Match Reports

Buckingham Swans 5 – 0 Witney Angels

It was a special day for many reasons, last game of the season, Bob’s last and 100^th match for The Angels, and also the side’s final chance to escape relegation. After suffering a defeat to local rivals Oxford a couple of weeks previous the Witney girls were in a dangerous position at the bottom of the league table and their performance away against Buckingham Swans would decide the future of the team. It was now or never, the Angels had to pull something special out of the bag.The weather was gorgeous as both sides took to the pitch at the Buckingham ground. After a successful warm up the Angels were confident and got off to a good start. The majority of the first half was spent in the opposition 22 with Witney keeping up with the constant pressure. A number of penalties came along in Witneys favor but unfortunately nothing came of them despite hard work from the forwards and Lori in constant support on the blindside wing. Before the game Bob gave the girls one main thing to think about which was to pass and follow and that was very apparent in this game. Unfortunately the Angels fitness enemy kicked in and despite the best effort from Smorley she was outnumbered and a quick pass out of a tackle saw Buckingham cross the line for the only points of the game. The heads didn’t drop and the half carried on very much in the Angels favor. Some good line out ball gave Catherine the opportunity to set up some a solid platform for the forwards. The support was good and when Buckingham did have the possession the defensive line was hardly penetrated with the back line coming up together being led by Jess whose presence was apparent all afternoon with some cracking runs (and hand offs!) Feisty taking well once again to the Flanker position, sweeping round, making loads of good tackles and Jen Jen hassling at the back of the scrums. A huge effort from all went into the first half but The Angels never managed to get any points on the board making the score at half time 5-0 to Buckingham.The half time team talk was very positive, and coaches Goz and Mare were pleased with the performance so far. The Angels had clearly rattled their opposition who seemed to find the game a lot harder than they may have first thought. The game was still anybodies to win and all Witney needed to do was keep applying the pressure and stay positive.The second half saw the tables turn for the Angels, although defense was solid throughout, most of the game was played in the middle of the pitch or in their 22. The solid defensive line saw the quick Buckingham backs forced to run sideways which meant they were met on the touch lines by the like of Fraggle and Smorley putting in the tackles. There were times when Witney had to defend their try line which they did very well. The main part of the second half was played like this until a quick burst from No Money in the final play of the game saw her off on a trundle but unluckily for her the ref pulled it back and awarded Buckingham a penalty for an ‘alleged’ obstruction. The ball was kicked out and the final whistle went leaving the score at 5-0 to Buckingham. Another loss for Witney but a fantastic game and they were unlucky not to score. Although Oxford comfortably won their last league fixture that day the points difference between the Angels and them was too big and Witney finish Midlands 1 second from bottom.

This was of course Bobs final and 100^th game for The Angels and we would like to thank her for all she has done. Her presence will be greatly missed on the pitch and we wish her best of luck for the future.

Angels Team – Elaine, Maria, Bob (c), Mother, Welsh, Catherine, Feisty, T, Jen Jen, Deb Lamb, Emma, Jess, Fraggle, Lori, Smorley

Repl – Katy, Lizzy, No Money (all used)

Forward of the Match – Feisty

Back of the Match - Jess

5th April

Witney Angels 0 – 23 Oxford Ladies

It was the game of the year, last home fixture of the season against Oxford, if The Angels won they were likely to save themselves from relegation, if not they were too close to the bottom of the table. It was a gorgeous day at the Hailey Road ground and The Angels had lots of support. As captain Bob lead the teams out for what would be her last ever home game before her retirement The Angels were buzzing for the match ahead of them. At first glace the Oxford side seemed to of ‘expanded’ a lot since the last time Witney played them and the ground was solid, it looked to be shaping up to a hard game.The first half saw the Angels having to work very hard in stopping the hard running opposition. The forwards coping well at the breakdowns giving the strong Oxford pack a lot of problems up front. The lineout’s were also good with Cath winning all of her balls and spoiling on the opposition throw in, Maria was her usual alert self with some quick reactions, setting up some good mauls for Jen to unleash the backs. Back of the match Feisty had some good runs and got herself stuck in all afternoon but despite this Witney failed to cross the opposition try line all afternoon. Most of the first half was spent either in the middle of the pitch or in the Witney 22 and despite some good defensive attempts, spoiling some play the ball popped out to the Oxford winger who went over to score her first try of the game. Thanks to the same strong running winger being given some space the Angels were 10-0 down at half time.As the second half began the Angels needed to dig deep and try to come back but unfortunately spent most of the half in their 22 again and constantly having to defend. No Money settled perfectly back into the back row and was in the middle of everything throughout the entire game, smashing through, setting good ball and making a constant nuisance of herself in the mauls, along with Mother. Once again the Angels fitness levels kicked in and momentum started to drop and Oxford crossed the try line another 2 times and took a penalty opportunity which saw their 10 slot it neatly over the posts to leave the final score at 23-0.Heads defiantly dropped as the final whistle went; despite the support from a strong crowd the Angels were disappointed. It is never a good thing when a Witney side loses to Oxford but they are now dangerously close to the bottom of the table. With only one league game left in a couple of weeks time the Witney girls need to get themselves together and pull something special out of the bag.

