The Wold Women face league leaders

Hackney are top of our League, have a squad of 48 and run two teams, so it was always going to be a challenge. But to play them away, after a 2+ hour journey and with only 13 players of which 4 were playing only their 3rd game of rugby, it was somewhat tougher than expected!

Hackney graciously agreed to play 13 aside, each team dropping a backrow and a winger. Despite all the odds against us which now included an 8 deep bench, the girls were upbeat and up for it.

Our gameplan was unsurprisingly defensive and was based on line speed which had dominated the past few training sessions. So collective confidence was boosted when we had repelled their best efforts during the first quarter forcing at least four fumbles but also that the resulting scrums were comfortably won.

Hackney were initially phased by our defence but regrouped and - just after one of our brilliant newbies went off with an injury and we were down to just 12 - inevitably they scored the first of their tries.

Anyone seeing the eventual scoreline would be forgiven for assuming that our defence collapsed and they ran riot. On the contrary, Hackney had to fight for every try and their scoreline was helped by a 70% conversion success rate - which is unusual in women's rugby.

Rarely did Hackney breakthrough during the first four or five phases due to both our line speed and the big hits, but with one less player gaps inevitably opened up and as they continually had fresh legs they were able to exploit these gaps.

There is not a single Southwold player who didn't put in a 100% shift, so to highlight individual performances is unfair. However, Masha made at least a dozen huge hits and had some good carries. Annabel made some try-saving tackles as usual but also refused to go off after a nasty knee injury. The pack were solid around the breakdowns making two on one tackles to prevent their stronger players breaking the gain line and even driving back and ripping the ball on occasions. The whole of our backline were all over the park and coordinated our defensive line well but also made the most of any possession we won - unfortunately their efforts were not rewarded with a try.

Despite the scoreline it was actually a very encouraging team performance and one that clearly was enjoyed by all involved.