Wasps 14, Thurrock T-Birds II 36
THURROCK confirmed back-to-back league titles with Sunday's (23 March) win at Wasps, and they have an unassailable lead at the top of the NC 1 South East (North) with a match to spare.
That game is home to Chesham on Sunday, 6 April and it will be a celebration event.
On Sunday T-Birds put their hosts under pressure from the off, with some formidable work from the forwards taking them to the cusp of the tryline on a number of occasions but in the end, with around 13 minutes on the clock, it was a break through the backs, with Sophie Scanlon kicking through and gathering before sprinting over the line that opened the scoring. She converted her own try.
The second try was a real forwards' effort though, with Rosie Bennett finishing a powerful surge by picking up and driving over from close range. Again, Scanlon added the extras.
To their credit Wasps came back before half time and Lauren Tye scored five minutes before the break, bursting the T-Birds' defensive line and running through from distance to give Lean Horan a conversion from right in front of the posts.
But there was still time in the half for T-Birds to reassert their authority with Kiera Ryan again showing strength and enterprise to charge forward and score. This time the conversion was missed but T-Birds took a 19-7 lead into the break.
Ryan took a heavy blow to the head early in the second half when she was on the end of a high tackle, that surprisingly didn't result in a yellow card. She went off for treatment, but the 14 ladies left in action didn't waste much time in driving forwards and surging maul ended with Aimee Shaw getting the ball down.
The impetus remained with Thurrock who were rewarded with a penalty try on the midway point of the half to take the lead to 31-7.
The light rain put a bit of a damper on affairs but Wasps still showed their spirit and pulled a try back when they outflanked the T-Birds defence and Lauren Tye ran the ball home, with Horan converting.
The last word was to be with T-Birds though, even though they were reduced to 13 players by the close after Gabriella Diana got a yellow for a head up high tackle. The clock ran long enough for Bennett to use her strength and dive over again. Scanlan converted and, despite a little bit of unnecessary aggression from Wasps' Charlotte Edwards in the last seconds, T-Birds were home and hosed and shortly afterwards the celebrations began.
While the seconds were in action away, T-Birds firsts wrapped up their Championship South season with a final home match against London Irish and went down 8-5 in a close match, with their try coming from captain Hannah Thornhill.
The defeat meant Thurrock, in a season of rebuilding, finished sixth in the ten-team division.
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