GOLDEN FERNS CROWNED SOUTHERN CHAMPIONS WITH STUNNING VICTORY OVER BRITISH ARMY
On Sunday 26th July, the Golden Ferns travelled to St Mary’s University, Twickenham, to face the British Army in the Southern Championship Final.
Both sides had booked their place in the showpiece after defeating Bedford Tigers and Brentwood Eels during the league stages. Earlier in July, the Army had edged a thrilling encounter 32-26 at Aldershot, although both teams were missing several key players. Twelve months earlier, it had been these same two sides contesting the Final, with the Army narrowly prevailing 28-24. This time, however, the Ferns arrived determined to rewrite the script.
The Ferns travelled with an outstanding squad, naming 20 players plus three travelling reserves. Robyn Price was unavailable after representing Scotland against Canada the previous day, while Ash Newbold and Gwen Tibbles were away on holiday. Ellen Witt continued her recovery from injury sustained against Bedford, and Ebony Templar also missed out after suffering a quad injury against Brentwood.
The squad was packed with quality. Captain Chloe Fletcher and Abbey Constable had been outstanding throughout the season, while Elle Trezise brought invaluable rugby league experience at prop. England Lions international Jessie Hood partnered Sarah Humphries in the halves, tasked with controlling territory and dictating the tempo of the game. Out wide, Dee Latu and Daisy Pearce-Lyons provided both physicality in defence and a genuine attacking threat, while Vicky “Scoot” Mansell marshalled the backfield, offering security under the high ball and her usual reliability from the kicking tee.
After a smooth coach journey and an efficient warm-up, the Ferns took to the field in front of a healthy crowd, including players from Bedford Tigers and Brentwood Eels who had just contested the third-place play-off.
The Army kicked off, but the Ferns immediately laid down a marker. Strong carries from the forward pack marched them deep into Army territory before captain Chloe Fletcher powered over from close range inside the opening minute. Mansell added the conversion for a dream 6-0 start.
The pattern continued from the restart. Fletcher, Trezise, Constable and Hood repeatedly won the collision, while hooker Amy Cook provided excellent service from dummy-half. Kat Hyland and Gabbie Collins linked superbly through the middle, creating momentum before the ball was shifted left for Dee Latu to shrug off defenders and score. Mansell converted again to extend the lead to 12-0.
The Ferns dominated possession during the next spell but were frustrated by a handful of handling errors. They thought they had added a third when KatieLou Horler finished in the corner, only for the referee to rule a forward pass in the build-up. The disappointment was compounded moments later when, from the resulting scrum, the Army broke away from their own half to score an 80-metre try. The successful conversion reduced the deficit to 12-6 and briefly swung momentum.
Rather than panic, the Ferns responded brilliantly.
They returned to their powerful running game, supported the ball carrier well and continually stretched the Army defence. Raph Aquilina looked lively on the wing before Latu produced another moment of brilliance to grab her second try of the afternoon, again converted by Mansell. Almost immediately afterwards, Hood sliced through the defensive line, rounded the full-back and scored beneath the posts, with Mansell maintaining her perfect record from the tee.
The Army then enjoyed their best spell of the match, spending several minutes camped on the Ferns’ line. However, outstanding defensive resilience, aggressive line speed and excellent decision-making forced repeated errors from the Army attack. It proved to be a defining period of the contest.
Having weathered the storm, the Ferns marched straight back downfield and, just before half-time, Trezise crashed over for an unconverted try to give the Ferns a commanding 28-6 lead at the break.
The Ferns’ strength in depth was evident throughout the opening half. Ella Shakespeare, Harriet Pearce-Lyons and Nicola Hanson all made valuable contributions from the bench, while Emily Labrooy replaced Mansell at half-time to give the full-back a well-earned breather after a lung-bursting break that had only been halted a metre short of the try line.
Humphries kicked the second half deep into Army territory, with Fletcher and Constable leading an excellent chase to pin their opponents back. Both teams exchanged strong sets during the opening exchanges, with neither side giving much away. Fresh legs from Tilly Harris in the forwards and Mel Wilkinson in the backline maintained the Ferns’ intensity as they continued to dominate the physical battle.
The decisive blow soon followed.
Jessie Hood crossed for her second try under the posts, with Humphries adding the conversion. Minutes later, Fletcher bulldozed over for her second of the afternoon before completing her hat-trick shortly afterwards, running a superb line from a perfectly timed Humphries pass. Humphries converted to stretch the lead to 44-6.
Alex Rowles entered the action in the second row and brought composure to the Ferns’ edge defence. Despite the scoreline, the Army continued to battle and eventually crossed for a converted try following successive penalties and sustained pressure close to the Ferns’ line. At 44-12, however, the outcome was no longer in doubt.
The Ferns were determined to finish in style.
Following another dominant set through the middle, the ball was moved quickly to the right where Mansell appeared on the wing to score in the corner. The final word fittingly belonged to captain Chloe Fletcher. Having scored four tries against the Army earlier in the season, she repeated the feat by dummying her way over for her fourth try of the afternoon and the Ferns’ tenth of the match. Humphries added the conversion to complete an emphatic 54-12 victory.
It was a magnificent performance from the Golden Ferns, who controlled the contest from the opening whistle and produced arguably their finest display of the season to deservedly lift the 2026 Southern Championship trophy.
Jessie Hood was deservedly named the Rugby Football League’s Player of the Match after an outstanding all-round display. The Ferns also recognised the excellent performances of Amy Cook and Sarah Humphries, who were voted the team’s Players of the Match and received cider courtesy of club sponsors Thatchers.
One year after the heartbreak of defeat in the Final, the Golden Ferns returned to the biggest stage and delivered a championship-winning performance that will live long in the memory.
Head Coach John Gould commented, ‘I’m unbelievably proud of this team. Twelve months ago we walked away from the final hurting after falling just short, so to come back and produce a performance like that on the biggest stage says everything about the character of this group.
This wasn’t built in a day. It’s the result of three years of hard work, commitment and belief from every player, coach and volunteer involved with the Golden Ferns. The players have earned this through the standards they set every single week, both at training and away from the club.
Credit to the Army Women—they’re a fantastic team and have helped drive standards across the South. But on Sunday, our players were outstanding for the full 80 minutes and thoroughly deserved to be crowned Southern Champions.
This is a massive moment for our club, but it also feels like the start of something bigger. We’re excited to keep pushing standards, help grow the women’s game in the South, and see just how far this team can go.’
That wraps the 2026 Golden Ferns season up. We look forward to 2027 already!
