Suffolk Ladies 20 - Norfolk Ladies 17
On an autumnal evening at Bury St Edmunds Suffolk Ladies narrowly prevailed over their Norfolk rivals in the opening fixture of the tri-counties competition between Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire. They took the field well coached and led by Ciaran Leeson of Bury St Edmunds rugby club and clad in their new Suffolk kit for the first time. This was made possible by the generous sponsorship of St Edmundsbury Wealth Management Limited.
Suffolk took a 3-0 lead from the boot of Robyn Gordon after a strong start. A 50 meter run from Steph Durrant led to the opening try to increase the lead to 8-0.
A strong response from the visitors saw them go over the Suffolk try line from the base of a ruck but Suffolk led 8-5 at half time.
An unconverted try from Lucy Kerr stretched Suffolk's lead but the hosts had to mount a determined defense of their line under sustained pressure before succumbing to a penalty try and suffering a sin binning.
With three minutes left a brilliant solo try by the Norfolk winger gave the visitors a 13-17 lead. Suffolk rallied and laid siege to the Norfolk tryline. With the last play Heather Barrie stormed over the line to give Suffolk a converted try and victory by 20-17.