Glamorgan steal win with last gasp try

At a wet and windy Sketty Lane, Swansea University Women’s RFC fell foul to a last minute try from Glamorgan to slip to a  10-8 defeat, in the opening match of both sides' Division One BUCS campaign.


The Green and Whites were totally dominant up front throughout and this paid dividends after 13 minutes when the hosts were rewarded with a penalty after exerting pressure at the scrum, which back row Carole Ann Burt fired home from just inside the 22.


With both sides fielding inexperienced players, handling was at a premium and this naivety showed as Swans let the visitors straight back in the match. In tough conditions, the Swansea back line tried to run out of their own 22 only for an error to gift Glamorgan’s captain, back row Carys Thomas, the ball as she sprinted beneath the posts.


The home team responded well and continued to put pressure on at the set piece with flanker Kat Morris consistently making the hard yards with the ball while captain Lizzie Hearn was a constant threat from full back, picking some beautiful lines and slicing through the opposition defence. Just before half time, it was one of these cutting runs by Hearn that put openside Eliza Slinn clear, although the flanker still had plenty to do as she held off the cover defence to touchdown in the corner.


After the interval, Swansea continued where they left off, dominating both territory and possession with replacement centre Lynzie Drewitt, making a big impact in mid field. With conditions worsening, the home side were unable to capitalise on their complete authority and despite being camped on the opposition line, they were unable to make it pay on the scoreboard.


As time ticked away, Glamorgan started to believe more and more that they could bag a victory against the odds, and with only one minute remaining, another Swansea mistake led to Glamorgan’s full back Cathryn Day Smith to race away and steal the win.