Off the back of a three game winning streak, this Wednesday the Women*s Blues faced a strong Bristol side at Iffley Road.
The game began with skillful play and big hits from both sides. Some excellent flying tackles were made on the touchline as Bristol tried and failed to find space out wide. Despite the huge defensive shift put in by the Blues, Bristol managed to see a few gaps which put them on top. In no way demoralised, the Blues fought back. We gained ground with some dominant carries, pinned Bristol in their 22 and battered their defensive line. In her first game back from injury, it was Michele Szedga who finished it off, grounding the ball under a pile of both Blues and Bristol players. This took the score to 19-5 to Bristol. For the remainder of the half we fought valiantly making tackle after tackle and carry after carry but Bristol’s silky skills left them 33-5 up at half time.Â
The second half commenced. The Blues executed some beautiful plays and defended with aggression but a combination of  injuries and fatigue meant Bristol’s attack put more tries past us. Just as heads were dropping a beacon of light came in the form of our number 5. Tolu Duckworth finally finished off one of her absolutely destructive carries. She ran the ball from the halfway line, mowing down every defender in her path to score her first try in a Blues shirt. Bristol were relentless however we battled right up to the 80th minute making a last attack which led to a held up try to end the game. The final score was 53-10.
A massive congratulations goes to all the debut Blues who stepped up this week!
(Match Report by Sophie Goodman)
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