Angels Squad – Elaine, Maria Bob (c) Kate, Mother, Cath, No Money, T, Jen Jen, Emma, Smorley, Feisty, Lizzy, Fraggle, Lori

Repl - Shellie

Forward of the Match – Nomoney

Back of the Match -Feisty

29th March 09

Moseley Ladies 25 – 7 Witney Angels

It had been another long break in-between league games for the Angels and now it was their turn to make the trip to Birmingham to take on Moseley Ladies. It was all in all a big day for the Angels as they would be meeting Austin for the last time to film the catch up show and also it was their big television debut later on in the evening. On the bus trip to Moseley the atmosphere was buzzing, everyone up for the game and wanting to turnaround the previous scoreline of 42-0 when the Angels last played this team. For the first time in ages the coaches had their pick of a strong 21 player squad so it looked to be a good game.The Angels took to the pitch more fired up than ever, the encouragement from the entire squad was obvious and the morale in the team was high. As the whistle went to begin the game Witney got off to a tremendous start, after a kick from Cath at the very beginning put the Angels in the opposition 22 and this is where they would spend the majority of the first half, by not giving the strong Moseley runners any space with some fantastic defending, everyone committing to tackles and breakdowns. The presence of Deb Lamb and Janet were felt in the centers with the both of them having some strong runs. Also Smorley took well to her new role of scrum half making an impact at every breakdown whether she was distributing or tackling. Unfortunately for the Angels the oppositions fitness started to kick in and they gradually started to penetrate the Witney defense with the help of a very quick fullback and supporting runners. With minutes to go before the end of the half the pack went down for a Witney scrum which was unfortunately lost and with quick hands Moseley went over for their first try of the game.As captain Bob pulled the girls in for a half time talk not a single head went down, although disappointed to have conceded at the end of the half, the Angels were looking to get straight back into the game and to hopefully perform as well as they had been in the first half. Some changes were made and former Cherubs Lizzie and Kirsty took the two prop positions, No Money came in at No 8 and Shellie went onto the wing.The second half started well for Witney with Cath making a break and shipping to Deb Lamb who went over the line to score the Angels only try of the game, this was then cooley converted by Emma. It gave the Angels a boost and much like the first half their defense was tested but with some quick hands to some speedy wingers and awesome fullback. Lori coped well at fullback with the covering tackles with Feisty in support and flankers Jen and Cath disrupted a lot Moseley ball. Unfortunately for the Angels nothing more came of the half despite all the hard work put in from every player the far fitter Moseley side went on to score another 4 tries leaving the final score at 25-7 to the opposition. Although it was a loss a lot of positives came from the game. The Angels were now playing as a team, supporting one another and lowered the score line a lot from last time. It was even heard from the sideline that the Moseley girls couldn’t believe how much the Witney side had improved! (Austin was also impressed :-P) Next weekend the Angels are looking to take these positives into their last home league game of the season against local rivals Oxford!

Angels Team – Abi, Elaine, Bob, Welsh, Mother, Cath, Jen Jen, T, Smorley, Emma, Deb Lamb, Janet, Feisty, Fraggle, Lori

Repl – Lizzie, Kirsty, Shellie, Mel, Mare, No Money (All Used)

Forward of the Match – Jen Jen

Back of the Match - Smorley

Sunday 15th March

Old Reds v Witney

Angels lost the game but some very good play from all players.Well done to Kirsty who played her first Angels game and nice to have Sal back again for a game.

