Bishopton – 19
Hamilton Bulls – 22
Tries; Munn, Morrison, Reid-Phelps
Conversions; Reid-Phelps
Penalties;
The sun was shining on Holmpark in one of just 4 games played over the women’s competitions in Scotland due to the bad weather. Having previously been beaten by Hamilton 46-0 in the National Bowl competition back in Feb 2020, Bishopton went into their game hungry and looking to get some points on the board.
It was however the Hamilton Bulls team that came out fighting, scoring within 3 minutes of kickoff. Bishopton regrouped calmly, settled into their game with some possession and looked threatening from the scrum. A Hamilton knock on led to a strong pickup from number 8 Catriona Munn, leading to a number of positive phases. The ball turned over another few times before a kick from Bish was picked up by the Bulls, shipped left to right and finished on the wing, to bring the visitors 12 up after only 9 minutes.
Bishopton took another blow after 11 minutes with Stand Off Robyn Bryans coming off with a hand injury but this was to be the only injury of the half with a resilient Bishy side pushing on through a tough combative match, and thankfully the injury was not serious.
Bishopton showed their prowess in the lineout with some great throws from new hooker Michelle Wilson-Young to second row jumper Beth Macleod, returning for the first time since injury in July. A massive 9 lineouts in total in the first half allowed Macleod to stretch her arms and get back into playing. Some messy play from both sides saw a number more scrums and penalties to end the half the same way.
The second half started as the first ended with both teams’ strong defensive structures forcing turnovers and scrums galore – Bish showing their strength to standup to the big Hamilton pack. Though it was Hamilton that eventually gained their third try from a driving maul into the corner, unconverted, 17 to Hamilton.
Bishopton however did not falter, showing excellent strength, skills and resilience. Their strong back row repeatedly threatened from scrums making ground with strong carries, but they couldn’t take it the last phase needed. Eventually Bish got a break from a tap and go penalty and Catriona Munn drove over the line to an ecstatic home crowd, 5-17. Catriona made it a double for the Munn – Robertson household with her Fiancé Kyle scoring for the men’s team on Saturday v Lochaber.
Breaks were happening thick and fast from Bish now, and scrum half Kirstie Brownlie almost made it through the Hamilton defense after a fast run but the ball was lost and the Bulls quickly used it to their advantage down the wing to score their final try of the day, 5-22 the score after 60 minutes.
As time ran down Bish were still full of fight while the visitors started flagging. Bish pushed hard in a maul and although it didnt get all the way, it led to a Hamilton lineout which was stolen by Beth Macleod and fed to Rachel Morrison for her first try for Bishopton, converted neatly by Vanessa Reid-Phelps – 12-22 the score with only ten minutes to go.
The momentum continued for the home side, as Vanessa Reid-Phelps took the ball powerfully over the line in the last of a number of strong carries from the prop throughout the game. The full Bishopton touchline went wild; try converted at 19-22 but the visitors were getting nervous. Time was all but gone though, and the game closed a minute later at the same score.
After 3 hard defeats in their debut league, this narrow loss was a big achievement for Bishopton – a team finally coming together after gaining more than half their side over lockdown. Bishopton now look forward to keeping the momentum building with 3 more league games in January.
Want to get involved? Bishopton are always looking for players in all sections, no experience necessary – see bishoptonrugby.com for details.
