Trailfinders Women vs Leicester Tigers Women

Match Report

Trailfinders secured a 57-10 bonus-point victory at Trailfinders Sports Club against a struggling Leicester Tigers.

A brace from Vicky Laflin and tries from Kate Zackary, Rosie Inman, Cara Brincat, Brooke Bradley, Cristina Blanco, Isla Norman-Bell and Annabel Meta helped the home side to an emphatic win.

The result means Trailfinders rise to fourth position in the table, with three matches left to play in Round Seven.

It was clear Trailfinders had come to play and wanted to right the wrongs of the last two rounds. They opened the scoring inside 20 seconds! Laflin found an edge on the left wing and beat the last Tigers defender to put Barney Maddison’s side into the lead.

Five minutes later, Trailfinders found themselves in another dangerous position. They set up a rolling maul just metres from the opposition line, which captain Zackary broke from and powered her way over. Rosie Inman added the extras from out wide.

And with not even ten minutes on the clock, Trailfinders had their third. Full-back Gallagher found herself at the end of a breakaway and sprinted in underneath the posts, making it a straightforward conversion for Inman.

After a big defensive effort to keep Leicester out, Trailfinders were back on the front foot, camped inside the opposition’s 22. Fly-half Ella Amory spotted some space out on the left and executed a brilliant cross-field kick to put Laflin away for her second of the afternoon, and secured Trailfinders’ bonus-point.

Cara Brincat was next on the scoresheet, with a try in her first PWR match for Trailfinders. Quick handling from the backline moved the ball out to the wing. A dropped ball was deemed to have gone backwards and Brincat was quickest to react and extend an already commanding lead.

The visitors did pull one back just before the interval. Karolina Kacirkova scored in the corner to get Tigers on the board.

Half-time: Trailfinders Women 31-5 Leicester Tigers

The home side came out for the second period hungry for more after a brilliant first-half display. Cassandra Tuffnail made a trademark break and cruised into the opposition 22. Brooke Bradley then made the most of a Trailfinders penalty, with a quick tap she caught the defence napping and dashed to the line to score.

Replacement hooker Blanco was next to add her name to the list of Trailfinders try scorers. The hosts’ rolling maul proved too strong for the Tigers forward pack, and Blanco crossed to extend the advantage.

Norman-Bell pounced on another quick tap opportunity to score Trailfinders’ eighth of the afternoon. She used some silky footwork to step round the defence and beat the last defender to score. Inman’s conversion brought up the half-century for the hosts.

Just like they did at the end of the first half, Leicester Tigers got themselves on the score sheet in the closing stages, this time through Kristen Bitter.

However, Trailfinders did have the final say. Meta powered her way through multiple defenders and dived over the line as the clock ticked past the 80th minute, which made the final score Trailfinders Women 57-10 Leicester Tigers.

Full- time: Trailfinders Women 57-10 Leicester Tigers

Trailfinders Women:

Tries – Vicky Laflin 1 28, Kate Zackary 6, Niamh Gallagher 9, Cara Brincat 34, Brooke Bradley 44, Cristina Blanco 57, Isla Norman-Bell 75, Annabel Meta 80

Conversions – Rosie Inman 7 10 29 45 76 80

Yellow cards – Cassandra Tuffnail 78

Leicester Tigers:

Tries – Karolina Kacirkova 39, Kristin Bitter 79

Yellow cards – Charlotte Daley 55, Deni Ross 72