Hull Ionians Women vs Harrogate Ladies Match Report

Hull Ionians have done it for a 6th time this season, securing both a win against Harrogate Ladies 2nds and their place at the top of the table.

In a shocking turn of events, acting Captain Soph Wardman won the coin toss for the FIRST time this season. (If anyone is looking for a guaranteed win in a game of heads or tails, Captain Kat’s your gal)
The mighty Ionians chose to receive and set up for what was set to be an absolute
bloodbath… mud bath* (sorry, autocorrect)

The whistle sounded and off they went, with Whittaker (5) scooping up the ball and taking it straight into contact, signalling the start of a game more physical than a Joe Wicks PE lesson.

Less than 2 minutes in, an injury to a Harrogate player resulted a pause in play, giving Ionians time to regroup and plan to dominate the restarting scrum.
These hopes were dashed quicker than the shake of a lambs tail, as the ref kindly informed the pack Harrogate would be going uncontested due to an inexperienced front row, spelling a missed opportunity for Ionians to show off their freshly polished scrummaging skills.

Despite the lack of contested scrums, the Hull Ionians Women proceeded to dominate with a series of ferocious carries, keeping the majority of the possession inside the first 10 minutes.

After a turnover in Harrogate’s 22 and quick thinking on their behalf, Harrogate, then in possession, were able to storm it up the pitch before a corker of a try-saving tackle from Lusby (? marked Harrogate’s second injury of the game.

Backing up to halfway, Ionians started by chucking Hall (6) up in the lineout before quickly losing possession to Harrogate, resulting in their left wing sniping it across the line for a try. After failing to convert, the score was 5-0 to Harrogate going into the 25th minute.

Ionians bounced back fast with a series of back to back phases just metres from the Harrogate try line.
After what seemed like a lifetime camping out in Harrogate’s 22, Fisk (15) broke the line to add Ionians to the scoreboard. A missed conversion from Shutler (9) due to kicking against the wind brought the score to 5-5 going into half time.

After quick team talk, rehydration and enough haribo to leave a small child bouncing off the ceiling, the second half was underway.
Ionians immediately took possession before forfeiting the ball to a knock-on.

Two Harrogate scrums in quick succession saw Harrogate in possession whilst Ionians showed them exactly what their defence was made of.
Kay Lusby to be exact.
A strong defensive effort from the whole team meant Ionians were able to force the mistake and turnover possession. A penalty kick from Shutler (9) meant an Ionians line out, shifting play, back into Harrogate own 22.

It’s fair to say Ionians engines were well and truly firing on all cylinders by now, and after a solid 4 minutes of hard work from both sides, Lusby (? drove over the line to bring Ionians try total to 2. An unfortunate missed conversion by Shutler (9) left the score at 10-5.

From the restart, Ionians continued to dominate their way up the pitch and an unfortunate penalty to Harrogate resulted in Ionians with a scrum in Harrogate’s 22.
This provided the perfect opportunity for Ionians to use their forward momentum, resulting in a try for McKinlay (20) and a conversion by Shutler (9) brought the score to 17-5.

With the score-line quickly running away from them, Harrogate countered with some quick thinking and good runs, resulting in them breaking into the Ionians 22 before a pause in play for Harrogate third injury of the game.

An impressive mid-air steal from Lusby (? got Ionians back on the front foot, ploughing their way through Harrogate players with a series of impressive runs and offloads by the entire team. A final outside pass to Irvin (7) allowed her to dive over the line for Ionians 4th try of the game. A missed conversion put the score at 22-5 at the final whistle.

A huge effort from all the Hull Ionians Women to secure their 6th victory in 7 matches.

Congratulations to our forward of the match Kay Lusby (? back of the match Katy McConville (23) and oppositions player Philly Irvin (7)
A massive well done to Emma Hall on her first-ever game.

Catch the Hull Ionians Women at Brantingham Park at 2pm Sunday 19th December against Wetherby Women
(We’ll tell the bar to stock up on orange juice for anyone nursing Hull derby hangovers)