A year on from their historic day at Twickenham, Workington Zebra Finches are just 80 minutes from retaining the RFU Community Plate, writes John Hastings.
The Zebra Finches take on Westcliff Lionesses at Sixways Stadium in Worcester this Saturday (kick-off 11am).
Apart from the unfortunate Laura Southam, injured since January, the Finches squad has a clean bill of health and travel to Worcester confident and focused on defending their silverware, won dramatically in extra time last May against Avonmouth Claires at Rugby Union’s HQ.
Workington come into the final on a high after an impressive season in RFU North League 2, which saw them finish runners-up behind unbeaten Champions Keswick Falcons and it is to their credit that Keswick praised Workington as the team that pushed them very hard, both home and away.
The Finches’ Community Plate journey has been stop-start, with two walkovers due to opponents being unable to raise a team and two victories on the pitch – 53-15 at Durham City Dragons in Round 2 and an 82-0 whitewash against a depleted Amber Valley Tigers, but both victories were carried out objectively all the same.
On paper, Westcliff Lionesses from Essex appear to be cut from similar cloth to Workington, as they too finished second in League 2 of their regional league and also only played two Community Plate ties, including a close 17-12 success at Hackney in the quarter final.
However, Finches captain Lottie Cammack along with coaches Chris Davidson and Simon Thomson will have done their homework and made carefully crafted plans to counter the Lionesses from kick off.
Despite losing several players through retirement, Workington have grown this season into a squad built with efficiency, resilience and – above all – increased self-belief.
New players have come in, learned quickly and in turn become a fully-fledged part of the squad, with younger players waiting in the wings determined to grab their chance as and when they can.
Flexibility has also been a shining hallmark of the Finches’ season – on several occasions, they have overcome a dreadful injury list to pull off unlikely victories and players have adapted to other positions with effortless ease – and for some, it’s been up to three positions during any given fixture.
Having at last feasted on silverware last May, Workington Zebra Finches are hungrier than ever to not only make it two Plates in a row, but also lay more foundations for more successes and thus create a lasting legacy for women’s Rugby Union in the town.
