah Dickinson, Ellie Greenaway, Leah Chambers, Becca Rogers, Olivia Shillito.