WATERLOO  15   VALE LADIES  29
RFUW CHAMPIONSHIP NORTH 1

Sunday's game saw the Vale Ladies travel to face Waterloo for their first real test of the season. Vale started well and after five minutes, fly half Julie Clegg took a short pass from Emma Bolton, opened up the Waterloo defence and skipped over under the posts and added the extras.

 Vale continued to dominate and they did not have long to wait until they were over the whitewash again. A powerful run by Kat Evans broke the defence and Leanna Plunkett was on hand to finish the move, Clegg adding the conversion to make it 14-0. Waterloo came back strongly but try saving tackles from Sally Wilkinson and Leanna Plunkett kept Vale from conceding until ten minutes from the break when Waterloo hit back with a try from a Vale line out. Plunkett went close in the dying seconds of the half but with no further scores Vale led 14-5 at the break.

The second half started much as the first, Kara Nwidowbie-Sharp gathering the ball 10 metres out to finish in the corner for a good solo try. Waterloo then turned a prolonged period into a try making it 19-10 but with twenty minutes to go Vale turned up the gas and following a disallowed try for Leanna Plunkett, the resulting scrum led to Rachel Thomas driving over in the corner. At 24-10 the game looked to be in the bag but Waterloo scored in the corner after what seemed a series of forward passes. Another disallowed try, this time for Lol Kenny was followed by a try in the dying minutes for Zoe Bayne. The game ended 29-15 in favour of the Vale - a deserved victory over their closest rivals in the League and a good platform to build on for the challenges ahead.

VALE OF LUNE LADIES.  Izzy Howard, Kat Evans, Kathryn Jackson, Lucy Holden, Nicola Clarke, Jen Evans, Sally Wilkinson, Lol Kenny, Julie Walker, Julie Clegg (Capt), Zoe Bayne, Louise Redmond, Emma Bolton, Kara Nwidowbie-Sharpe, Leanna Plunkett, Alisa Bunch, Rachel Thomas, Sarah Weekes, Hannah Cole

Player of the Day - Emma Bolton