Match reports Sharjah Tournament.Match reports Sharjah Tournament.

Match reports Sharjah Tournament.

Abu Dhabi Ladies vs TOA Ladies

Abu Dhabi kicked off with a determination to continue their solid finish to the Doha tournament. A good chase from the Quins girls saw the Toa ladies under some pressure and backtracking quickly. An organised defence forcing Toa into making a few mistakes and forcing an early scrum. However the determined Toa attack was able to work through some phases and spin the ball wide on the left hand side of the field, sucking the Quins defence in and forcing a mis match for pace on the wing. The scrambled cover defence was unable to catch the Toa winger who ran the ball from the half way line to score the first try of the game, which was converter shortly after.

Following some more defending from the kick off Quins managed to get their hands on the ball and unfortunately knocked on as it was taken into contact. From the resulting scrum a quick switch of play from the Toa backline saw them take advantage of the large blind side and again cross the paint, this was followed by another try before the half despite Quins aggressive defence.

HT – 17-0

The Abu Dhabi girls were rallied at half time and were determined to come out strong after the half. Some strong tackling and a huge amount of defensive work from Rozalyn McComish and Michelle Cronin stalled the consistent waves of the Toa attack. However the experienced ladies in pink were able to take advantage of the large blind side once again from a ruck on the Quins 22 and ran in another score mid way through the second half.

Quins found it difficult to get into the game with very little possession, and Toa rounded the game off with one more score to leave the game sewn up at 28-0. The Abu Dhabi ladies were able to take heart in their defensive effort and would hope to lay down a better marker in the following game with a little more possession of the ball.

Abu Dhabi Ladies vs Dubai Hurricanes Ladies

With a close rivalry between these two teams and a competitive history, Hurricanes were going into this game as strong favourites having beaten Quins on several occasions this season. Hurricanes won the toss and chose to kick off. On the main pitch facing the stand the kick off was short of the 10 metre line and Abu Dhabi was awarded a free kick on the half way line. The ball was tapped and moved towards the grandstand side of the pitch with the ball going through several sets of hands before Helen Martin injected some speed and determination by hitting the line hard and slicing through the tackle from the canes defender. Continuing her run past the sweeping open side defender Helen ran the ball close to the touchline with the scrambling defence of the winger closing fast. With an intelligent late switch, newcomer Paula McCarthy took the ball at top flight and the canes defenders were completely wrong footed. Paula was able to take the ball straight through to score under the posts. The conversion was ably added by scrum half Jill Oliver who trotted back to the half way ready for the restart.

Following the kick off some great pressure from the Quins ladies forced canes into a mistake and from the resulting scrum hurricanes were penalised. Some more straight line running this time from the experienced Aideen Butler enabled her to break through the defensive line, however from the ruck that followed hurricanes were awarded a scrum which resulted in a penalty for the Dubai side. Continued pressure from the Quins ladies made retaining the ball difficult for canes though they managed to do just that and broke through the Abu Dhabi defensive line. McCarthy chased back with Mareiad Holohan to catch the canes attacker however the offload before the tackle saw hurricanes go under the posts for a try.
The period before half time saw another productive period for the Quins ladies. Recycling the ball well and moving it wide allowed Kelly Anne Davey to pick a fantastic line and slice through an organised Dubai defence. Miraculously, torn hamstring and barely able to breathe, Davey was able to sprint to the line untouched and add another five points to the Quins total. Converted by Jill ‘trotter’ Oliver.

HT – 14-5

Immediately following kick off a very positive and aggressive defending AD defence lead by captain Helen Martin held the Hurricanes attacker off the ground and gained a turnover in the form of a scrum. Another solid set piece from Quins gave quick clean ball to AD backline Davey hit another sharp line from Martin with the same result, a clean break and a score under the posts; once again the conversion was added by the on form Oliver.

