Bath Ladies took on Richmond Ladies II in their third game of the season on Sunday 22nd September at Lambridge.
Richmond came away with the first score of the day, awarded a penalty in Bath’s 22 on the six minute mark. Richmond’s scrum half took it quickly to cross for the opening try.
Bath Ladies responded well to the visitors’ early lead, keeping their heads up defensively and showing early signs of dominance at the set piece, stealing a number of lineouts and contesting well in the scrum. Good patience and a sustained period of skilled handling and possession saw Bath Ladies take their first reward after 25 minutes, with Bath centre Kat Southwell crossing for a try in the corner.
Bath continued to put pressure on Richmond in the latter stages of the first half, camping out in the visitors’ 22 for several phases, before a break against the run of play earned Richmond an additional score before half time, bringing the score to 5-17 at the break.
Soon into the second half, Bath fly-half Del Tupuhi made a fantastic break from within her own half, carrying the ball deep into Richmond’s 22 before offloading to centre Kat Southwell who took a well-deserved second try for Bath Ladies.
The game remained a close-fought competition until the final 20 minutes, with Bath still contesting well, the forwards working hard at the breakdown to secure a number of turnovers and provide a good attacking platform from quick ball.
However, following the 60 minute mark, Richmond finished the stronger side, scoring two tries in quick succession, adding another in the final minutes and a penalty kick to bring the final score to 10-39.
Bath Ladies Captain Jane Youdan praised a tireless effort from the Bath side, adding that the team had learned lessons from the opening games and will keep building towards the next match on 6th October, when the team will face Trojans Ladies away.
