Sefton 0, Thurrock T-Birds Seconds 31

THERE were Thurrock celebrations aplenty at Twickenham this afternoon (Sunday, 18 May) when Thurrock T-Birds seconds lifted the Papa Johns Intermediate Cup with an impressive and powerful display against a Sefton side who gave their all but were simply out-muscled across the pitch.

Thurrock, who last year lifted the Junior Cup in the same stadium, took an early lead with an opportunistic try in the fifth minute by Ami Parsad, who chased down a misplaced Sefton pass to pat the ball down as it bounced over the tryline. Her effort was converted by Sophie Scanlon.

T-Birds then endured a sustained period of pressure from the quick-passing Liverpool side but weathered the storm on the edge of their own tryline before once more pushed the side from the north back into their own half.

Sefton enjoyed much more ball possession than Thurrock but the borough side, through frequently stretched, were usually able to get in key tackles and rally behind the ruck.

And the reward for all that hard work came five minutes before half time when fullback Tessa Grainger looped round the advancing Thurrock backs and finished off a pacy counterattack by eluding tackles and cutting inside to score a second tire for the Essex side. Scanlon again converted.

Sefton's woes continued when Nicole Wright received a yellow card for a challenge to the head moments before the break.

Ami Parsad was alert to capitalise on a mistake and score T-Birds' opening try.

Within 60 seconds of the restart, Thurrock extended their lead over the 14 Sefton players by winning a turnover and spinning the ball wide to Faye Inglis who raced through and put the ball down under the posts. Scanlon again converted to delight borough fans in the Allianz Stadium.

Play became rather scrappy and Sefton more than held their own, especially when Wright rejoined.

However, T-Birds, who had been warned a couple of times were also reduced to 14 players when Megan Harris received a yellow card for a high tackle.

Despite being reduced in numbers, Thurrock's resilience shone through and as the match moved into its final quarter they turned over the ball once more and the forwards battered their way towards the Sefton posts and replacement Rosie Bennett crashed over the line for her second successive Twickenham final try. Ella Barnes, another who had come off the bench, couldn't make the conversion.

Celebrations after Georgia Cook scored the final try.

Elsie Burns, who had been a powerhouse all match, drove T-Birds close for one last time with a couple of minutes remaining and replacement Georgia Cook was on hand to pick and place the ball over the line - sparking huge celebrations that were repeated between players and supporters moments later when the final whistle was blown. 

Coverage of the the final can be viewed via this link.