Enniskillen travelled to Lisburn as round robin leaders with two wins out of two but with Lisburn picking up two bonus points from a win and a loss were only two points behind Enniskillen and a win would see them go top.  There was an air of excitement and nervousness when the two teams took the field as they knew what exactly was at stake and that nothing less than their best would be good enough.  Lisburn showed their intent straight from the kick-off with a surging run down the wing by Amy Burnside and furious rucking from the Lisburn pack showed that the team has worked hard on continuity since their encounter with Virginia.  The first fifteen minutes of the game saw Lisburn camped in the Enniskillen 22 metres but excellent defence by the visitors held the home team out.  Indiscipline by the Lisburn forwards kept relieving the pressure on Enniskillen until the 12th minute of the game. The ball was moved wide from a Lisburn scrum on the touchline, after a quick ruck the ball was passed to prop Vicky Barns who thought Christmas had come early as the try line was within reach.  However the scramble defence by the “skins” backline saw off this first onslaught, but Lisburn held strong and after recycling the ball once more a quick transfer and strong charge by centre Jenni Dornan saw a try underneath the posts.  The try was converted by Ashleigh Baxter to make the score 7-0 after 10 minutes. 

This seemed to awaken the Enniskillen team and they increased their tempo which saw the game played in the Lisburn half.  Good tactical kicking by the Enniskillen out-half and surging runs of the back of the scrum by the powerful skins number 8 tested the Lisburn defence and kept them in their 22 metre.  After soaking up much of the pressure Baxter cleared the Lisburn lines and was fortunate to see the kick knocked on and put the home team back on the front foot.  On the brink of half-time Lisburn moved ahead again after fantastic pressure by scrum-half Debbie Preshaw who charged down the attempted clearance kick from the Enniskillen out-half.  However it was flanker Emma Boyd who claimed the try after doing what all good open side flankers do, supporting her team-mate and pressurizing the opposition, she caught the deflected ball and simply touched it down to bring the score to 14-0 once Baxter had converted the try. 

Half-time – 14-0

The second half showed tremendous passion and determination by both sides and each had surging runs into the oppositions 22metres.  Enniskillen’s coaches must have said the right things at half time as the structure to the skins attack became much sharper.  On a number of occasions the visitors were able to make advancing runs down the wings but excellent defence work by full-back Baxter stopped many try scoring attacks.  Enniskillen did cross the home team’s line half way through the second half but unfortunately the Enniskillen wing lost grip of the ball as she went to place it on the ground and as a result Lisburn were awarded the scrum.  This scare seemed to lift Lisburn once more and they battled their way back into the Enniskillen half.  In the last few minutes of the game, it seemed that neither of the teams would score, and the game was played around the half way line.  When the final whistle blew it ended an excellent example of girls youth rugby.  Both coaches are to be commended on their sterling work in producing two very well rounded teams.

Lisburn Swans now top the table with 10 points but must wait however for the final result on Sunday in the showdown between Virginia and Rainey Cheetahs.  A bonus point win by Virginia could see them snatch the Cup from Lisburn but with the Cheetahs strong set of forwards the outcome of the game is far from clear.  If Lisburn do win the Cup it will be a historic event for Lisburn’s Head Coach Claire Connor and Assistant Coach Marty Jones as their first year in charge of a girls contact team looks to be one of the most successful in their club’s ladies history.  It bodes well for Connor who is looking to re-establish the senior ladies team with these promising young players.