Bath Ladies played Cheltenham Ladies away on 20th October in the latest round of the Championship South 1.
Cheltenham took the first score, pushing the ball wide to the wing in the first five minutes to cross in in the corner for the opening try, which was unconverted.
Bath Ladies responded well, learning from the early lapse in defence and keeping the ball to hand. The visiting side repeatedly made ground into Cheltenham’s half with strong drives from the forwards and good link play in the backs, marshalled by fly half Del Tupuhi.
Inside centre Sarah Holloway’s kicks pinned Cheltenham back and good chases from Bath kept the home side under pressure.
Bath saw their first reward at 20 minutes, when scrum half Jane Youdan took a quick penalty just outside Cheltenham’s 22 and put it through the hands to prop Caryl Thomas who beat three Cheltenham defenders to score under the posts. Sarah Holloway converted to give the visitors a 5-7 lead.
The scrum was well contested throughout the first half, with Bath earning a number of penalties from the set piece, while good work at the breakdown secured the visiting side a number of turnovers. The game hung in the balance at half time, with the score at 5-7.
Shortly following the break, Bath were penalised for not rolling away at the breakdown and Cheltenham converted to bring the score to 8-7. Bath continued to compete strongly, although another penalty soon made the score 11-7. Following the 60 minute mark, Cheltenham finished the stronger side, adding a further two tries which brought the final score to 23-7.
Forward of the match went to Caryl Thomas and Back of the match went to Aimee Young for her great effort in her first match returning from injury.
Both captains praised a hard fought match, while Bath Ladies captain Jane Youdan explained that the Bath side will continue to build on their performance and prepare for the team’s next game, when they will face Bristol Ladies II at Lambridge on Sunday 27th October.