Ferns get out rugby-leagued by the Army on Armed Forces Day

On a hot and breezy day in Bristol the Golden Ferns faced their toughest challenge of the season so far in round 3 of the Southern Women’s Championship.  In what was the Ferns first ever home game at Lockleaze Sports Centre, it was table-toppers the Army that provided the opposition.  The sizeable crowd, many of which had already watched the All Golds Men in action against Hammersmith, were supplemented by some Ferns fans plus the men’s players too, and the atmosphere on the sidelines and the balcony was bouncing!

The Ferns, playing into the stiff breeze, received kick off and for opening ten minutes competed hard but struggled to gain a real territory advantage – finding it difficult to get into the opposition half due to some strong defence but also the wind.  A great break from centre Enya Lackie provided a possible chance but it ultimately came to nothing.  However the next 15 minutes showed the Ferns just how cruel the sport of rugby league can be, as the Army took advantage of some tired defence and also exploited some space around the ruck close to the Ferns line to score 4 rapid fire tries without reply, to lead 0-22.

The Ferns were fighting really hard across the field, with props Chloe Fletcher and Trish Brown, loose forward Jessie Hood and hooker and skipper Bobbie Jackson getting through an enormous amount of work both with and without the ball.  The Army were definitely looking to attack in other areas of the field due to the brick wall they were constantly faced with in the middle.

Some enterprising attacking play from the two Ferns halves Ash Newbold and Sarah Humphries, plus some great ball carrying from centre Daisy Pearce-Lyons, took the Bristol side up the field.  Positive attack, as well as some mistakes in the Army ranks, lead to hooker Jackson exploiting a gap in the defence to dot down and open the Ferns account.  Full back Vicky Mansell added the extras and the Ferns tails were up.  This was shortlived however, as the Army hit back following a mistake straight from kick off.

With only minutes to go until the half time break, Ferns loose forward Hood took a pass and side stepped her way over the tryline to rapturous applause from the vociferous crowd.  Her footwork was akin to a prime Jason Robinson as she danced left and right to score a brilliant unconverted try.  Frustratingly for the Ferns though, the Army managed to cross in the corner right on half time to make the score 10 – 32 after 40 minutes.

Coaches John Gould and Alex Chown didn’t need to pick heads up at all, with the Ferns players feeling positive about the good stuff we could do in the second half, especially with the advantage of the wind behind us.  Would being 4 tries down be too much, or could the second half be a very different contest?  The Ferns had the belief that it would be the latter!

The Ferns started the second half brightly, kicking off and trying to contain the Army in their half in the same way that they had done to the Ferns in the first half.  Some creative attack and resolute defence was on show – Ferns forwards Gabbie Collins, Kat Hyland and Scotland squad member Robyn Price all showed glimpses of excellence, but it was the Army who crossed the whitewash first in the second half.  This kicked the Ferns into gear though, with defensive pressure being applied to the Army in their own half.  After a knock on it was Hood who picked up from the resulting scrum to dummy and power her way over the line for an unconverted score.

The experience of the Army was clear to see, and their knowledge and understanding of the nuances of rugby league was at a level above the Ferns.  Everytime the Ferns did something positive, the Army were quick to nullify or simply score again.  When Hood scored the Ferns had worked hard to manufacture the opportunity, but it didn’t take long for the Army to cross the tryline again.  On the sideline though it was clear that the Army were rattled – this game was like nothing that they had faced recently, and credit to the Ferns for really taking to the military outfit.

Indeed it was the Ferns who then started to put on a show for the hundreds in attendance, and Jackson benefitted from some excellent work from the Ferns forwards to score 2 quick-fire tries, both converted by Mansell.  The Army bench looked confused on the touchline, wondering whether they had done enough to hold on or whether the Ferns juggernaut was gaining even more momentum.  With 10 minutes to go the Ferns trailed by 16 points.  Coach Gould remembered his beloved Warrington Wolves succumbing to arch rivals St Helens back in 2005, conceding 3 tries in 9 minutes to lose the game that seemed an impossibility just minutes earlier.  Could there be an almighty comeback in Bristol in 2025?

Alas not.  After a near 10 minutes of competing hard but struggling to break through the solid Army defence, it was former Ferns player-coach Emily White who had the final say as she crossed with the last play of the game, making the full time score Golden Ferns 26 – 46 Army.  A brilliantly entertaining game, built on physicality and huge hits and carries – the Ferns really stepped up and showed how far they have come in a short period of time.  The Ferns players of the match were hooker and skipper Bobbie Jackson, and Welsh prop forward Chloe Fletcher; whilst the Army selected loose forward Jessie Hood as their standout.

The Ferns now face Bedford Tigers at home, then North Herts Crusaders away in the remaining 2 rounds of fixtures.  If these games go according to plan the Ferns will get another shot at the Army on the first weekend of August.  The feedback post-game is that the Ferns players would relish the opportunity to go into battle with the Army again!

Footage from the game can be found here:  https://app.veo.co/matches/20250628-fa4dcbd1-13d2-489f-b471-dae739c7397a-82680439/

Teams:

Golden Ferns

1 Scoot Mansell (vc)

2 Eloise Horton

3 Enya Lackie

4 Daisy Pearce-Lyons

5 Anna Treharne

6 Sarah Humphries

7 Ashleigh Newbold

8 Trish Brown

9 Bobbie Jackson (c)

10 Chloe Fletcher

11 Gabbie Collins

12 Alex Rowles

13 Jessie Hood (vc)

14 Katie Cobain

15 Ebony Templar

16 Robyn Price

17 Kat Hyland

18 Arielle Weston

19 Beth Cooper

20 Taylor Addicott

Army

Evie Litchfield, Freddi Foley, Akisi Yaravoli, Tokassa Salumibale, Dionne Donald, Emily White, Phoebe Partington, Faye Charlsworth, Zelah Yuill, Shannon Bennett, Jade Tonks, Racel Littleboy, Katherine Williams.    Meri Uwarte, Kizzy Nancholas, Winnie Rene, Sophie Benavent, Jessica Valentine, Tiegan Morris, Kaitlyn Fraser.