Coventry Bears

The Carvell Coventry Bears Ladies have secured a Semi Final Place.
They have been drawn to play Halifax The venue and date are yet to be decided.
In the other semifinal London will face Warrington.
This is a fantastic draw for ladies coach Michelle Umaga as we are drawn against her hometown club. Former secretary Kevin Hayes who despite now residing in Sydney still helps out on the website is also a Haligonian. Will Kevin be flying home for the game? Match Report
Saturday saw the Carvell Coventry Bears ladies take on West London Sharks a team they have not defeated since they were first formed 4 years ago. The players knew that this game was going to be the hardest game they had ever played and knew too that the players would have to stand firm to all that London threw at them and the girls responded in a magnificent manner. The game started well for the Bears with London knocking the ball on from Kyra Gleeson’s excellently placed kick off. The Bears scrummed down within 10 metres of the West London try line, loose forward Ant Morgan collected the ball from the base of the scrum and took the ball in before giving it to full back Jo Hart, Jo stormed over the line to score the first try with less than a minute on the clock. At the kick off the home side again ran the ball in hard at the London team. Sheena Larkin showed her excellence in the forwards making countless tackles and runs. Both teams conceded numerous knock on’s due to the weather conditions and scrums were a big part in the game. After another knock on near to the Bears try line, the Bears defence was once again on the back foot and fumble just metres from their line put their defence under further pressure. The gallant defenders held out for four tackles but eventually succumbed as the Sharks scored in the corner.
score 6-4 The Bears ladies re-grouped and again Kyra proved her worth with her kicking game with another well timed shot that bounced in field and into to touch to give the Bears yet another scrum. Again the ladies ran the ball at the visitors with Stacey Hando directing her backs around beautifully. The bears stretched their lead when the experienced Ant Morgan powered over the line to score just before the break.

Half time Carvell Coventry Bears 10 West London Sharks 4 The second half started out badly for the Bears as they were forced to camp on their own line for the first 15 minutes of the second stanza. The London ladies threw everything at them and eventually they succeeded in breaking down the Coventry defence to close the gap to two points in Coventry’s favour. The Bears were starting to lose their confidence and composure and the Sharks again crossed the Bears line to take the lead for the first time in the match to lead 12-10.

It was then that the Bears ladies started to show their true worth and displayed why they have proved so hard to beat at home. They fought for and chased down every ball, and tackled as though their very lives depended on it. Jo Kilby exemplified the spirit of the girls and appeared to be everywhere for 10 minutes tackling anyone in sight. It was this intensity that saw the Bears get their due reward from the fight back with Steph Church and Sheen Larkin putting their bodies on the line time and time again. Scrum half Ale Worcester’s defence was exceptional through out the game. Gemma Bright playing in her first game for the Bears was also on top form.
With just 7 minutes to go the Sharks knocked on and from another scrum if was Jo Hart who powered herself over the line and again Kyra Gleeson converted to give the Bears a 16 points to 12 advantage
At the kick off London attempted a short kick but it was Jo Hart an ever present this season who picked the ball up and ran nearly the length of the field to score a hat-trick of tries in the game. With that effort the Londoners knew they were finally defeated.
Final Score Carvell Coventry Bears 22 West London Sharks 12.
Coach Michelle Umaga was jubilant
“This has been the best game the ladies have ever played and without some key players everyone stood up and didn’t shy away from anything London threw at us .We knew we had it in us to beat them but we needed the self-belief to do it and we had that belief in ourselves before the game today”. The Bears ladies are now in the RLC semi-finals for the first time and will play Halifax Vandals on the 24th of August.
Captain Debbie Drake commented on the draw
“This is a fantastic draw for us and especially for Michelle, by coincidence is Halifax are Michelle’s old team so we know we will have to play at our best to reach the finals on the 7th September”