Photos and reports from games will appear here - contributions from supporters and players welcomed. Photos below from recent games

2008/09 Season Reports

Moseley 51 Oxford 5 - 30th November 2008


What a difference a week makes! Fresh from a coaches meeting, a spirited training session and a captains’ speech Moseley Ladies were a force to be reckoned with on Sunday afternoon. Another full squad, with immense experience both on the field and bench, approached the game with renewed levels of energy and commitment.

In a league where the level of the oppositions’ ability can never be sure it took Moseley a good ten minutes to assess what was in front of them. After this initial hesitant start Moseley started to assert their superiority and scored a well taken try in the corner by Candice. This was followed by more controlled and well structured play with good off loading and support play. The linking of the forwards and backs was more in keeping of previous weeks play and ended with several tries being scored by players of both packs.

The first half was not without incident and for the first time two Moseley ladies players saw yellow and were sidelined in the bin for 10mins. The second card saw the awarding of a penalty try for the visitors just before half time which was unconverted. The second half saw more dominance from the Moseley side and try of the match came after a sweet passage of play from Jo, Guinness and Emily who scored under the posts. The scoreline reflects a team who showed more aggression and passion from the previous week and who looked fitter and happier in possession.

Although this was a much improved performance the team must continue to work on focus within the game and learn to exploit the weakness of the opposition. At times the width of the pitch was not used to the full and possible overlaps under used. Moments of the game have to be Becks scoring on her birthday, Lorna hurting herself by tackling a side step ! and Robbo for her ‘it couldn’t be me sir!’ look. Highlights have to be Rachels’ run from the half way line to score, Jo and Guinness’ lines of running and Stephs’ never-ending tackling and support play.

Players of the match ,
Forwards –Steph Warner
Backs – Emily
Try scorers were,
Rebecca Smith 1, Lorna Tibbets 2, Candice Pugh 1, Emily Williams 2, Kirsty Ashworth 1 , Rachel Murray 1, Amy Guinness 1.
Conversions - Katie ‘Pitbull’ Mahon 3.
Thanks go to Derek, Dave, Alex and Nigel for their never ending support and words of wisdom, and to the many supporters who continue to put their faith in the ladies squad.


Moseley 39 Longton 5 - 9th November 2008

If Carlsberg had forecast the weather for this match it would probably have been the wettest forecast they could have predicted! Moseley’s first home game, played thankfully on the first team pitch, was battled out in driving rain and biting wind. Indeed it is credit to the team that despite the conditions the team entered the pitch in a positive and determined manner. This week saw a squad of 25 players available and a stand filled with supporters, also braving the weather! Not to mention those in the club house who were less brave!! This is a continued sign of the strength and depth the ladies team has now established both on the pitch and with their support base.

It was obvious that the game plan was going to have to match the conditions which meant keeping the ball close and kicking short. Robbo’s kick off replicated this where a short kick start saw Longton fumble the ball and Moseley capitalized on this by exerting pressure on their forwards. After a series of recycling, the ball was worked out wide for Candice the Moseley winger. She impressively ran an angled line and off loaded for Captain Rebecca Smith to score her first try of the season. Unfortunately the conversion by Katie ’pitbull’ Mahon fell victim to the weather with the wind taking it wide. This really shaped how the rest of the game was to be played, total Moseley dominance, with Longton failing to get out of their own half. In the first 15minutes Moseley scored another try following a series of off loading and cleverly run angles, a typical Amy Mc Guinness try using a circle ball move with Kirstie. The conversion was again taken wide by the wind.

Longton struggled with their re-start and this gave Moseley a scrum advantage on the half way line. From this more attacks were formed with Moseley ladies continuing to build patterns of play in the Longton half. The pressure put on the opposition saw penalty after penalty being given away and the resulting passage of play and quick hands enabled Candice to score in the corner.

In the last 5 minutes of the first half Victoria Clifford scored in front of the posts following a great run by Amy Guinness and a cleverly timed off load by Ade. This was converted and made the score at half time 17-0

The second half saw a similar pattern with Moseley showing total dominance. With a squad of 25 Moseley had the luxury to make a series of substitutions and so fresh legs arrived on the scene. Moseley capitalized on this and tries were scored by liz Webb, Amy Mc Guinness and a second for Victoria Clifford. Aided by the post the conversion of the second try was successful.

The only real mistake was to give away a series of penalties which resulted in a Longton try following a quickly taken move.

The final score was Moseley 39- 5 Longton .

The team is to be commended for playing in conditions that meant many balls were dropped or knocked on, but this did not deter them from still playing committed rugby. At times slide tackles into puddles were needed with the Moseley fullback showing great technique and execution in this area.

Watching from the stands it was a privilege to see a team playing full 15s competing in contested scrums and playing rugby as visioned by the coaches. Well done girls.

