DARK clouds and heavy rain looked like it was going to be a forwards battle, as the Roses took on Littleborough Ladies in round two of the Women’s Junior Cup at the weekend.

However just before kick off, the rain cleared and the sun shone as the Roses ran out comfortable winners by the final whistle.

From kick off, both teams forwards immediately went head to head. The Roses pack of Chapman, Fort, Cowgill, Wade, Riley, Murtagh, Pate and Plum all carried strongly but Littleborough matched them up with strong tackling.

Good ball retention gave scrum half Steph Roe plenty of opportunity to put the ball out to the backs. The backs used the ball well with wingers Marklew and Winterburn been able to stretch their legs but Littleborough defence was solid.

Littleborough in attack took the game to the Roses with good runs from their strong forwards and their lively number nine kept them going forward. The defence of both teams was physical and bone crunching which prevented either team scoring in the first 15 minutes.

The Roses full back Courteney Pearson (Get Shrewd) was the first to get on the scoresheet, when quick ball through the hands of centres Baggaley and Hey put Pearson in a gap. The conversion was missed. From the restart the Roses continued with the pressure and from a clean break by captain Schepisi took her close to the try line before she popped off the ground to support player Sarah Pate (Adams Tebb Kitchen), who crashed over for a try. The conversion was missed, 10-0. The last ten minutes of the first half saw Littleborough dominated the game and they levelled the score through a try, conversion and penalty. Half time, 10-0.

The second half couldn’t have started better for the Roses as prop Danika Cowgill (KL Health Hub) squeezed in the smallest gaps to touchdown, 15-10.

Again Littleborough came straight back and levelled the scores with 15 minutes left and the scores at 15-15. This was a nail biting cup tie, keeping the many spectators on the edge of their seats. Both teams played entertaining rugby with the forwards making the hard yards and the backs trying to find gaps. It was the Roses who broke the deadlock, when replacement centre Ackroyd stepped an on coming defender and put fellow centre Saima Hussain (Cargo Overseas) into a gap and she was able to outpace the chasing defenders. Ackroyd added the two and the Roses lead 22-15.

Littleborough again came straight back and their no8 and no13 made some great attacking runs, keeping the pressure on. Although the Roses defence was solid, the penalty count started to go up which gifted the ball back to Littleborough and they were unlucky not to be rewarded for their efforts. As the last five minutes approached and with very achy bodies the Roses finished were able to finish with a brace of tries from Pearson. Ackroyd added the conversions and the final score finished 36-15.