Vale Ladies soon took control, and it was in the power of the forwards where their initial dominance lay. Excellent work from Wilkinson, Aiken and Kenny whose driving runs soon started to show gaps in the visitor’s defence. As the ball moved into the tight ruck & maul area the reincarnation of the Vale’s 2nd rows Clarke and Holden made sure ball retention was maintained and recycled. Jackson with her new found pace bursting onto several well presented passes.

The Vale hooker Evans who will be turning out for the England Development side this week used her strength and speed to score 3 superb tries with the Vale’s top scorer Plunkett not to be outdone adding another 2 tries and 4 conversions to her season’s tally.

Linking well were halfbacks Walker and Royal who released winger Grimbley for 2 tries down the right flank and the powerful Procter running some good angles for another brace.

As the Vale looked to be coasting Altrincham proved they were not to be underestimated and after a period of sustained offence their talented No. 10 crossed for a well deserved try.

This seemed to have the desired effect and the Vale began to recapture their initial form by going back to rugby basics and rebuildingan attacking platform.

The introduction at half time of player of the day Hughes was to prove essential in keeping the offensive momentum and several barnstorming runs proved that Hughes’ fitness regime is starting to pay off as she was rewarded with a try.

Aiken and Kenny finished the Vale’s scoring and ensured Vale maintain their place at the top of the league.

Vale Ladies (Tries & Conversions in brackets): Jackson, Evans (3xT), Weekes, Clarke, Aiken (1xT), Hughes (1xT), Wilkinson, Kenny (1xT), Walker, Royal, Grimbleby (2xT), Procter (2xT), Arrowsmith, Cumpstey, Plunkett(2xT & 4xC), Holden, Redhead.

The Vale forwards soon found their stride playing into a strong wind with player of the day Kath Jackson providing the opposition defence with major problems. Backed up by Evans, Hughes and Clarke the Vale created a solid platform of possesion for the opening stages of the game.

Whilst the Waterloo defence held for 30 minutes the continued pressure eventually paid dividends for the Vale side. Wilkinson working tirelessly all afternoon moved the ball to Deena Aiken who battled her way over for the first try. The Vale went into half time 7 nil up but now had the wind behind them.

The Vale who controlled the territory and possesion again struggled to capitalise as the game slowly started to degenerate with numerous stoppages. However eventually the Vale outflanked Waterloo on the right with Procter going over for a well taken try, Plunkett again successful with the conversion.

The Vale’s last try came from a penalty try awarded to Kenny after persistant infringements by the opposition, sheer dominance in the scrum resulting in a pushover try.

Waterloo came alive in the final 10 minutes, however excellent cover tackling from Arrowsmith and Plunkett ensured the Vale’s try line remained illusive to the visitors. Whilst the scoreline didn’t reflect the overall dominance, the Vale side cemented their position at the top of the league against the only other side that was until then, unbeaten this season.

Vale Ladies train every Thursday at Vale of Lune, Powderhouse Lane. Training starts at 7.15 p.m. and new players are always welcome to join this sucessful side. 

Vale Ladies (Tries & Conversions in brackets): Jackson, Evans, Weekes, Clarke, Aiken (1xT), Hughes, Wilkinson, Kenny (1xT), Walker, Royal, Grimbleby, Procter (1xT), Arrowsmith, Cumpstey, Plunkett(3xC), Bolton, Holden.

What unravelled was a systematic dismantling of the Loughborough side in what was one of the Vale’s finest performances.

The forwards were tireless at the ruck & maul, winning large percentages of loose ball, Robbo, Wilkinson and Aiken being at the heart of this.

Behind the scrum the Vale backs produced a fantastic display of ball handling, resulting in a 9 try haul for the 3/4’s. The Vales’ captain Plunket crowned an exceptional display with 4 tries and 6 conversions for a personal tally of 32 points. Other backs on the score sheet were Wlaker 2, Redmond 1, Redhead 1 and Royal 1, with a rounded performance at scrumhalf by Tidswell who proved a constant threat in attack & defence.

However the catalyst for this was the dominant Vale forwards, props Weekes and Jackson giving a solid scrumaging platform and Evans, Clarke and Richie proving too strong in the mauls.

Kenny, Wilkinson and Aiken made countless runs into the Loughborough defence to allow quick ball for the Vale backs.

Whenever Loughborough had possession the Vale’s eager defence was quick to tackle; emphasised by Wlaker’s fantastic tap tackle to save a certain try and help keep a clean sheet for the second game running.

Such was the standard of the game, naming a player of the day was an exceptionally difficult task, however Plunkett took the honours for the backs with her 32 point haul and Wilkinson for the forwards for her sheer determination and work rate.

The whole team performance was of such a phenominal standard that each member should take great pride and credit for the part they played.

Vale Ladies (Tries & Conversions in brackets): Jackson, Evans(1xT), Weekes, Clarke, Aiken, Wilkinson, Robinson(1xT), Kenny, Walker(2xT), Royal(1xT), Redhead(1xT), Redmond(1xT), Arrowsmith, Grimbleby, Plunkett(4xT,6xC), Hughes, Cumpstey, Tidswell.

At the forefront of this were the Vale’s props, Sarah Weekes & Nick Clarke, despite there lack of playing experience at the position they did a fantastic job of holding the scrum steady all afternoon. A new centre partnership of Robbo and Aimee Proctor produced a four try haul and helped defensively to keep the oppositions scoreline at nil.

Leanna Plunket running hard at 15 crossed the line for two well taken tries also adding 6 conversions to maintain the Vale’s scoring momentum.

In the Vale’s engine room, Sally Wilkinson, Jenny Evans and new girl Deena made sure Vale’s ball retention was of the highest order as well as gaining extra possession from countless turnover ball.

Julie Walker having her usual classy performance at scrumhalf made sure new recruit Kaz, made a successful debut at 10which she rounded off with a great try. Another welcoming sight was the return of Richie who made some telling runs, backed up with some big tackles ably supported by Lol Kenny.

The side showed great determination to play controlled, mistake free rugby with touches of class that prove how much the team has to offer this season.