Team -Abi,Maria,Elaine,Welsh Deb,Kirsty,Sally,Kelly,Naomi,Smorley,Emma,Heidi,Shellie,Lori

Forward of the match:Deb (welsh)

Back of the match: Lori

Sunday 23rd February 2009

Old Leams 14 – 5 Witney Angels

After defeating them at the start of the season it was the Angels turn to take a trip down to Old Leams ground where they knew a hard game was ahead of them. It was a bit of mix and match as Witney only had 14 players, Cath was on the wing, Jess was back and Lori was having her first game for the Angels after coming up from the Cherubs, but everyone seemed eager to start the match as both teams took to the field.

The Angels started off well; matching up to the tough Old Leams side with a good effort from everyone in the contact area. Following training the previous Wednesday evening the rucking and mauling had improved a great deal and the forwards were stealing a lot of ball. Abi and Welsh made a nuisance of themselves with good strong tackles and effortless commitment. This enabled the backs to have a good platform to work from and thanks to a Witney steal at the breakdown the ball was unleashed to the backs which saw Smorley off on a run and scoring, unfortunately it was not converted but a good start none the less. The rest of the half was spent pretty much the same, The Angels were pushed back to their own line and some superb defending from everyone saw the ball kicked clear by Emma. Unfortunately for Witney the strong Old Leams side broke through the defense and scored under the posts and it was then converted, leaving the score at 7-5 to the opposition at half time.

The second half was very much the same and both teams were pretty equal. The scrums were looking good as Maria stole a lot of opposition ball against the head and some good hassling from Jen Jen and Kelly made sure the Angels disturbed the Old Leams back line allowing the Witney backs to get up a lot quicker in defense. Although Emma, Jess and Feisty had some great runs between them the back line when attacking needed to penetrate the game line with straight running rather than sideways which was sometimes apparent, this would of perhaps made some more Witney ground, but some good breaks were still made none the less. Angels debutant Lori was distributed some good ball and had a fantastic first game, constantly in support and showing her pace with some great runs. Unfortunately for Witney the opposition went over the line towards the end of the half to leave the final score at 14-5, this was very unfortunate as Witney had defended very well throughout the game. When the final whistle went a few heads went down and the disappointment was obvious on the Angels faces. A lot of positives to come away with though, especially that of the rucking which was a big improvement. The Angels have a few more weeks until their next league game but with a number of friendly’s coming up lets hope a win is on the cards.

Team – Elaine, Maria, Abi, Welsh, Mother, Kelly, T, Jen Jen, Emma, Jess, Feisty, Cath, Lori and Smoley (c)

Forward of the Match: Abi

Back of the match: Jen Jen

Sunday 1^st February 2009

Witney Angels 12 – 7 Roslyn Park Ladies

After almost a month of solid training and positive outcomes from a couple of games, today was the day the Angels had to pull out all the stops and prove themselves. After a last minute cancellation by Old Leams the girls from Roslyn Park RFC made the journey down to the Hailey Road ground to take on the Angels in a friendly. This would be the last game coached under the watchful eye of Austin Healey as the filming for ‘The Big Tackle’ comes to an end. The weather was freezing and it was very windy, but this didn’t seem to phase the Angels, they knew they had to pull off a win and were more determined than ever.

The first half began full of positives with the Angels working well together, battling and securing good ball to unleash the backs to have some good runs. Most of the half was played in the middle of the pitch with Witney performing some superb defending, ever player committing to the tackles and playing for one another. After 15 minutes or so of hard graft the ball was stolen from the opposition in a ruck and shipped down the back line to Smorley who went on a storming run with Fraggle and Jen in support and went over the line with ease, the try was then cooley converted by Emma leaving the score at 7-0, this put the Angels in high spirits and more good play followed for the rest of the first half. Some good mauling from the forwards saw a lot of possession stolen and Janet went on a fantastic run beating 5 RP players but was eventually tackled. As the whistle went the girls were called in and coach Goz was full of positives. For the first time in what seemed like ages the Angels were finally playing together as a team, working for one another and it was really starting show in their game play.

