Yorkshire women beat Surrey 37-7 in a commanding performance which saw them run in seven tries to be crowned Gill Burns Division 1 Champions.
Yorkshire’s feat was all the more impressive considering the loss of their captain Lauren Bolger, and then her replacement Sarah Foster in the first 11 minutes.
Yorkshire applied pressure to Surrey from the outset and scored their first try after eight minutes through full back Danie Green.
Surrey had a series of promising attacks, but handling errors left them without a score.
Yorkshire enjoyed most of the possession and after 32 minutes, newly appointed captain Amy Gould broke through a Surrey tackle to score.
After a series of penalties conceded by Surrey, Jane Meadows received a yellow card for a high tackle.
Yorkshire capitalised on their advantage and as Surrey gave away a penalty on their 5m line, the pass went to No 8 Becky Greene who ploughed through the defenders to score and make it 15-0 at half-time.
Yorkshire’s relentless pressure continued and an arching run from centre Adaoha Akwiwu brought their tally to four while flanker Becky Patrick, who caused Surrey problems with her carrying all day, crossed the whitewash next. Taylor-Roberts converted to score her first points of the day, bringing the score to 27 – 0.
Yorkshire’s Georgina Holmes cut against the direction of play and used her pace to score before Surrey got their only try through Ella Grove. After a loose ball, Abigail Jackson flicked the ball to Grove who used her pace to run round the outside. Bree Hill converted.
The final points of the day came from a turnover in the Surrey 22, which Becky Patrick pounced upon and ran in, which finished the game 37 – 7 and crowned Yorkshire the Gill Burns Division 1 Champions.
Amy Gould, who was thrust into today’s captaincy after Bolger’s injury, said: “We had to completely readjust our game as a team and take it back down to basics. Surrey put a lot of pressure on us, but we settled down and the points came.
“In our team, we have a massive forward pack. They’re really strong ball carriers and that is part of our game plan. The forwards do a lot of hard work so we can find the space out the back and ship it wide, which we did really well today.
“In the last three years, the side has gone through development, and this year, we’ve had a fantastic group of players in. We’ve gelled from the start of the campaign and training has been great. Everyone has enjoyed themselves and now, we have to get ready for next season when we’re going to have to start smashing each other when we play for different teams again!”
To see all the results from the County Championship Finals visit EnglandRugby.com or follow @RFU on X to see all the in-play highlights.
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