Bray sparkles as Valkyries secure win at Morpeth

Valkries captain Cathy-Ann Myers scored an early try to put the visitors 5-0 ahead but Morpeth roared back to lead 15-5 at half-time.

Myers said: “They played with a strong wind in the first half and some excellent kicking out of hand on their behalf meant that most of the rugby was played in our half.

“We struggled to get into the game early on after the long bus journey. Our rucks, scrums, and general play was very disorganised.”

The skipper added: “Going into the second half, we knew we had the wind behind us, and we knew we were far better than our first-half performance.

“Successive tries from Danielle Rowley, myself, Claire Wilkinson, Mel Halstead and Casey Jordan saw us run out easy winners in the end, but the game was hard-fought.”

Halstead also kicked two conversions.

Myers admitted:“There were a few decisions that went against us and it was a very frustrating game. While we should never have gone behind, to come back and score 31 unanswered points speaks volumes about us as a team.

“Jess Bray got man of the match for her cool head under pressure. She turned over numerous of their line-outs to put us on the front foot, completely changed the scrums when she went from flanker to second row, and was a real leader when everyone else was losing their temper.”