Both teams took to the pitch with one thing in mind…winning. Unfortunately for the Angels most of the 2^nd half was played in their 22 where they were constantly met with hard runs from the Roslyn Park girls who were very good at offloading out of the tackles but because of good communication the Angels stopped them almost every time. Using their No 8 a lot off the back of the scrums she was met with smashing tackles from Kelly who covered the park all afternoon. After 30 minutes of constant pressure the opposition went over for their only try of the game and equalized with a good conversion. Heads may have dropped for a few seconds but the Angels were sprinting to the line to re-start the match, a draw was not an option for them. A good kick off from Emma saw the Angels camped in the opposition 22 with only 5 minutes to go. After Mother and No Money having to go off Skipper Bob returned to the pitch after a few weeks off injured. Constant hassling from the line outs by Cath saw the opposition lose possession and the Angels were granted a penalty 5 meters from the line in the last play of the game! Intense doesn’t even come close! The forwards prepared themselves and Bob took a run at the RP defense and set up a fantastic maul which the forwards drove with ease over the line, the try was scored by Cath, it wasn’t converted but as the final whistle went a lot of cheers were heard around the pitch, it had been a long time coming and it took A LOT of hard work but the Angels had secured a win and played better than they have for months. The coaches and crowds were very impressed and the Angels need to keep it up with dedication to training and playing as a team so they can once again become serious competitors in the Midlands 1 league. Also a big thank you to Austin and ITV for all they have done for us over the last month J

Team – Elaine, Maria, No Money, Katie, Mother, Kelly, Cath Cath, T, Jen Jen, Emma, Janet, Debbie, Feisty, Fraggle, Smorley, Bob (c)

Forward of the Match: Kelly

Back of the Match:Fraggle

Sunday 18th January 2009

Witney Angels 0 – 22 Nottingham Ladies

Looking back to October last year and the big upset the Angels received when losing 58-0 to Nottingham ladies the girls had a lot to prove when the current league leaders made the long journey down to the Hailey Road ground. The Angels may have had over a month since their last game but were lucky enough to be coached by Austin Healey the last couple of days before the match, with great numbers turning up and a lot of effort being put into the drills, the Witney girls went into the game more confident and determined than ever, not wanting to disappoint the big crowd turnout, the coaches or most importantly themselves.

Nottingham arrived full of speed looking to carry on from where they left off from when the two teams last had an encounter but were met with strong resistance from both the Witney forwards and backs, some good hard tackling and defensive work kept them at bay, with both teams stealing possession from one another and Witney constantly putting pressure on Nottingham. Unfortunately this did not pay off as halfway through the first half the opposition snagged a lose ball and carried it over the line. The constant pace of the speedy Nottingham backs seemed to give Witney the impetus to fight back, and for the last quarter of the first half saw them camped in the Nottingham 22, with thanks to the new 100% percent ball (thanks Austin) and a cracking break by Smorley. The Angels had what seemed to be endless opportunities to cross the line but didn’t manage to break to tough Nottingham defence. As usual Cath was persistent in her battle for the lineout ball which granted the forwards with some great possession and some powerful drives. Nottingham got another try towards to the whistle, leaving the score at 10-0 at half time.

Witney after making a couple of changes were in a buoyant mood after such a good finish to the first half but were soon knocked back when Nottingham took possession from the kick-off and ran the length of the pitch, looked like a definite try, was tackled superbly by Smorley but due to the Nottingham support the ball was shipped out and scored under the posts. The rest of the second half was spent with the Angels putting a tireless effort into defending their ground and unfortunately most of the time spent in their 22. A number of try saving tackles were made combined with some great runs from Cath and Janet and some good kicking from Emma unfortunately didn’t save them from Nottingham scoring again towards the end of the match. As the final whistle went the score was 22-0, safe to say both teams knew and felt like they had been in a hard fought game. Overall the performance from the Angels was nothing short of brilliant, they halved the score line from the previous game and defiantly proved their worth to the league leaders.

