CLICK HERE FOR 100+ PICTURES OF COOKE LADIES RUGBY V HIGHFIELD LADIES RUGBY SEMI FINAL OF AI CUP
On a sunny Sunday afternoon in Highfield county cork, cooke ladies arrived to
play highfield wrfc in the semi final of the ail cup. With Cooke having suffered
2 defeats to highfield in the league, this was a highly anticipated game & a
chance for cooke to extract revenge 4 these defeats.
Cooke kicked off with the wind behind their backs, chasing down the long kick
they pinned Highfield on the 22. With the 4wards defending well they contained
their counterparts who fought hard to break the gain line. A clearance kick from
Highfield no. 10 was collected well by Cooke’s Laura Stewart, however Highfields
no.14 had strayed offside resulting in a penalty for Cooke. Taking a quick tap &
go penalty Grace Davitt crashed over to record the first score of the game which
was to be unconverted.
After the restart which cooke failed to collect, Highfield applied pressure
through their pack & a try was awarded which they converted, this was 15 minutes
in and at 5-7 both teams knew this was going to be a highly contested match.
Straight from the restart cooke put highfield under pressure. Highfield
worked hard to break the gain line and gain yardage. Cooke’s forwards rallied
well in defence to nip this in the bud. Despite continued pressure from
highfield & running the ball through the 4wards cooke managed to disrupt & gain
possession. Cooke forwards set up a great platform for Grace Davitt to run in a
second try.
At 10-7 it was hotly contested semi-final with at least 20 minutes left in
the first half. Highfield kicked off and upon collecting the ball cooke drove
forward. Highfield defended well against the forward charges of cooke’s pack.
After a few good phases by cooke forwards Laura Nicholl using the wind behind
her back to good advantage relieved the pressure by an impressive kick which she
collected and went on to score Cookes 3rd try resulting in 17-7 @ half time.
Highfield restarted the second half & their aggression broke the gain line
seeing cooke defend gallantly against the sustained pressure. This resulted in a
5m scrum for Highfield which saw them rewarded with a try which was converted &
the score now 17-14.
Cooke kicked off which was gathered by Highfield, they presented a strong
attack to cooke’s defence, however they could not hold off cooke’s forward
pressure resulting in a final try by Laura Nicholl which was converted by Grace
Davitt with the final score 24-14. It was a hotly contested game which resulted
in an excellent match by both teams.
This week sees cooke face UL Boh’s in the final.
Cooke WRFC
Established in 1992 the Cooke Women’s team is one of the longest standing women’s rugby sides in Ireland. They are the only Ulster Women’s team in All Ireland Division One and currently sit mid-way in the league table. They have also secured a spot in the All Ireland Cup semi-final this weekend, to be played in Cork against Highfield WRFC Sunday 12th March.
Cooke WRFC have supported the Carrick 10’s tournament since it introduced the “Lombard Ladies” tournament, and they have been fortunate enough to win four times; although last year saw the competition bring in women’s sides from Wales and England. The Cooke women’s side played a tough final to win narrowly against “The Wooden Spooners”.
Cooke WRFC are sponsored this season by Millars Family Foods a Northern Ireland business, who hope to provide them with the winning recipe this season!
Contact numbers for anyone interested in trying out women’s rugby at Cooke WRFC, Shaws Bridge, Belfast:-
Suzanne 07967584172
Christina 07746451761
