Salford Red Devils 26 Hull KR 16 Match Report
Salford Red Devils Ladies continued their winning run, following back-to-back romps over Castleford, with a hard fought, but deserved win over Hull KR, in their home fixture, last Sunday, thanks to a splendid final quarter, which finally put paid to the visitors’ growing aspirations.
The Red Devils got off to a tremendous start, in the fifth minute, with what, retrospectively, was to become the try of the match, covering, as it did, around fifty metres. Smart handling launched right winger, Cailey Miller, down the flank, until, having drawn in the cover, she sent an accurate pass inside to the supporting Anna Dennis, who is always so unstoppable in such situations, and she stormed the remaining distance to ground the ball between the posts, and then add on the goal for good measure.
Whether this early score, on the back of the double routs over Castleford, affected the players adversely by lulling them into an over-confidence, or whether the ease with which they had won those two encounters had taken the edge off their game, but, for the following fifty minutes, their performance was somewhat below their norm, with individual errors turning over the ball to the opposition, even on the first tackle on some occasions.
The visiting Robins positively thrived on the extra possession, with which they were presented, giving them ample opportunity to launch attacks on the Salford line. The first warning of this came just three minutes after that first try, when a Reds’ penalty kick failed to find touch, and then the further complication of a set restart, led to a Hull try in the corner from an overhead kick to the left winger, narrowing the home lead to two points.
As if to underline the turn the game had taken, the Robins took a 6-10 lead on sixteen minutes, when a Salford forward pass was compounded by a penalty for a head tackle, and the visitors forced their way over between the posts for a converted try.
There was one aspect of the Salford game, however, which, thankfully, from that point on, was really quite outstanding, and that was their defence, typified, on 38 mins, by fullback, Dennis’s try saving tackle, which forced the loss of the ball, as the pair rolled over the line. Not only did it prevent what could have become a significant half time deficit, it also, as had happened the previous day in the Academy’s game, became a platform for a counter-attack, which ended with a more positive change in the scoreline.
A seven set twenty metre restart was expanded by a further set restart, and stand-off, Louise Fellingham exploited a gap in Hull’s defence and crossed close to the posts, which with Dennis’s conversion sent the home side into the changing-rooms with a 12-10 half-time lead.
For over the first fifteen second-half minutes, the Salford players were pegged into their own thirty metre area, by wave after wave of Rovers’ attacks, but only once, on 46 mins, did the visitors manage to breach the magnificent defence, to retake the lead, 12-16.
The major turnaround came on fifty-five minutes, coinciding, as it did, with the return to the fray of skipper, Taz Corcoran, and suddenly there seemed to be a significant change in the Reds’ attack, with much more assured, more accurate, and better-timed passes, which not only found their mark, but also stuck, with their recipient finding themselves in space and with additional support.
It started in the 57th minute, when, on the back of four fine sets of possession, Miller received the ball in space, and this prolific scorer of tries since her mid-season arrival, took full advantage of the situation to go the twenty metres in limited space, and score in the corner, to level the score.
All the momentum was now with Salford, but they had to show considerable patience before they were able to retake the lead, on seventy minutes. Once again, it was Miller, who benefitted from some fine handling from her inside backs, direct from a scrum, crossing once again in the corner, to put the Red Devils in the driving seat, and just to emphasise their overall superiority Megan Bragg put the finishing touches to the game with a try by the posts, converted by Dennis.
It takes a really good side to find a way to win on those occasions when they are a little below form, and the whole team can take great satisfaction at the way they overwhelmed the Robins, in that splendid final quarter.
SALFORD
Anna Dennis, Lilly Gray, Laura Ellison, Stephanie Gray, Cailey Miller, Louise Fellingham, Ellie Costello, Kayleigh Bradshaw, Tamzin Corcoran, Megan Bragg, Caitlin Washington, Jadine McVernon, Maddison Price
Interchanges
Holly Waddington, Summer Harris, Yasmin Parton-Sotomayor, Beth Hayes
18th Player: Emily Carlisle
