Thurrock T-Birds 30, Bath 24

THURROCK emerged victorious from Sunday's Championship South clash at Oakfield to record a season's first win after a match that ebbed and flowed.

It was the visitors who seized the early initiative, scoring an opening try inside two minutes after regaining possession on the Thurrock 22 and spinning the ball wide quickly for Seren Hawkes to show her pace, cutting back inside and crossing under the posts. The try was converted by Vicky Foxwell.

T-Birds responded strongly and pushed Bath back into their own third for a sustained period, during which fussy referee Yuelli Ang repeatedly stopped play for what seemed minor infractions.

Captain Abbie Jones got the ball down to ref Yuelli Ang's satisfaction for T-Birds' opening score.

The pressure eventually paid off when Jess Pettafor broke the line and evaded several attempted tackles before releasing the ball to overlapping captain Abbie Jones who took the ball at full speed and crashed over the line wide out. Pettafor was unable to convert.

It took Bath just a minute to extend their lead when Evie England dived over from close range for another try, again converted by Foxwell.

The points were coming at pace though and with another couple of minutes Thurrock were celebrating again when Pettafor raced through the visiting defence and crossed the line, but she was unable to converting her own try.

Jess Pettafor didn't have the best day off the tee, but was responsible for several surging runs, the first of which (pictured) led to T-Birds' opening try.

T-Birds scored their third try in the 29th minute when sustained forward pressure paid off. In the build-up Suzanne Bothma had to go off with an injured wrist and she was replaced by Rosie Bennett, who made an immediate impact, driving forward several times before the ball was slipped to Milly Thurman-Newell to dive over. Again the conversion was missed but T-BIrds had the lead for the first time and that's how the score stood at half time.

Bath started the second half as they had done the first, driving down the left in the opening minutes and their forwards forced the ball over the line to take a 21-15 lead after an excellent conversion from Foxwell.

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T-Birds reduced the arrears with a Pettafor penalty just before the hour but it wasn't long before Bath stretched the lead with a penalty of their own, slotted again by Foxwell's impressive boot.

It took barely two minutes for Thurrock to respond and Bennett was the scorer, using her strength to drive between Bath defenders and get the ball down close to the posts.But again the conversion was missed and Bath retained a one point advantage.

The clock had almost reached 80 minutes when Thurrock produced the match winning moment and it came from the power of their pack as they contested a Nath scrum close to the visitors' line and pushed them backward with Amy Battel quick to seize the opportunity and dive on the loose ball. Bath weren't happy with ref Ang's decision but she stood her ground.

This time Pettafor kicked the conversion and T-Birds were almost home and hosed.

They showed resilience, including one outstanding piece of tryline defence through seven minutes of additional time but clung on for a nail-biting victory.