Morgan's last-gasp effort sees Panthers power to victory
Pembroke Panthers 22 - Whitchurch 19
Lauren Morgan was the toast of her Pembroke Panthers team-mates and their supporters as her last-gasp try saw them beat a very strong Whitchurch outfit in an entertaining clash in excellent weather conditions at Crickmarren.
Whitchurch were looking for their ninth win in a row as proof of their pedigree but The Panthers are no respecters of reputations as they proved from a long kick-off, good chase and tackle by Lauren Morgan set the tone for the day. Whitchurch knocked on, giving The Panthers a scrum in their 22. A long period of pressure and a series of penalties ensued before the ball was fed to Bex Partridge on the wing to score her first try.
Game ebbed and flowed
A mistake at the kick off gave Pembroke a scrum on the half way line and a series of powerful runs from Pearl Van Ellis, Isabelle Dufresney and Kirsty Fisher put them on the attack.
The Pembroke pack, led by the front row of Fisher, Jamie Mosely and Angharad Scourfield drove Whitchurch off the ball and launched another attack but they lost possession and from good turn-over ball Whitchurch attacked from deep, taking the lead with a converted try.
But The Panthers were soon back in the thick of things and good pressure again led to a first try for Meg Boorman, which was converted by Chloe Jones, gave the homesters a 12-7 interval lead.
Pearl powers through but Whitchurch keep battling back
Whitchurch started the second half well and an unconverted try which saw them level matters at 12-all but a series of penalties gave The Panthers the chance to launch a wave of attacks, which eventually saw Pearl Van Ellis cross the whitewash as reward for her total commitment.
But with only four minutes left Whitchurch grabbed a breakaway try, against the run of play, to take a 19-17 lead when the conversion was kicked.
Panthers have the final word
But Pembroke again launched big pressure from the kick off which led to a yellow card for Whitchurch as they continued to infringe. It helped establish the Panthers’ platform from which good concentration and ball retention allowed a small gap to open up and Lauren Morgan forced her way over.
It was converted by Chloe Jones to give The Panthers a narrow, but fully deserved success, where everyone, including the replacements played a full part. In the after-match celebrations it was decided that the player of the match was Kirsty Fisher, whilst the muppet of this memorable match was Rhiannon Griffiths!
Pembroke Panthers: Kirsty Fisher; Jamie Mosely; Angharad Scourfield; Lucy Neale; Emma Taylor; Isabelle Dufresney; Lauren Morgan; Pearl Van Ellis; Gail John; Chloe Jones; Bex Partridge; Charlotte Johnson; Meg Boorman; Carys Slack; Rhiannon Griffiths. Replacements (all played): Leanne Panton; Abbey Price; Hayley Clark; Vicki Wetherall; Chloe Beynon; Sian Rees.