West Norfolk Ladies make a winning start

West Norfolk Women made a winning return to Eastern Counties League action with an impressive 52-5 triumph at Southwold.Head coach Jane Middleton-Jones was pleased to have a full squad at her disposal as the team took to the field looking to start the club’s centenary season with a bang.Eastern Counties players Rosie Lingham and Eleanor Navrady made multiple impactful runs early on and the latter was rewarded with a try on the five-minute mark with the Southwold defence unable to stop her powering over the line.Last year’s top try scorer, fullback Jade Nicholson neatly converted.A difficult period saw several Southwold injuries in quick succession, with penalty infringements stopping West from being able to replicate their trademark free-flowing rugby.The home side registered an unconverted try on the wing but the restart gave West time to regroup and refocus.West Norfolk’s aggressive forwards put in some huge hits and recycled the ball quickly, not giving Southwold the time to defend. Within 60 seconds West were again on the Southwold line and at the breakdown, the sniping scrum-half Tiff Turner spotted a gap and dived over for West’s second try. With West stepping up a gear, an intense period of attacking play from the team saw breakaway runs only just stopped short by Southwold’s gutsy defence and the odd self-inflicted handling error.The home team could only hold out for so long before visiting winger Megan Burroughs took the ball on her own at the West 22-yard line, accelerating past Southwold and running the length of the pitch to score under the posts, which Nicholson converted to give West a 15-9 lead at the interval.After the break, the forwards dominated the set-pieces with Rosie Lingham winning scrums against the head and stealing balls at the Southwold line-out. Fly-half Georgie Lingham ramped up the tempo once more and the West backs were now having fun with some expansive play.The centre partnership of Sarah Hodgson and captain EJ Watson moved the ball fluidly out to the wings, resulting in Burroughs and OJ Middleton-Jones making strong runs to set up Georgie for another West try. It continued to be one-way traffic with the visitors unrelenting in attack.In the space of just five minutes, there were tries for EJ Watson and two more for Georgie, all converted by Nicholson. Bew player Lucy Cundell brought some big hits and power to the back line, working well with her new colleagues.In the final five minutes, Hodgson took a pop pass from Georgie Lingham on the halfway line and went on a mazy run to tap down West’s final try with Nicholson adding the extras.Coach Jane Middleton-Jones said: “First games can be challenging, but we’re delighted with the way they played today; you can tell that we trained all through the off-season.”The brief was simple – never take the foot off the gas – no matter what the score – and everyone kept the intensity up for the full 80 minutes. “It is a great way to kick off our centenary season.”Forward of the Match: Eleanor Navrady (Sponsored by A J Milnes).Back of the Match: Tiff Turner.On Sunday, West Norfolk women host Diss at Gatehouse Lane (2pm) and all support is welcomed.