Plymouth Argaum 0 Kingsbridge Women 59

A BLUSTERING, chilly wind greeted the all-conquering blues on their first trip away to Argaum.

Kingsbridge had the delight of playing uphill in the first half and after strong tackling from Ash Pears to thwart Argaum, Hayley Hopkins was dancing over the line at the other end. Both the finishing and kicking were on point all day from Hayley.

Lauren Jeffery was the next to shine with a barnstorming run through the strong Argaum defence. Her presentation of the ball was also textbook and another sign of her terrific development this season.

Some excellent hands and better offensive organisation (thanks in no small part to the lively Amelia Benfield) saw backs and forwards combine to give Abi Lethbridge her latest try in an incredible haul since her senior debut.

Charlotte Budgen crossed next and Maddie Grant soon contributed another fine individual try, then adding another Kingsbridge score shortly after the kick-off.

With the wind (and gravity) behind them in the second half, Kings made some big changes.

Emma Bewley immediately made a break and shrugged off tackles before Anna Linzell and Tamsyn Wilson both made strong carries towards the home side’s try line. A very good pass from Hannah Gale to Grant opened the second half scoring.

Benfield deftly evaded opponents to score a lung-bursting try, a just reward for her excellent composure.

Another replacement, Phoebe Sherburn, played her best match yet for the team and made a strong tackle to extinguish any home hopes of a score. Hopkins treated the home supporters to some more magic, this time burning around the outside for another fine score.

The final try came from Sophia King, who put in another hard-working performance at nine. There are tougher matches to come for Kingsbridge but this rate of development and strength of squad augurs well for the rest of the season.