Chard Ladies 17, Swanage & Wareham 12

ON a wet and muddy pitch, Chard Ladies took on the Swans, and both sides produced a fantastically competitive match that was in the balance until the last move of the game.

Chard suffered an early setback with an injury to prop Sasha White, but close quarter defence by Sarah Kneeshaw, Emma Harris and new scrum-half Emilia Gilbert meant the Swans’ attacks were forced back.

Natalia-Mia Roach, starting at no 10 for the first time at senior level, got the back line moving well.

Kneeshaw, along with returning centre Zoe Winlow, made inroads in the Swans defence, allowing wing Georgia Adams to make strong runs.

The deadlock was broken with the last move of the half, after concerted pressure on the Swans line saw forward of the match Elaine Stainer dive over from close range in the corner.

The second half followed much the same pattern, with both sides tackling ferociously at close quarters.

Another Chard injury saw Liz George go to the right wing and play one of her best games for the club.

Kneeshaw crashed through to bring Chard another score, before heroic defence from Lucy Gosden and captain Jo Tuscott kept Swans at bay.

Finally, after 70 minutes, the Chard line was broken and Kaia Hills Smith scored under the posts, converted by Hannah Raynard.

Chard were under pressure with only a three-point lead, and a lost ball in the Swans’ 22 allowed them to break at pace for Hannah Raynard to score with three minutes to go.

But then the hosts were awarded a penalty in front of the posts and elected to run it, which resulted in Emma Harris charging over the line.

To confirm the victory, the conversion was kicked by Adams to bring a pulsating match to an end.

Not only did both sides battle hard in the mud, but they also raised £218 for #PoundsforPorge.

Final thank you to Simon Jenkins, who refereed as usual perfectly for the conditions.