Team – Elaine, Maria, Lizzy, Abi, Welsh Deb, Katie, Deb, Cath Cath, Kelly, T , Jen Jen, Janet, Emma, Heidi, Elaine.O, Shellie, Smorley (captain)

Forward of the Match: Cath Cath

Back of the Match: Smorley

Sunday 7^th December 2008

Longton 22-5 Witney

After a physical and hard fought win over Longton at the beginning of the season it was the Angels turn to do the long journey to Newcastle-under-Lyme. The weather was freezing but thanks to some sunshine the pitch was playable and the two teams took to the field. The game started well with the Angels putting the pressure on in the first few minutes with the forwards hitting the breakdowns hard and a couple of lengthy runs from the backs making good ground. Unfortunately due to some rather questionable decision making from the ref a few penalties were given to the home side allowing them to make some ground and saw the going over the line for the first try of the match (even though the ref didn’t see it). From the on the game became quite ‘physical’ but the Angels managed to keep their heads. Unfortunately Longton got some quick hands out to the overlapped wing and managed to score once again. Beginning to find their feet the Angels began to run the ball about the pitch with T breaking off the scrums to have a run with Jen in support. Good rucking from the forwards saw the possession stolen from Longton and the ball was taken on by Janet who went on a typical trundle, she then shipped it to Bendy who weaved her way threw the defense to score the Angels only try of the game. The second half was more of a blur as the rugby started to be turned into aggression and lots of punching by the feisty opposition and a few frustrating words with the ref unfortunately led to Elaine being sent to the bin for 10 minutes moving skipper Bob into the front row and with the forwards minus a pack leader, but the Angels fought back hard with constant tackles going in and Shellie coping well from the high kicks. Some good kicking from Emma also gave Witney some ground but unfortunately nothing more came of it. Most of the game was played in the middle of the pitch, both teams equally matched but thanks to a few breaking runs Longton got another couple of tries leaving the score at 24-5 to the home side. Overall a hard, sometimes punchy game but the Angels never dropped their heads. Second from bottom in the league, The Angels now have a 4 week gap between games and will hopefully be using this time to train and get them prepared for the New Year.

Team – Elaine, Maria, Abi, Andrea(c), Welsh Deb, Cath, Deb, T, Jen Jen, Janet, Emma, Heidi, Elaine .O, Shellie, Bendy

Forward of the Match: T

Back of the Match:Jen Jen

28th September 2008

Witney V's Hucclecote Lost 15-24

Friendly (if there is such a thing in rugby) against Hucclecote, Gloucester.

With such a good start to the season, Witney Angels wanted to keep it up with another win. Unfortunatley we had some of our most experienced players out of this game so we had a couple of people playing out of position. Cath was scrum half and Blue bell had to prop for a while. Also we welcome Katie to the team, this was her first game but with many to come we hope!

First Half

Hucclecote had some big powerful forwards but that didn’t phase our forwards, there were some brillant tackles from the likes of Jen Jen and Janet. Witney applied pressure to the backs good hands in the centres and spurty runs from Smorley, Fraggle and Shelly. Catherine did a little chip over (no shock there!), chased it up, caught it and scored! The end of the first half the scores stood at Witney Angels -10 Hucclecote – 12.

Second Half

After a hard first half the Angels were up for getting back, up into Hucclecotes faces . The forwards used some brute force and power to win us a couple of balls, Katie who was experiencing her first game was doing tremendously well, getting stuck in there and not afraid of boshing people out the way! The next try to come was off a penlty, Janet had a brillant run to 5 metres near the try line provided the ball to Heidi who went on to score. Hucclecote got another 2 trys, but not without a fight! The final score was Witney Angels 15 – 24 Hucclecote.

Players: Janet, Kylie, Blue Bell, Welsh Debs, Katie, Debbie, Kelly, Jen Jen, Cath Cath, Jess, Emma, Heidi, Shelly, Elaine (Fraggle), Smorley.

Try Scorers: Catherine, Smorley and Heidi.

Foward of the Match:Deb's
Back of the Match:Catherine

21st September 2008

Witney V's Longton Ladies Won 12 - 5

First half Longton Ladies led 5-0. We then had approximately an hour rest due to a serious injury. In the second half the Witney angels really dug deep to pull out all stops, they wanted to win this badly, first try was a big drive off of the forwards which put Catherine Forteath across the line, Jessica Paterson helped steel the lead with a clear conversion. The second try came from Debbie Gorrad, our oldest player at 60, who went over the line with Catherine Forteath to score! Great power from the forwards, good hands and speed in the backs. Final Score Witney Angels 12 - Longton Ladies 5. Brilliant

game, great start to the season. Watch this space.

