The Saints pull through a close encounter with Supermarines after a patchy performance.

They came into the game looking to bounce back after suffering their first defeat of the season against Hove.

Saints has a fantastic start with Steph Plunkett touching down within the first ten minutes after a series of quick tap penalties deep in the opposition half. The ball was then moved out wide allowing Plunkett to take advantage of the scrambling defence to open the scoring. Caz Collie converted to take the home side to a 7-0 lead.

Shortly after, Alice Leitao sliced through the defence from fly half to take the Saints ahead, 12-0.

Following this early pressure, the game slowed significantly, which suited the powerful Supermarines pack. They used their larger pack to gain ground with strong carries around the fringes to delve deep into the Saints half. This tactical guile paid off as they responded with 2 tries of their own before half time, to bring themselves back into the game and the score at the interval to 12-10.

The Woolams outfit retook the field with a renewed energy, playing with urgency and looking to increase the pace of the game. This new approach allowed them to further their lead to 17-10, after Abi Morgan powered over after the Marines pack was simply outpaced by the mobile home forwards.

The away side soon replied with a try of their own, similar to the first half by gaining the initiative through tightening the game with powerful carries up front. This brought the score back to 17-15.

The Saints rallied and quickly responded with 2 further tries from Plunkett to compete a hat trick. These tries were a result once again of the home side significantly increasing the tempo of the game and utilising their speed out wide. Collie converted one of these late tries to take the score to 29-15.

Supermarines once again replied with a late score of their own to take the final score to 29-20.

The Saints played some fantastically fluent rugby in stages throughout the game, but will rue the inaccuracies that slowed their game.”

Head coach Sarah Mckenna added:

“The Saints will look to get back to the exciting brand of rugby that saw them go to the top of league earlier in the season when travel away to Thurrock next week”

Paul Adams,

Saints Manager