Cooke Women played their second round of the Rosie Stewart Cup on Sunday against local rivals Harlequins.
Cooke Women have shown what hard work and the right motivation can do, securing a 68-0 win over Belfast Harlequins. The Christmas break has really allowed the team to re-group and after their win at the weekend has allowed them to re-establish themselves as the number one team in Belfast after beating their closest rivals.
Playing their largest rivals, Cooke knew they had to bring their A game. With the wind against their backs that is exactly what Cooke did. Cooke gained possession from the kick off allowing them to start the game with some great attacking play. Cooke’s backs attacked well but the defensive line of Harlequins proved hard to break. Some great rucks ensured Cooke secured the ball, with an overlap Cooke’s fullback Teah Maguire secured Cooke’s first try of the match. Lizzie Ballentine brought the score line to 7-0.
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Harlequins had some great attacking play but the Cooke defence proved to strong and kept Harlequins out of their 22. The Cooke forwards continued to secure the ball drawing in the Harlequins players allowing them to get the ball through to their backs. Cooke pulled of some amazing hand work between both forwards and backs. Showing that their training has really allowed them to come together as a team. Great attacking and defensive play during the first half allowed Cooke to secure their second bonus point of the Cup, with 40 minutes still to play. Score at half time: – 35-0
After the half time talk Harlequins seemed to have regrouped and where able to retain the ball from the Cooke kick off. Some great catching and attacking play from Harlequins meant Cooke had to up their defence. Some great tackles where put in to prevent Harlequins from putting points on the score board. Cooke came into their own , showing that they were the more experienced team. They secured another five tries in the second half nearly all coming from great hands and pitch awareness. Lizzie Ballentine stepped up to the mark on the kicking front, bringing the final score 68-0.
Cooke are looking forward to their third round of the Rosie Stewart Cup against Queens. From the previous results the match looks set to be a very competitive one with both teams having not lost a match yet.
TRY SCORERS
1 – Teah Maguire
5 – Eliza Downey
2 – Nikita Armstrong
1 – Lizzie Ballentine
1 – Penalty Try
18 points – Lizzie Ballentine
