This one was for you Womma

On an unnaturally warm Sunday in the East Midlands, Coalville Ladies took their season, and a chance of promotion, into their own hands. The table was theirs to decide as they went into the game in third with the same points as Aston above them and Dudley Kingswinford below. Second place was there for the taking.

Coalville made it hard work for themselves throughout most of the game; when they found structure they made ground on DK, only for handling errors to let them down. Their defence was strong when DK had the ball, lead by forward of the match Katie Radley, the pressure told and eventually Coalville hit their stride. The first half ended with a score from winger Erin ‘Whip’ Snape; a strong scrum from the forwards, followed by slick handling resulted in the winger going over in the corner on the stroke of half time.

The second half got off to a bad start for Coalville when DK crossed over the line in the same corner that Snape had before half time. Coalville got their heads back in the game, lead by captain and back of the match Jenny Renton, they found their way. A slick lineout from the forwards resulted in Emily ‘Pank’ Piancastelli cutting a brilliant line to score under the posts with Renton adding the conversion. From then, all that remained was for Coalville to maintain their discipline and see the game out. Eventually, a knock-on by DK resulted in the final whistle sounding and the scores staying at 12-5. Coalville secured second and will now apply for promotion.

It was a bittersweet day for the Ladies, ending the season on such a high the just reward for their Head Coach Alan ‘Womma’ Whyman who announced his retirement. Womma has not just been our head coach, but also a ‘Dad’ to all of us. One of the nicest blokes you’ll ever meet and a true legend. This one was for you Womma.