It’s now five victories in a row for Workington Zebra Finches as they stepped up their promotion charge by overcoming a determined Preston Grasshoppers 33-17 at Lightfoot Green Lane, writes John Hastings.
Captain Juliet Porter registered her 13th try of the season, while Elsa Whelan grabbed her first Finches try for almost two years and her centre partnership with Caitlin Jenkinson was both solid defensively and productive in attack, with Jenkinson helping herself to a try.
Other tries came from Danielle Easdon and Lottie Cammack, with the latter marking her Finches return after a three game absence. All bar one of the tries were converted by Megan Donald.
Kathryn Chestney generated a solid, unflinching and uncompromising lock partnership with Rachael Cairns, with both delivering in both scrums and line outs, while the Finches’ player flexibility once more reaped dividends with Steph Ratcliffe deputising at flanker before moving back to scrum half after 10 minutes when Stacey Carruthers went off injured
Another casualty was Katy Mossop, who produced an efficient performance before coming off badly injured and going to hospital.
Preston deserve full acknowledgement for giving Workington cause for concern at regular periods – especially in the first half – but could find no answers once the Finches stepped up a gear, however they can take pride in their performance.
The result keeps Workington second in RFU League 2 North, five points behind Lancaster Lionesses but with a game in hand as well as a slightly better points difference and now it’s back to the green, green grass of home for the next three weeks as they host Preston Grasshoppers, North Ribblesdale and Yarnbury in swift succession.
