It was a beautiful day for rugby as Gosford travelled to Aylesbury for their second pool match in the national cup, facing an enthusiastic and determined ATL side.

ATL kicked off with a strike deep into the Gosford half and quickly regained possession. Despite Gosford’s excellent counter-rucking, ATL’s physicality drove them into touch, resulting in the first lineout inside Gosford's 22. ATL moved the ball wide and crossed the try line for the opening score (5-0). It was clear from the outset that ATL intended to play an aggressive, attacking game and were up for a proper match.

Gosford answered quickly, regaining possession from an ATL knock-on at the restart. A series of well-coordinated phases broke through ATL’s defence, and Eve, using her speed, broke past the ATL defenders to score Gosford’s first try, levelling the game (5-5).

ATL responded quickly, putting Gosford’s defence under sustained pressure. However, a loose pass turned over possession, and Gosford pushed forward demonstrating some fantastic offloading skills. The ball found Monica, who broke through ATL’s defence for her first try of the day (5-10).

ATL showed resilience, holding strong against Gosford's next wave of attacks. Sophie excelled at the breakdown, ensuring Gosford retained possession. After several phases, Taia used her strength to break through the defence, making significant ground before being tackled. Her effort setup Gosford’s attack, and with superb offloading between Aylce, Eve, and Monica, the team surged to ATL’s 5-meter line, narrowly missing another score.

ATL retaliated with a counterattack deep inside their 22, advancing to the halfway line before being brought down by a brilliant tackle from Eve. Gosford’s defence forced a penalty, creating an opportunity for Emilia to score (5-15). Shortly after, Sophie added another try, with Immy converting to close the half (5-22).

The second half began with ATL showing determination, moving the ball across the field and maintaining possession against pressure from Gosford’s. However, Gosford regained the ball, and Monica ran in her second try (5-27).

Midway through the half, Taia had to leave the field due to an injury. We all wish her a speedy recovery.

ATL’s perseverance was rewarded with a well-earned try, narrowing the gap to (10-27). Gosford quickly responded with Eve diving into the corner for her second try of the game (10-32). Shortly afterward, Bella followed up with another try, and Immy added the conversion (10-39).

In the game’s final moments, Monica rounded off her hat trick with a superb run to score the final try, sealing a Gosford victory at (10-44).
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Final Score:

ATL 10 - Gosford 44

It was a fantastic contest against a resilient ATL team, well done to everyone involved.

The league table can be found here

Tries:
• Bella x 1
• Emilia x 1
• Sophie x 1
• Eve x 2
• Monica x 3

Conversions:
• Immy x 2

Thanks to Steve Karpa for the amazing photos. The album and other content is available here