Kingsbridge RFC

It was a very wet and soggy afternoon away at Falmouth – a proper “day for ducks” – but Kingsbridge Women embraced the conditions and ground out an impressive 7–20 victory.

Kingsbridge started the game with real intent despite the heavy rain. From the opening exchanges, Hayley Hopkins showed her pace and awareness, breaking through the defence and sprinting under the posts for the first try of the match. With wheels from the outset, Hopkins made it look easy, sliding in for a fantastic opening score.

Strong defensive work followed, with Kingsbridge refusing to give Falmouth any easy yards. Another sharp break soon came, and Charlotte Budgen finished superbly, crossing for Kingsbridge’s second try and extending the early advantage.

As the weather worsened, the rain turned sideways, making passing and ball handling increasingly difficult. The pitch became swampy, leading to multiple scrums and a real battle up front. In defence, Erin Roberts put in a phenomenal shift, making huge yard-stopping tackles and repeatedly shutting down Falmouth’s attacks. Her relentless work rate and dominance earned her Forward of the Match, with turnovers preventing Falmouth from building momentum.

Just after half-time, with rain pouring and the ball loose inside the 22, Hopkins showed great rugby intelligence. Spotting space, she kicked through towards the try line and chased her own kick to dot down, giving Kingsbridge a 0-15 lead. 

 Falmouth all fired up and determined. Their pressure paid off when their outside centre (13) made a beautiful line break, sprinting half the length of the pitch. Despite Budgen's hot pursuit, she crossed the line for Falmouth’s first try, which was converted to bring the score back to 7–15.

The game was briefly halted following a Kingsbridge player knock near the edge, resulting in a five-minute stoppage while Maddie Grant and Abbie Wallace were checked after a heavy collision. Both showed fantastic commitment in defence, their determination to make the tackle leading to Kingsbridge players colliding in the muddy conditions.

Once play resumed, Kingsbridge demonstrated superb teamwork, moving the ball from edge to edge and maintaining control through repeated scrums. Both packs worked tirelessly, but Kingsbridge’s forwards did well to secure possession and keep the ball safe.

The match was sealed with a brilliant whole-team try. Starting from the forwards at the base of a ruck, the ball was worked through the hands with excellent offloads from the backs. This set up a powerful, steaming run from Michelle Weeks, who crashed over for her debut try for Kingsbridge – a fitting way to end a gritty, rain-soaked contest.