Ellingham & Ringwood Women 2XV made the trip to Salisbury on Sunday for their third outing together, producing a physical and muddy performance that ended in a 19–19 draw.

The Ellies kicked off into difficult conditions, battling both the opposition, strong wind and mud. Early intent was clear, with turnovers in the Salisbury 22 and strong pressure from the off. Just six minutes in, the forward pack delivered a dominant scrum, and slick handling in the backs sent Rhiannon Stokes stepping back inside to score under the posts — Molly Hadfield adding the conversion to make it 0–7.
Momentum continued to build and on 16 minutes, Emma Lipsett stormed through for the second try after a superb break and offload from Cattie Perry up the middle. With Salisbury pinned back for large spells and territory firmly in Ellies’ favour, the only frustration was not adding more points before the break. Salisbury struck just before half time with a break through the middle, leaving the score 7–12 at the interval.

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The second half saw Salisbury come out with renewed energy, scoring twice from set piece and broken play to swing the score to 19–12. The Ellies had to dig deep and work their way out of a loss. With Abby Bevan forced off through injury, the response was immediate and full of character.

On 59 minutes, Emma Lipsett once again powered straight through the heart of the defence to grab her second of the match, with Molly Hadfield calmly converting to level the scores at 19–19.
Moments later, the match was unexpectedly brought to a close at 60 minutes due to fading light, a decision made by prior agreement between Salisbury and the referee unbeknown to the players. With Ellingham finishing the stronger side and pressing hard in the final exchanges, there was a real sense that more time could have tipped the result in their favour.

Nevertheless, this was another hugely positive step for the 2XV side, physical and full of promise.

? FOTM — Cattie Perry: outstanding in both attack and defence, setting the tone with powerful carries and committed tackles.
? BOTM — Rhiannon Stokes: lively, fearless, and clinical with her finish, a constant threat in open play.