Hampstead Ladies twice lost the lead as they suffered their first defeat of the season, going down 31-22 against league leaders Old Albanians in Championship South East Division Two.
Hampstead took an early lead with a powerful driving maul from the pack, with hooker Sylvie Fail grounding the ball as the pack surged over the try-line – and full-back Lilly Hunt then showed excellent pace and footwork to touch down as well.
Albanians responded with two well-worked tries of their own, but Hampstead continued to exert pressure, with captain Fran Hall kicking wide to find winger and back of the match Anita Oliver – and quick thinking from Hall took the opposition by surprise as she intercepted a pass and ran in to restore her side’s advantage.
However, Albanians hit back twice to take the lead and, although Hampstead fought back strongly with forward of the match Hannah Stephen setting up substitute Jess Tayenjam for a try out wide in the final seconds, it wasn’t enough to prevent the defeat.
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