Camborne Women hosted their first home game of the NC2 campaign against Newton Abbot Ladies in a hard-fought contest that went right down to the wire.
The hosts started on the front foot, applying sustained pressure inside the Newton Abbot 22-metre line. After just six minutes, number eight Beth Hampton powered over from close range. Outside centre Sofia Bishop added the extras to give Camborne an early 7 – 0 lead.
Newton Abbot responded quickly in the 12th minute, hitting back with an unconverted try to narrow the gap to 7 – 5. However, Camborne swiftly reclaimed control three minutes later when flanker Michelle Bauer crossed the line following a pick-and-go attack. Bishop converted her second kick of the afternoon, extending Camborne’s advantage to 14 – 5.
The visitors refused to back down and launched a sharp attack in the 25th minute. Finding a gap in the defense, Newton Abbot slipped through to score. The conversion attempt struck the underside of the crossbar and bounced clear, leaving the score at 14 – 10 going into the halftime break.
Following a tight restart, with both teams holding each other in mid-field, Newton Abbot broke through in the 60th minute, driving over in the scoreboard corner for an unconverted try that handed them a narrow 14 – 15 lead.
Camborne responded with fiercely. Following sustained forward pressure and a string of penalties awarded against the visitors, team captain and second row Caitlín Milliken crashed over five metres in from the touchline in the 68th minute. The conversion attempt missed, but Camborne nudged back ahead at 19 – 15.
With five minutes left on the clock, controversy struck. A period of confusion surrounded a dropped ball, which was ultimately judged to have been touched down in goal for a Newton Abbot try. The conversion was added, giving Newton Abbot a 19 – 22 lead and sealing a dramatic victory.
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