Three hundred and seventy-six days after their moment in the sun of Twickenham, Workington Zebra Finches wrote yet another glorious chapter in their history as they became the first club to retain the RFU Community Plate with a handsome 22-10 victory against Westcliff Lionesses in the sunshine at Worcester, writes John Hastings.
The green, green grass of Twickenham may have given way to the smooth astroturf of the Sixways Stadium, but this did not faze the Finches as they proceeded to swamp their opponents’ half straight from kick off with consistent attacking surges.
Only doughty tackling from Westcliff’s backline prevented first Megan Donald, then Lottie Cammack from opening Workington’s account.
But suddenly on 15 minutes, Workington suffered an unexpected shock when stand off Nicole Stewart was unlucky to be sent off after a shoulder charge.
Some referees would have given a stern reprimand followed by a yellow card and 10 minutes rest – but the referee made no allowances and pulled out a red card that shocked Workington’s players and fans. Nicole was on the brink of tears as she ran off the pitch.
Other teams would have reacted to this setback by at best applying containment or at worst simply buckling under – but the Finches have added a shield of resilience in recent seasons and every player stepped up to give that extra 20% in order to compensate for their absent colleague.
Their attacks continued and on 25 minutes, Westcliff’s defensive chain was finally shattered when Beth Adams offloaded to Lottie Cammack, who crashed over to mark her 100th Workington appearance with try number 65.
In the enforced absence of Stewart, it was Megan Donald who assumed kicking duties and she delivered nerveless, clinical accuracy with her conversion that made it 7 – 0 to the Finches.
Having soaked up the lengthy spell of pressure and despite scoring that try, Westcliff began to create their own inroads into Workington territory, especially from captain Sophie Scanlon, her centre partner Charlotte Grant and full back Yaz Underwood.
This caused the Finches cause for concern and they had a narrow escape on 34 minutes when only a last-second tackle by Juliet Porter denied the Essex ladies their opening score.
But Westcliff were not to be denied and two minutes later, Underdown and Scanlon combined to catch Workington on the break again and send nippy winger Naomi Condon off on her way to sprint home into the corner for a well-crafted try, albeit unconverted.
With only a few minutes left, Workington focused on closing out the first half and protect their slender lead, which they managed to do by shutting down even the slightest hint of a Westcliff advance.
The second half began brightly for the Finches as they launched more attacks in their opponents’ half and on 48 minutes, the ever-efficient Lauren Coulson broke clear only to be brought down short of the tryline, but she spotted Beth Sunderland who quickly took the ball and crashed in the corner for an unconverted try.
Six minutes later, the lead was increased when Beth Adams took a quick tap and go before delivering the coup-de-grace by barnstorming into the corner for a well-taken try that, although unconverted again, increased Workington’s lead to 17-5.
Westcliff hadn’t travelled 182 miles just to capitulate and after weathering further Workington pressure, they gradually regained advantage as Scanlon and Underdown again led from the front with their pacy surges and fine passing.
This would stretch the Finches’ rearguard and they finally snapped on 74 minutes when Heidi Els exploited open space to scissor her way through for the Lionesses second try that, once again, went unconverted.
With the score now 17-10 it was high stakes for both sides as Workington strived for the killer try and Westcliff looked to send the game into extra time – clearly it was a case of who blinked first.
In the end it was Workington who hit the jackpot and sealed the deal with three minutes to go when Megan Donald broke down the right to leave her opponents grabbing thin air as she breezed home for her 16th try of the season – the missed conversion being academic.
On the final whistle, tears of joy flowed for Lottie Cammack and her fellow history makers as Workington became the first club to win the Community Plate twice in succession – and without the need for extra time this year.
Each and every Finches player fully deserved their winner’s medal and that Plate is going to look splendid beside the replica for last year in Workington’s trophy cabinet.
It is well worth mentioning the ever-vociferous Finches crowd, who outnumbered the Lionesses fans by at least three to one. They were in song virtually from kick off and special mention goes to reserves Jen Morton and Sally Fenwick for their impeccable conducting at various intervals.
After the match, Lottie Cammack paid tribute to Westcliff for their tireless determination and in turn Sophie Scanlon praised Workington for their unbowed efficiency.
Lottie then emotionally announced that she was stepping down as captain after seven years, although she will continue as a player and she was rewarded with a special cap to honour her 100th appearance as was fellow centurion Danielle Easdon, who along with Cammack and Beth Adams formed a back row trinity that was on form in both scrummaging and open play during the final.
However, two Workington players are retiring – Fiona McKay, who won her 76th and last cap as a replacement, while Marie Shearman also hangs up her boots after 94 caps and being part of the Class of Twickenham last year. Both will be missed, but their status as Finches legends is guaranteed.
The victory was dedicated to players who were most unlucky to miss out due to long-term injuries, including Laura Southam, Rachael Cairns and Amy Cammack to name but three – but they were in full vocal support during the game.
Workington’s magnificent victory will – above all – inspire many more local young girls to take up rugby and aspire to follow in these legendary Finches’ footsteps.
And finally, after just missing out this time round, they will surely by favourites for the RFU League 2 North title as well as another shot at the Community Plate and Cumbria Cup – their appetite for silverware just got more ravenous.
Last year, Workington Zebra Finches became rugby queens – this year, they will be justifiably hailed as empresses of Rugby.
