Sandal Warriors, despite being the newly promoted under dogs, have had a strong run of form and this clash with Yarnbury, who sit second to Sandal in the league fulfilled on its promise to be a well fought game by two very good sides.

The day was a cold and wet one when the whistle blew for Kick off which saw Yarnbury camped on Sandals 22 for the first 15 minutes however despite great defence from Sandal, Yarnbury breached the defence with a try and extras. Sandal galvanised themselves and following a superb break from full back Rachel Silverwood, they applied pressure to Yarnburys defences and were rewarded with a try from Robyn Patterson taking the score to 7-5 to Yarnbury.

Both sides wanted to play more attacking rugby but the conditions simply didn’t suit that style of play. Yarnbury continued their pressure through the centre and a high penalty count from Sandal saw Yarnbury go over again before half time.

The second half saw Yarnbury kick a penalty to keep their scoreboard ticking over however Sandal would not be broken by the Yarnbury forward play. Rachel Silverwood was a constant threat when she joined the attacking back line however Sandals defence was under a lot of pressure from Yarnbury and Yarnbury scored again. Sandal fitness levels and resilience showed with a Line break from Robyn Patterson gifted a hard earned try to Ella Greensmith however it wasn’t enough on the day.

The conditions favoured a strong Yarnbury pack and despite great defence and attacking flair from Sandal, Yarnbury took the spoils.

Sandal Points
Try Scorers – Ella Greensmith and Robyn Patterson
Conversion – Bree Williamson

Coaches Player - Lissy Sampson
Players Player - Scarlett Falloon
Opposition Player - Rachel Silverwood

Report by Justin English