On a bitterly cold November afternoon, the Women’s First Team Rugby took on a formidable looking Nottingham side. Birmingham’s confidence is untouchable at the moment as they remain unbeaten so far this season and sit pretty at the top of the table. Immediately from the first whistle, Birmingham’s utter self-belief was apparent for all to see as they turned-over the Nottingham side multiple times in the opening phases of the game.
The harsh weather conditions invariably led to a lot of unforced errors, with both teams struggling unable to sustain any from of pressure. With conditions effectively limiting the effectiveness of the back, both sets off forwards were tasked with relentlessly battering each other, hoping to find a gap they could exploit.
This break came halfway through the first half when Birmingham’s powerful inside centre broke through the resilient Nottingham defence on the forty-metre line before turning on the afterburners and finishing in the corner. This temporarily shocked the Nottingham defence who conceded three more soft tries before the half time whistle, two of which came from Birmingham’s inside centre to complete her well-deserved hat-trick.
The second-half played out very differently with Nottingham having the lion’s share of possession. Birmingham’s defence were put under huge pressure throughout the entire second-half but through excellent organisation and sheer will they managed to prevent Nottingham from getting over the try-line. Nottingham did manage a try in the dying embers of the game, which failed to be converted, but this was far too little too late and the game finished 24-5 to Birmingham.
Birmingham were made to work hard for this victory but in the end their clinical attack and uncompromising defence gave them a great platform to go on to win the game. The final score finished at 24-5 to the mighty Brum who retain their unofficial title as the team to beat at the early stage of this season.
1XV UoBirmingham Womens Rugby vs Nottingham 1XV by Burnfm_Sport on Mixcloud
Sam Bernard
