Workington Zebra Finches signed off their RFU North 2 League campaign with a comprehensive 46-14 victory at Ryton Roses, writes John Hastings.
Second place was already guaranteed anyway, but Workington were determined to end on a high and now they can focus on their RFU Community Plate Final next month.
The strong – indeed, biting wind was used to the Finches’ advantage as a virtual extra player and after early domination they broke the deadlock on seven minutes after captain Lottie Cammack created space to go over, however her try was unconverted.
It didn’t take long for Workington to increase their lead and on 16 minutes Nicole Stewart delivered a stirring run before finding Beth Sunderland, who eventually thrust herself over to score followed by Stewart adding the conversion.
Then six minutes later, there was a second unconverted try for Cammack after she was first to snaffle the ball out of the scrum before driving home to finish off.
Ryton finally began to make serious inroads into Finches territory at this point, but they were beaten back by Workington’s unrelenting defence.
Having rode this brief surge, the Finches hit back with two more tries in the last five minutes as first Stewart produced a dazzling run from just inside her own half and topped it off with a try between the posts which she then converted, then right on half-time Juliet Porter darted in to clinically round off a well drilled pass and play movement. Half time was called following the missed conversion.
At 29-0, Workington had made excellent use of that increasing wind but they knew that Ryton would also take full advantage from the start of the Second Half and this was confirmed after only three minutes as the Roses pinned the Finches deep in their own half before Anna Scott found space to bolt clear for an unconverted try.
With the wind now against them, the Finches struggled to make any serious attacks and were soon on the back foot again as Ryton made more probing inroads and on 53 minutes the deficit was further reduced when Becky Morning was first to receive the ball from the scrum before going over to set up an easy conversion for herself.
Workington gradually weathered this late Roses bloom and in time the wind dropped followed by a short burst of rain, which slowed the game down to their advantage before they finally wrestled control of the game 10 minutes from time when the Finches’ first genuine second half attack ended with Millie Woodburn marking her debut season with her maiden try in FInches colours, with the conversion easily added by Stewart.
Six minutes later it was the turn of Rebecca Crawford to christen her maiden Finches season with her first try as she thundered forcefully over the line, however she suffered a severe knock to the ankle when she touched down and had to be escorted from the field in considerable pain – ihopefullyt this will not jeopardise her chances for being in the squad for next month’s Palate Final.
Crawford’s try went unconverted and so did Workington’s last try in stoppage time when Sophie Weir latched on to Juliet Porter’s pass before shrugging off late challenges to go over.
Fiona McKay was given the opportunity to add the conversion in her last league game before retirement, but her fairytale ending was dashed as her kick just pulled wide.
The final whistle brought an end to the league season for both clubs, who will meet again next season.
Special mention must go to Ryton’s Jessica Hawthorne-Kaine, who came on as a second half replacement, two years after suffering a cardiac arrest on the pitch and being resuscitated by CPR and a defibrillator.
When doctors told Jessica that she could never play again, she was determined to prove them wrong and last Sunday did just that – she is a genuine, inspirational example of overcoming the odds.
For Workington, this was another professional all-round performance and now all eyes turn to the Sixways Stadium in Worcester on Saturday 11th May at 11am for their second successive RFU Community Plate Final, when they take on Westcliff Lionesses from Essex.
Like the Finches, Westcliff have had a good season and they narrowly missed promotion themselves from RFU South East 2, so it should be an evenly contested final.
After last season’s Twickenham success, Workington have the taste of victory and an appetite for more silverware as well as the big game experience – they will channel all that as they look to make it two in a row and bring the trophy home again.
