Sandal Warriors were handed a salutary lesson in the need for good preparation as their four-match winning start to National Challenge 2 North (West) was brought to a juddering halt by Chester Divas.

There was no shortage of individual effort or application from the Warriors in the Brooke Firth Memorial Game but some outstanding teamwork by Chester, allied to superior discipline, ultimately won the day.

Teams who train well together usually play well together, and Sandal’s inability to get decent numbers together on Wednesday evenings was clear for all to see.

The well-drilled visitors dominated both territory and possession against opponents who lacked the collective will and unity of purpose needed to prevail.

Sandal also undermined their ambitions with some indisciplined play and twice had players sin-binned for high tackles, allowing Chester to make the most of their numerical advantage on both occasions.

Smart play by Chloe Billington raised early hopes for Sandal when she took the ball from deep and released Ellie Greenaway on a touchline-hugging run down the right only for the winger to lose possession in a crunching tackle by the Chester full-back.

There had been little between the sides in the first quarter but the loss of full-back Abi Ledger for a poorly-timed tackle was soon punished by Chester, who capitalised on pressure close to the Sandal line to open the scoring with an unconverted try,

Sandal, to their credit, produced the perfect response with an opportune score from Billington, who chased down a kick at a scrum by Jess Matthews and took the ball off her opposite number before rounding to the posts for Matthews to convert.

Sloppy defence in centrefield by Sandal quickly undid that good work, however, allowing Chester to race clear for a converted try between the posts to open up a 12-7 interval lead.

Sandal had a let-off early in the second half when Chester plunged over from a ruck close to the line but the referee was unsighted and ruled out the try.

There was no stopping the Cheshire side minutes later, though, when Sandal conceded a string of penalties for repeatedly straying offside to give their rivals the opportunity to grab a third try.

A high tackle by Hannah Watts produced a second yellow card for Sandal, who found themselves under more pressure from determined opponents.

A mistake at their own penalty led to Sandal losing the subsequent scrum and seeing Chester grab a fourth try to secure a well-deserved victory.

Sandal rallied in the closing stages but poor ball retention and basic errors undid any hopes of a meaningful fightback by a team which needs to work a lot harder in training.

There were some notable individual performances, including Angel Gunn and Liv Watson whose industry up front earned her the forward of the match award. Tamsin Lim was named Sandal’s best back with Billington winning the player of the match award.