Women's Report | Sheffield Eagles Women Red 20-6 Salford
17/09/2024
By Barry Wood
Having finished second in the Championship, the Sheffield Eagles Women Red team had earned the right to this home play-off semi-final against Salford Red Devils. With a win apiece in the league this fixture was expected to be a tough contest, and it did not disappoint.
After three long injury stoppages early in the game, the encounter looked set to be full of interruptions. However after those early exchanges the match settled into a sustained rhythm of the sides going set for set. After ten minutes Salford managed to get deep into Eagles territory and attacked to their right. At first Salford seemed to have squandered their overload due to a misjudged pass which brought the ball back inside. However an offload and a pass back out right found Salford winger Kelly unmarked and able to scoot over in the 13th minute and around to improve the angle for the conversion, which Simpson nailed to give Salford a 6-0 lead.
An error in Salford’s set from the kick restart surrendered a scrum to the Eagles, half way into the Salford half. Three plays got the Eagles to 8m out from the posts. Play went right and stand-off Swann executed a neat drop-off to second rower Taylor coming back on the grain, Taylor crossing unopposed 10m to the right of the posts in the 17th minute. Thomas converted to level the scores at 6-6.
Salford then invited the Eagles into their half again after conceding a penalty on half way. The touch kick brought the ball to 25m out on the right then three drives set up things 10m out in front of the posts. This time the ball went left. A superb long cutout pass out left from scrum-half Pommier-Maurussanne found Price running the perfect line to cross unopposed in the 23rd minute 8m in from the left flag. Thomas converted again to give the Eagles a 12-6 lead.
The remainder of the half settled into an unremitting grind with neither side able to fully break down their opponent’s defence in the greasy conditions, not even in the 39th minute when desperate defending saved the day. On reaching the Leigh 40m line the Eagles went wide left, but Salford right winger Kelly intercepted the pass to Thomas. Away went Kelly with her centre Davies in support on the inside. Eagles left winger Price set off in hot pursuit and gained enough on Kelly to force her to pass inside to Davies, who in turn was being chased by Eagles fullback Judd 5m behind. However by this time Eagles stand-off Swann had chased across from the other side of the pitch and got contact on a side-stepping Davies at the Eagles 20m line which impeded her progress by a vital second. That delay enabled Judd to close the gap to 2m with Davies having to re-accelerate. Suddenly Judd realised that with 20m to go to the try line there was enough time and space to run down Davies. Judd shot forward and executed from behind a full on ball and all tackle to ground 10m out, which gained enough time for many of the Eagles to get back on-side. A poor option from Salford on the next play helped even more. The ball then went left where Swann’s body on the line tackle chopped down Salford prop Egan, then on the next play Salford knocked-on for the final action of the half. A major Eagles sigh of relief!
Half-Time: Sheffield Eagles Women 12 – 6 Salford Red Devils
The first ten minutes of the second stanza saw the Eagles struggle to escape their own half, but eventually four robust drives and a penalty got the Eagles to 30m from the Salford line. Rainey’s line break made it to 1m from the line 10m left of the posts. The next play went left and reached the fast catch and pass hands of Taylor who put Tierney over in the 51st minute 10m in from the flag. Thomas was unable to convert, score 16-6.
The match then resumed in much the same vein as before for quite a while, but then the real test of the Eagles began in the 67th minute for the next 10 minutes. Salford had already proved that they weren’t for going away, and Eagles errors and poor luck enabled Salford to lay continuous siege to the Eagles line. However the Eagles were themselves not for giving in, which was epitomised around the 71st minute. Salford spread the ball left, got a 2v1 against winger Clarke, then passed the ball out to left wing Gray. Fortunately Clarke had hedged her bets just enough to the close gap on Gray and make a desperate grab that turned Gray on to her back, whereupon Evans steaming in from afar clamped the ball up off the ground over the line for the try saver.
However Salford possession continued back to the middle. The Eagles conceded successive penalties for high contact to invite more pressure, but eventually Salford granted relief after conceding a seven tackle set from a knock-on. Yet that only brought brief respite. The Eagles last tackle kick went dead and soon Salford were again pressuring the Eagles line, but this time not for long.
A Salford error brought a scrum from which the Eagles advanced up the middle followed by a line break on the right to move 55m up field. A penalty got them to 20m out from the Salford line, from where it became the Eagles turn to lay siege in the final minutes of the game. Three plays on the right got close and condensed the Salford defence. On the fourth play the ball went further inside to prop Arnold who managed to hit and spin a way through tired bodies to drop over 8m to the right of the posts in the 79th minute to make the score 20-6. Although Thomas missed the conversion, it was the final act of the match and a place booked in the Northern Championship Final away against unbeaten in the division Leigh Leopards.
Full-Time: Sheffield Eagles Women 20 – 6 Salford Red Devils
Eagles Tries: Taylor, Price, Tierney, Arnold
Goals: Thomas (2/4)
Salford Tries: Kelly
Goals: Simpson
In conclusion, that was the best Eagles defensive display of the season. Salford were relentless in attack, but apart from the try conceded in the first half, the Eagles line speed, intensity and desperation kept Salford out nullifying several seemingly certain Salford tries.
Again the play of scrum-half Pommier-Maurussanne was hugely influential, which consequently earned the captain’s player of the match. The coaches’ award went to Hailey Swann for her unrelenting fearsome effort and willingness to put her body on the line when it mattered most.
