It was a sunny day in Aldeburgh, and the Saxons were set up for four 15min quarters against the visiting Crusaders. The sun was low and bright, making it difficult to see across the pitch and there was a chill in the air.

Captain Kirsty Johnston won the coin toss, where we choose to face away from the sun for the first 15. And it was the first time that the Saxons had gone contested in both scrums and lineouts. Coaches Chris, Mr A and Shep were on the side-lines poised to advise. The Crusaders Coach was already yelling and telling the ref what to do, for which the ref later told him to stop with no avail.

The first quarter was a slow start with the teams fairly matched. It was a battle of the forwards at all the rucks to see who would come out on top. The Saxons were faster over the ball, but the Crusaders hit with more force. An attempt by our forwards to turn over the ball ended up knocking on a penalty to the Crusaders got them 3 points on the board. At the end of the first quarter, Coach Chris took off Nat Swateridge and Immie Smith to save their legs for later in the game and give some new players the match time so on went Alex Radcliffe and Becky Atherton.

In the Second Quarter the crusaders were hitting us hard in the rucks and turned the ball over putting us on the defensive and Ashleigh Morton came off with a knee injury, switching Victoria Shortley for her first match on the wing and moving the rest of the backs up a position. A few Good kicks from Toni and Manon saved us from the danger zone on a couple of occasions. Captain Kirsty Johnston took an Injury to her knee, from which she is still recovering and was switched off for injury, moving Nat Swateridge to the backs and Immie was switched back on due to an issue with scrum positions.

In the third quarter, the Saxons were starting to ease into the game and a clever move from the forwards in the lineout saw Immie make it over the try line, with everyone shouting to place the ball, she ran over into dead-ball zone, hard luck! Needless to say, she is kicking herself!

In the Final 15, an accidental high tackle gave the crusaders another penalty. They attempted to kick through the posts from a distance, but Coach Chris pointed out that they will most likely not be able to make the kick and he was right. Manon caught the ball and weaved through and around the entire opposition to place the ball over the try line but away from the posts as the crusaders were in hot pursuit. This got the ball rolling for the Saxons and not long after our Fly-half Georgia broke the line to score our second try under the posts, which she then converted.

Final Score: Saxons 12 – Crusaders 3

All the ladies enjoyed a great game of rugby and laughed with a curry and a beer post-match; we look forward to playing the Crusaders away in the new year. Back of the Match: Toni Kerr, Forward of the Match: Immie Smith, Player of the Match: Manon Kinchin.

The home crowd put in a great effort to come and watch us play, Thanks to everyone who came to support us!

Next Match: ESS vs Haverhill @ Felixstowe Rugby Club 2 pm KO, 10th November.

c. Nat Swateridge