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ECCLES LADIES Skilful Tries Seal Eccles Victory Eccles Ladies travelled to Sunderland hoping for a repeat performance of their last encounter where Eccles won overwhelmingly. An early Sunderland try, created from the quick recycling from their rucks, seemed to indicate that the result may be very different from the last meeting. However, fantastic defending from Eccles and brilliant attack led to a try from Mikayla, with her running half the length of the pitch. Play continued with the ball in no team’s hands for long, with great defence forcing errors and brilliant attack exploiting any small gap left by the opposing defence. However, the opposition’s forwards slowly made their way closer to the try line overpowering the much smaller Eccles players and going over for another try. The start of the 2nd half seemed to favour Sunderland, with a dropped Eccles ball being picked up and one of their forwards sprinting half a pitch length for a try. It seemed as though the coach trip north may have hindered the Eccles performance. However, Eccles responded quickly with a try of their own, coming from hands out wide from the back of a scrum. An attacking Eccles unit became the story of the 2nd half, with skilled phases of play and well-placed kicks from Mikayla and Sheena ensuring play remained well into the Sunderland half. Another Eccles try followed shortly, again from the back of the scrum, with Mikayla going over for her 3rd try of the day. Eccles continued to make big hits in defence and displayed some amazing leg drive and footwork going forward, especially from Leah, Siobhan and Mollie Y. With tired opposition players very apparent, the last two final Eccles tries were scored in quick succession, both utilising the wide-open spaces left by the opposition defence, sealing a victory for Eccles Ladies. Eccles’ displayed some great rugby skill and intelligence, even if it came later in the game than planned, and this will hopefully boost their confidence going into their next game against Birkenhead Park Ladies. FT: Sunderland Ladies 17 – 25 Eccles Ladies

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