A sustained attack was lead by hurricanes following the kick off. The ball was well retained by the Dubai team, but was met with equally well organised defending, frustration eventually gave way to a turn over and Quins were able to restart with another scrum. The Hurricanes half back was then penalised for hands in the scrum. The ball was run to the half way line and knocked on, with the game coming to a close the concentration on the Abu Dhabi faces was evident to all. With a determination to close out the win the scrum was able to take one against the head. With two tired teams trying to best each other the final minutes of the game saw mistakes from both sides and possession change hands often. Hurricanes with the last play of the game squandered a penalty opportunity. With the final whistle there was a definite sense of achievement from the Quins ladies in an accomplished show of both attacking rugby and organised and aggressive defending.

Abu Dhabi Ladies vs Doha Oryx Ladies

The kick off from Abu Dhabi to Doha was received under pressure and as a result Quins were able to restart from a knock on with a scrum. With a much larger pack and a shove right on the put in Doha were able to steal one against the head. They proceeded to push the ball to the centre where the defence was unable to stop a stampeding run on the first attempt. Helen Martin with a strong chase after the initial break was able to haul the attacker to the ground some 15 metres behind the gain line. From this last ditch tackle the Doha ladies were able to move the ball wide from the resulting ruck and score beneath the posts after rounding the regrouping Quins defenders.

With Quins looking tired from the Hurricanes game which had only briefly passed, they were able to maintain possession for a spell. Mareiad Holohan was able to run a straight line and took a pop ball in the centre during open play, the half break and off load led to a series of driving runs down the same side of the pitch which eventually resulted in a try near the corner flag for Paula McCarthy with the final pass provided by Helen Martin. Quins being made to work hard for the score. The try was unconverted.

Doha answered almost immediately with a score wide down the wing with a line break to score under the posts. Half time arrived soon after as McCarthy half break was stopped short and isolated she was penalised for holding onto the ball. The penalty chance was squandered by Doha and the ref blew for a welcome break for the Abu Dhabi girls.

HT – 12-5

With the kick off going over Abu Dhabi heads, the Quins ladies scrambling defence was under pressure right from the beginning of the second half. With some strong defending from Rozalyn McComish and a crunching tackle on a girl twice her size from McCarthy, Abu Dhabi held out for as long as they could but another Doha score was inevitable with the amount of possession they had. It came sooner rather than later with a suspect pass enabling one of the Doha forwards to cross the line and score.

With a series of line outs deep in AD territory and Doha moving the ball through the hands, the Quins winger was drawn in to make a tackle and the simplest of passes put the winger into space. Not even the tireless work rate of speedster McCarthy could reel the attacker in however and Doha scored again. The Emirates visitors were able to retain possession of the ball well in the closing minutes to see the game out comfortably. Quins players were looking very tired on their feet come the welcome final whistle and had once again given every ounce of energy during the game.

Abu Dhabi Ladies vs Kuwait Ladies

A play off between these two teams would decide fifth and sixth place. Abu Dhabi was coming into this game tired but confident that they would finish strongly. They were given quite a wakeup call then when they found themselves on the end of two Kuwait trys. Tired and slightly disorganised defence was steadily run down the field on the way to the scoreline, leaking penalties all the way. The resolute tackling and the awesome work rate of Abu Dhabi’s player of the tournament Rozalyn McComish prevent several attempts at the line. However even she could not stop Kuwait cross the paint twice in the first half. Abu Dhabi, who were barely able to get out of their own half, were going to have a lot of work to do in the second half to turn the game around.

HT – 10-0

With some substitutions at half time and some fresh legs there was a sense of urgency in the Quins play in the early stages of the second half. With some solid defending in their own 22 Helen Martin was able to intercept a pass and ran the length of the pitch to score, supported all the way by Mareiad Holohan, whose support play in this tournament was again invaluable.
A series of handling errors followed a free kick awarded to Abu Dhabi on the half way line. From one of these resulting errors just inside the Kuwait half, Aideen butler was passed the ball from a scrum and was able to hold the ball up. The looping run of McComish was picked up by Butler and the offload lead to a neat try in the corner.

The final try of the tournament came when Helen Martin pounced on a loose ball on the Kuwait 10 metre line and got back to her feet to pop off to McCarthy. The speedy winger was able to round the defence and score under the posts. The tired legs of Jill Oliver were unable to convert the score despite the proximity to the posts. The final whistle bringing delight to players, coaches and supporters alike.