Players: Andrea, Lisa, Elaine, Debbie, Teresa, Catherine, Kelly, Jen Jen, Mary, Jess, Emma, Heidi, Shelly, Elaine (Fraggle), Smorely, Welsh Debs, Janet.

Try Scorers: Cath Cath and Debbie (Mother)

Foward of the Match:Janet

Back of the Match:Feisty

14th September 2008

Witney V's Old Lems Won 24 - 5

First home game of the season, attitude was brilliant and everyone was buzzing. This was also a day to celebrate as it was Heidi (Feisty’s) 100^th game for Witney Angels, Congratulations Feisty! Old Lems are a league above us, but in previous games it has always been close. We welcome another new player to Witney, another Debbie who has played before and has a brilliant rugby head on her shoulders. The Angels were glad to see Shelly back in buisness after a injury last year that put her out for a while, so watch out she is fighting fit now..and engaged!!

The First Half

Great start to the game, Witney was applying the pressure and playing basic, good rugby. No one panicing, everybody being really positive and encouraging towards each other. The pressure was on witney for a good few minutes when Old Lems were 5 metres from there try line but the defence from witney was phenomial. Old Lems had a couple of goes for a try but they weren’t getting anywhere, eventually it was turn over ball and Jess releved the pressure with a kick into touch. Our first try came from Cath Cath, Janet had a good run, went to ground and cath picked and went for it straight under the posts. The next was from a brilliant run from smorley, who also scored straight under the posts. Excellent first half!

The Second Half

After such a fantastic 1^st half, everyone was raring to go in the second! There was a couple of changes throughout the game, new to the Witney Angels Debbie stepped in for Heidi at outside Centre and played superbly, and Heidi went to Flanker. We were pushing up to our try line, Mary throwe a lovely ball to Jess who went over to score Witney Angels 3^rd try. Kelly had a good run but was just short of the line, and Debbie also had a powerful dart and was close to scoring. Smorley had another speedy run and blasted past everyone to score what was our final try. Old lems claimed possession and had a run up the wing to score, but witneys heads were still up as they had played a fantastic game with everyone giving 100%.

Players

Elaine, Bluebell, Bob, Cath, Kelly, Jen Jen, Janet, Mary, Jess, Emma, Heidi, Smorley, Shelly, Elaine (Fraggle), Debbie, Marie, Welsh Debs.

Scorers

Cath Cath, Smorley, Jess. Conversions were taken by Jess, who managed to get 2 out of 4 over.

Foward of the Match:Jen Jen

Back of the Match:Fraggle

6th September 2008

Witney V's Supermarines

Mother's 60th Birthday, what a day! The first game of the season was against Supermarine, Swindon, Deb's local club. This whole day was organised in aid of Mother's 60th birthday, it was a bundle of laughs all day and night and the rugby was brilliant too.

Supermarine are two leagues above us, so Witney had to up their game. We had someof the ladies that play for the Supermarine Vets on our side, who were brilliant, but more importantly we had a few girls that were about to play their first game for Witnney Angels; newcomers Amanda, Janet and Maria. Jen Jen and Emma; two brilliant Witney Angels have returned to play and we were all so glad to have them back. We played a game of three stages; each stage consisted of 20-25 mins. In the first stage Witney had very little possession of the ball but were working hard in defence, they did put 4 tries past us in that 3rd, however they had to work very hard to get them. In the second 3rd, we really had to up our game if we wanted to put one past them, we applied more pressure and Supermarine made more mistakes, thankfully they only managed to put one past us in that 3rd and the girls and the ref all felt we had played a much better game of rugby. We had some good tackling from backs and forwrds, Emma with hard hits, Mary up on them and obviously Deb (Mother) who was tackling everyone and anyone as she normally does. Great running from Kayla, who was out on the wing as well as Elaine who made some good tackles. Jen Jen played number 8 for a while and really shone, taking it blind a couple of times and making some well deserved Witney ground. In the final stage of the game we were all still up for it, again Witney possession was rare but when we did get it we gave it our all to do something with it. Lolly made a couple of great runs and had great support and back up from the whole team. In the end they managed to put two past us in the final leg, but for the first game of the season, against a team that are two leagues above us, Witney Angels played well and as a team.

Great game, we won the boat race....it's going to be a great season!

Forward of the Match – Jen Jen	Back of the Match - Smorley