It was tough, brutal at times, very cold and... very worth it! After the slip up against Medway, this was one our Ladies simply had to win, and they did.

Coach Chris Griffiths has since revealed some secrets about the victory, ‘I had had a pre-game review with Jemma, Kristine and a couple of other senior players where we walked through various scenarios on the pitch and everyone was on board with what needed to be done at what time and in what areas of the pitch. I really felt that key decision making and composure would be two elements that could win the game and I believe this came to fruition on the day in a highly tense, physical and close encounter.’

Few would argue with him and in reviewing the match he remarked: ‘What struck me about the team in the hour or so before kick-off was just how relaxed they all seemed. Bearing in mind the task at hand and what was at stake in terms of winning the League I found it quite remarkable, if there were nerves, and I am certain there were, they certainly weren’t showing any, ‘We had all made a point of not putting pressure on ourselves in the week or so leading up to this game and training had gone particularly well, but the players’ composure and relaxed manner was really evident from the outset. I had said pre-match that whichever side could control their nerves better could end up victorious and I think our approach was spot on.’

He added that the conditions also played their part, ‘It was absolutely freezing with sleet coming in sideways just as we kicked off and cold fingers and hands combined with a slippery ball to cause more handling errors than we would normally expect of ourselves. This ultimately led to a lot of scrums, an area in which I thought we eventually dominated. I was also very impressed with how well our lineout functioned considering the bitter wind, we certainly imposed ourselves strongly in this set piece, and very importantly stole quite a lot of their ball too, I thought Sophie O’Connell did a brilliant job of throwing into the line and Ellie Whittles was very strong in the air thanks in part to some great lifting.’

He said that whilst it was very difficult to single out individuals as ‘every single player put in an amazing performance under immense pressure and it was a real team performance, but there were a few standout performances. Tanya Scholtz was fantastic again and fully deserved her two tries, and for me the defensive work from the two Fionas (Power and Ashworth) was one of the keys to this victory, they were simply everywhere, making crucial tackles at big moments in the game. It was also great to have Vicki Rang back at full back where she had another strong game, particularly in defence but she was helped out considerably by the two centres in front of her who were tackling everything that came down their channels. I know that Jemma is her own harshest critic and I don’t think she wasn’t particularly happy with her own performance, but I personally think she put in a great captain’s performance under a huge amount of pressure in awful conditions, especially for a scrum half. She led her team from the front and inspired them to our biggest win of the season and I hope she is justly proud of what she has achieved as captain not just in this match but over the season.’

But for all that it means little if the side now fail to clinch the title, as Chris admitted. ‘Looking forward to the last two games of this season, on paper they look like they should be eminently winnable but we will not allow any complacency to creep in, in fact if anything we will be training even harder to ensure we finish the season really strongly with two good wins under our belts and it will hopefully be a cracking final game against Worthing on March 19th to seal the title at home.’