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Millwall Venus XV
Match Report Opposition:
Sutton and Epsom Click here to return to the Match Report Index page. Report written by: Jbo
How can I describe the feeling of fear that gripped my heart as we headed off to the game in weather conditions the Bronte's would have revelled in? Facing the top of the league for the first time this season (the away game having to been cancelled due to a series of misfortunes) myself and team manager were less than excited about the fixture, and wishing we hadn't ate our own weight in meat for supper and breakfast.
Their team arrived and the hope that they may not want to contest evaporated quicker than a pint in the hands of Bob. Several weighty looking girls (and the fact they had subs) sort of ruled this out.
The game began and it was a positive start. It was clear ten minutes into the game and with no score from the opposition that they were expecting a walk over (had they been hearing stories about fatty Venus?). As we settled into yet another scrum (there were many, mainly thanks to a lot of handling errors and playing on the floor from Sutton) their hooker tried to calm them down with “We should be playing our game not theirs”, fair indication they weren't having it all their own way. Mouthiness from their ruckers (in particular their number 8 who strangely doesn't seem to like contact) also showed the oppositions frustration. Their first try, when it came was hard work for them. Their second try, however, could have been avoided if we had learnt the principles of marking a player each and not all congregating behind one tackler when the ball is out by center/wing. No matter, we still had no reason to put our heads down.
In the scrums we did struggle mainly in the first half. The opposition, despite having a distinct weight advantage seemed unhappy that our front row was technically competent. Special mention to my housemates in our “Venus cottage” front row. Rimmer was a star at motivating and controlling the setting of the scrum. Reluctant loose head Rachel was also impressive, causing her opposite number a great deal of problems despite being a third of her size. I would have done better in the first half had their scrum half not been feeding the ball and the hooker not lifting her sturdy leg into my field of vision before the ball was in. All the same the ref did pick up on it in the second half and sternly penalised them for it.
After a long first half we turned round to face the wind. A notable drop in temperature and an increased “wuthering” making the posts wobble worryingly meant a miserable second half was on the cards. Disaster struck when Emma-Louise ran into her own player, Claire Higgins and head butted her. Emma-Louise, lying dazed and confused surprised no-one was attending her. A quick look at the blood gushing from Claire's head told her why. Not only was Claire playing key position fly half, but she was doing a great job at flying up and hitting the opposition and then getting round to cover the wide tackles. Captain Emma-Louise, setting a fine (but possibly crazy) example to the team by playing on kept things going magnificently. Not even remotely looking like losing her temper and remaining upbeat at all times, even when we went down to 11 players due to two more injuries. She had some great help from the queen of optimism, Andrea. Chasing every breakaway Andrea was rewarded with the chance to put in a fine tackle on what would certainly have been a try. The ball carrier certainly took her time to get up after that one.
Fitness again was an issue but not nearly so much as it had been at the start of the season. It would have been better had the pack had managed to get out to the backs quicker to stop the line being drawn in but otherwise the team play was excellent and a noticeable improvement. Louise, moving to flanker had a more confident game and seems more comfortable in the pack. Toni, despite her own comment that she's too slow to be a flanker did an excellent job coming off the scrum and hitting the opposition, not to mention receiving in attack and moving the ball around competently. Again Rachel and Jo were the main tacklers, both of them putting in some great hits against the big girls. We are curious to see how a fight between these two pint sized bruisers would go, but perhaps that's something for pay per view playboy channel.
It's nice for once to be able to say that we played a decent side that didn't feel it necessary to resort to bullying and victimising to win. Despite the odd skirmish both sides kept their discipline and played to the ref, so a thank you and well done certainly due to Sutton and Epsom who look likely to go up a league. It was also a pleasure to be able to finally contest a scrum too.
All in all, we would have liked to have seen a score line more in the forties but against the top of the table 50-0 is something we have nothing to be ashamed about.
We'd like to thank the supporters, turning up on a disgusting day (many with accompanying hangovers) and staying for the duration. Very much appreciated.
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