Player of the match – Forwards - Katie ’Pitbull’ Mahon

Backs - Emily Williams
match photos

Buckingham Swans 28-0 Moseley

Moseley ladies were given the hardest match of the last two seasons last weekend as they fielded a team made up of some new players to Moseley and players out of position.

Playing uphill, after a slow start, MWRFC held their defensive line for a good 3-4 minutes only to concede a try and conversion when a Swans winger managed to find some open space and ran through at pace scoring the first try against Moseley in many games. Moseley rallied and held the defensive line for some time before injury forced Captain, Rebecca Smith off (after a dangerous tackle and an injury to the right eye) whilst Buck Swans scored their 2nd try and conversion.

Steph very nearly had to come off with an injury to her shin but bravely walked through the pain and managed to continue throughout the whole match. Some changes in positions led to Katie ‘Pitbull’ Mahon coming onto the front row and Sophie going into the 2nd row with Beth, and Adrienne moving to back row.

First half seemed very bitty with lots of stoppages for scrummaging and penalties. Bucks swans had a very experienced pack and showed their dominance in the scrums on most occasions. They also seemed to get to breakdown situations and appeared very well practiced at dealing with running mauls and rooks.

Second half found Hannah on the front row, replacing Jane Hubble as loose head.
After coaches words at half time, Moseley started the 2nd half with more fire, determination and aggression, however, once again, Bucks managed to make a quick break and run at very quick pace to score under the posts. This was converted to make a running score of 21 – 0.

Moseley put in some good tackles, notably Sarah and Pit, both of whom prevented tries close to the line. There were very few times that Moseley took the attack, notably, Pitbull made a break and gained about 15 metres and, Emily and Candice managed to get quick ball out onto the wing, however both to no avail as the Swans defence was just too good.

Again, many scrums and breaks for penalties found Bucks swans breaking free once more to score their final try and conversion.
Moseley ladies came away with heads down, however, the coaches pointed out that in this higher league it needed to be expected to meet stronger and more experienced opposition. There are many things we can take from this match and work on at training. No one person could be accused of not giving their all in this match and as the opposition pointed out, the score line did not reflect the effort we put in.

Players of the match went to Kirstie Ashworth (backs) who was very strong in her own position but also seemed to be all over the pitch. Also to Steph Warner (forwards) for her sheer determination in defence.
Stuart and Jane Hubble

We are recruiting! Newcomers will be made very welcome and will receive excellent coaching from our experienced team. Training is on Thursday evenings 7-9pm at Billesley. This is a great time to come along and get to know the team – get in touch for more information mwrfc@hotmail.com

Cambridge Select 0 Moseley 24
Moseley Women got their season off to a start on Sunday by continuing their undefeated run that has now lasted for over 12 months.

Moseley travelled to Cambridge to find their university team waiting to play what was also their first game of the season. Despite the women having not played a match since April they made their intentions clear from kick off - strong tackling, forceful rucking, accurate hands and good lines of running gave Moseley the foundation on which to build a very impressive first half.

For the first 20 minutes Moseley were camped in the Cambridge half. A good series of ball retention and effective offloading culminated in Adrienne Fall's first try of the match. This was then successfully converted by Becky Smith (score 7-0).From Cambridge's restart Moseley re-built again and continued pressure, particularly from the forwards, led to Adrienne's second try (score 12-0).

Although Moseley did not score in the rest of the first half the TMO would have shown that Lorna Tibbatts had clearly grounded the ball under her chest over the line - the referees view had obviously been obstructed! This was the first of several dubious refereeing decisions that were made throughout the rest of the game.

After a constructive half time talk Moseley approached the second half with the same dynamism and commitment. Another set of good phases of play saw Kirstie Ashworth cross the line for the 3rd try (score 17-0). Moseley continued to dominate the second half with CAmbridge struggling to put together any effective phases of play. This was undoubtedly down to the very strong defensive line and the turnovers made at breakdowns.

This fine performance was capped by Amy McGuinness' 75 metre dash for the line which included her inevitable swerve she is renowned for. This try was converted by Becky Smith making the final score 24-0.

This was undoubtedly a first class whole team performance with every single player contributing to the win. Notable moments of play were stealing ball at the lineouts, driving mauls and rucking, dominance in the scrum, decisive lines of running and try saving tackles.

Congratulations to all especially new players to the team who showed what a vital role they will play this season. Thanks also Derek, Jean, Alex and Greg for their support and words of encouragement. Here's looking forward to the rest of the season.
 

We are recruiting! Newcomers will be made very welcome and will receive excellent coaching from our experienced team. Training is on Thursday evenings 7-9pm at Billesley. This is a great time to come along and get to know the team – get in touch for more information mwrfc@hotmail.com

 To view 2007/08 Season Reports Click here