Barry Trowbridge

Richmond 3 Wasps 10

IT TOOK Wasps until the 49th minute of the second half to take firm control of the Women's Rugby Football Union National Cup final at the Rosslyn Park ground at Roehampton yesterday although any result other than their victory, by a try and two dropped goals to a penalty goal would have been a travesty.

Until that point, when Helen Harding, the Wasps scrum half, linked with her No.8, Heather Stirrup, to score in the right hand corner Richmond were always in with a statistical chance of stealing the day, although given that they spent all but minutes of the last hour in their own half, it never looked all that likely.

Karen Almond, the England and Great Britain captain and Wasps stand off, was the difference between the teams. Deadly accurate with her tactical kicking, she always had plenty of time to consider the options and invariably chose correctly. Her personal tally was the two dropped goals after 25 minutes and two minutes into the eight added on at the end of the first period; she narrowly missed three more attempts.

Richmond opened enthusiastically and were rewarded with a penalty goal by Deirdre Mills, their stand off, after four minutes but Wasps were soon into their stride and took territorial control they were never to lose despite Richmond's superiority in the scrum.

As a game of rugby, it was no spectacle, neither side having a player behind the scrum capable of creating openings and numerous injuries breaking up what little flow there was.

The result means that Wasps have achieved the league and cup double this season remarkable considering they lost several key players at the start of the year to Saracens.

SCORERS: Richmond: Penalty goal: Mills. Wasps: Try: Harding. Dropped goals: Almond 2.

RICHMOND: A McMahon; K Penney, P Harris, E Davies, D Francis; D Mills, D Dorling; D Grantham (rep: J Holloway), S Wachholz-Dorrington, J Watts, C Isherwood, A Cooper, H Devine, C Rhys, M Harrington.

WASPS: V Moore; C Stennett, H Maskell, C Willets, A O'Kelly; K Almond, H Harding; S Ewing, A Turner, B Davies, H Bewsy, A Parsons, P Durkan, S Martineau, H Stirrup.

Referee: A Evans (London).

Copyright (C) The Times, 1990

Source Citation
"Almond takes Wasps to league and cup double; Rugby Union." Times [London, England] 9 Apr. 1990