Milestone appearance ends in defeat for Tina

HENLEY HAWKS WOMEN picked up a losing bonus point from their Championship South 1 clash at Old Albanian Saints on Sunday in a match that saw Tina Simpson play her 200th match.

The visitors got off to a strong start, pinning the Saints into their own half for most of the first 40 minutes.

The Saints opened their account with a converted try after 21 minutes. Henley’s dominant kicking and line-outs continually allowed them to attack in the right areas of the pitch.

Just before half time Henley’s constant pressure was rewarded with an unconverted try through the hands of Lininia Kaufana to be dotted down in the corner by Jemma Thripp.

In the second half, substitutes for the Saints saw them begin to pressurise the Hawks resulting in a second and third try for the home side.

The Hawks women’s performance did not drop and a penalty against the hosts resulted in Chloe Baker diving over the try line to reduce the arrears to 19-12.

Old Albanian responded with a score under the posts taking the score to 26-12. Despite the penalty count increasing towards the end of the game, Henley dug deep and kept Old Albanian out of their 22 meaning the Hawks came away with a bonus point.

The Hawks’ players’ player award went to Jennie Green-Hope while the coaches’ player award went to Shira Kilgallon.