The latest chapter in the story of Bishop Auckland Ladies section was written with a fine battling win by the senior team at Yorkshire Barbarians in a game where lead changed hands six times.
Bishop, led by the effervescent Sarah Sowerby, took the game to their opponents from the off, and both teams showed good skills.
It was the home side who scored first as they took advantage of an atypical lapse in Bishop’s defence. The play went back and forth until the 25 minute mark when scrum-half Judy Williams picked the ball from the back of the scrum. She ran into the back line and spun a pass out wide to full-back Laura Gibbon, who accelerated away to score the try.
Gibbon then landed an excellent conversion in the wind to give Bishop the lead.
In the second half, Chaya Blackett moved from centre to scrum-half, a position she had never played before, but this in no way weakened the side as she went on to put in a fine performance.
Louis Northwood also came on at the break to make her debut.
Bishop almost increased their lead when Becca Butler ran 50m down the centre of the pitch before being hauled down. It was the Barbarians, however, who were next on the score sheet when they scored a try.
Bishop were soon back in front though: a powerful run from Gibbon ended when she put in a wonderful kick behind the defence; Butler was first to the ball and she was able to score without being touched. Another Gibbon conversion followed.
A try-saving tackle by Emma Quinn kept Bishop ahead, but this topsy-turvy game soon saw the Barbarians lead again through their third try of the afternoon, the conversion giving them a 3-point lead.
With time fast running out, Butler put in yet another powerful run which led to Gibbon adding her second try and, despite her being just wide with the conversion, it was enough for Bishop to win by 2 points.
Bishop Auckland's local community newspaper.
