Kamloops Match Reports by William Shaw: Senior Women Host Bayside and Claim the Win 24-17
The KRC Senior Women versus Bayside was the lone fixture at Exhibition Park this weekend after the Ridge Meadows Men forfeited to the KRC Men in Division 2 action.
Under a sunny blue sky, Aliyah Rodominski kicked off to the awaiting Sharks, who faced immediate Raider pressure. Both squads swapped possession in the early minutes with the Raiders making territory gains through the strong carries of Thea Flundra and Milena Chambers. The Raiders continued to attack on both sides of the field with wingers Rhayna Silversides and Lily Watkinson both getting carries and testing their opposition early in the game. Small errors by the Raiders allowed the visiting Sharks moments to clear their lines and move the play back towards the halfway line.
As the Raiders pushed back in attack, Bayside committed a penalty, Jess Oldenburger kicked the ball into touch inside the Bayside 22m. Thea Flundra found a jumping Keisha Henry (one of many lineouts she won this game) and Mya Giardullo and Charise Overhoff-Coutu got the KRC driving maul moving forward. Just short of the try line and with Baysides flanker on the ground, Referee Chris Assmus blew his whistle and signalled for a penalty try and the visitors #7 was shown a yellow card as the Raiders took a 7-0 lead.
The Raiders continued to play in the Bayside end with strong kicking from fly half Kelsey Meryl and Center Mel Melissa Davies. The strong Raider kick chase caused problems for the Sharks, and Aliyah was fielding any Bayside exit kicks and responding with strong runs and getting the Raiders back into the the Bayside half. Riley Halvorson Keisha Henry and Lindsay Stobbe kept the Raiders moving forward through strong carries and with support from the rest of the Raider forward pack.
As the play progressed down near the KRC bench, scrumhalf Emily Lindsay hit Kelsey and the Raiders backline was on the move. Utilizing the full width of the field, the backs created space before finding Rhayna Silversides on the far sideline. Rhayna beat her opposite number and scored the second try of the game, it went unconverted and KRC took a 12-0 lead. The Raiders had a few more opportunities to score, but unfortunately could not convert these into points.
Part way through the first half the momentum began to shift as Bayside started to build more phase play and then put the Raiders under immense pressure. Caleigh Silversides was busy locking down the 13 channel defensively and Aliyah was making thundering tackles on the few Sharks who managed to break the Raiders defensive line. Jordan Kay, Sara Fast and Carla Twan-Jensen provided fresh legs to the KRC forward pack, and were immediately called on to make tackles and work hard around the breakdown. Callie Harder replaced Mel at 12 and kept the defensive standard high through the Raider mid-field.
The Raiders held up 2 trys and the Sharks knocked one on just before the halftime whistle went. The defensive effort on display from the Raiders was immense, and was needed to keep the score at 12-0 at half.
The Sharks kicked off the 2nd half and Riley Halvorson caught it cleanly and rumbled hard into the Sharks defense. Unfortunately, the next few phases from the Raiders were not enough to shift the momentum and Bayside was able to open the scoring with an unconverted try, 12-5 KRC.
The Raiders continued to show moments of excellent offensive play. Lizzy Gotuaco replaced Emily at scrumhalf and kept the fast and smooth ball delivery continuing. Despite the Raiders offensive efforts, the Sharks were the next to score and closed the gap to 12-10.
The Raider offensive started to click again and as the ball moved wide Caleigh Silversides was able to break down the far wing. Caleigh chipped the ball ahead which Kelsey cleaned up, and with the Raiders pressuring, Thea Flundra crossed over the line and scored for the Raiders, Jess O added the convert and widened the gap 19-10 KRC.
The Raiders offense wasn’t done, the Raiders forwards continued to break the line with hard running and tight support, including KRC Jr, Regan Lenton who made her Senior women’s Div 1 debut off the bench. This allowed the KRC backline to again find space and after beating her opposite player Rhayna outpaced the Sharks fullback and added another score for the Raiders, 24-10 KRC.
The ladies from Bayside were not about to lay down though, and again through sustained pressure and tight play worked their way back into the KRC 22m. The ladies worked hard to hold them out, but the strong carrying Shark forwards broke the KRC line and earned another converted try of their own, 24-17 KRC. Taylor Lawson and Kayla Comeau brought fresh legs to both the KRC backs and forward respectively as the Raiders looked to close out the game. After a period of offensive pressure Bayside infringed at the breakdown and the Raiders kicked into touch. Another infringement at the lineout saw the Raiders scrum be called upon for another big effort. Winning the ball at scrum time, Emily was able to cleanly kick the ball into touch and end the game.
Final score 24-17 KRC.
Forward of the Match – Thea Flundra
Back of the Match – Rhayna Silversides
Hardest Worker – Jess Oldenburger
This was the final league match up between these two sides, and it was a great example of the level of play and skill both of these squads have and the level of competition in the Senior Women’s Division 1 League.
Both KRC squads will be hosting United on April 11th for their final league games of the season. Come down and cheer on the Raiders as they wrap up their season and look forward to playoffs!
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