A number of players enjoy dream debuts against Farnham but Blues fall to Beckenham defeat

It was a mixed weekend for the Newbury ladies teams.

The first XV suffered a sixth Championship South 1 defeat in seven, losing a hard-fought game to fellow strugglers Beckenham 19-7.

Hosts Newbury were able to impress at the scrum, but Beckenham had the better of the breakdown and twice stole over after making use of their dominance at the ruck to lead 12-0 at half time.

Blues reduced the deficit when Ellen Thornton powered over, with Georgia Smith adding the conversion, but the visitors increased their lead inside the final 10 minutes as pouring rain made things difficult.

Newbury, who are second from bottom, are back in action again this weekend as they travel to unbeaten league leaders Thurrock.

There was better news for the in-form second XV, who continued their strong start to the season with an impressive 29-5 win over second placed Farnham.

Newbury made a strong start in Surrey, with debutant Ffion Kemp finding her range right from kick-off. It wasn’t long before the visitors were ahead when coach-turned-player Niki Paton-Robinson broke through the defensive line from a quick tap-and-go and touched down after 10 minutes.

Just four minutes later, Newbury extended their lead when two debutants combined for a spectacular try. Taylor Dodd embarked on a superb solo run and set up Kemp, who marked her first cap with a try before converting her own score to make it 12-0.

The visitors continue to capitalise on Farnham’s indifferent discipline, adding three further tries courtesy of speedster Amy Turner and then two from Jenny Buckley, another debutant enjoying a great afternoon.

Farnham hit back with their first try of the game but Newbury had the last laugh when Niki Paton-Robinson scored her second before Kemp’s conversion ensured the game ended 29-5.