2018 nationals / Photo: Jackie Finlan
The bye week did Beantown (2-1) well, and the extended squad traveled to Chicago North Shore (1-2) for Week 4 of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) with a sense of clarity. The same can be said for first-season WPL coach Tadhg Leader, who reflected on Sunday’s 10-3 win as a turning point in the players’ and staff’s understanding of each other.
After winning its home opener against Atlanta, Beantown dropped a 22-12 decision to Twin Cities in Boston. While extracting work-ons from that performance, attention simultaneously turned to opponent number three: Chicago North Shore. Film was reviewed, trends and patterns noted, strategies formed, and Beantown used that extra week to prepare for Sunday’s road game.
“They’re a pretty open and expansive team. They like to ship the ball and move to space, so they make more passes,” Leader said of North Shore intel. “We wanted an aggressive defense to get in their face and cut out those passing lanes so maybe they only make two passes instead of four or five.”
A fast-up defense exerting pressure was key, and it had to be supported by confidence in contact, especially as the wet weather and grass pitch ensured a slower game.
2018 nationals / Photo: Jackie Finlan
“Coming off the back of the Amazons [loss], where we were physically dominated, this was an opportunity for the forwards to stand up,” Leader said. “I didn’t call them out but I definitely highlighted before the game that if [the forwards] performed well, then they’d win.”
Leader also promoted an active kicking game, and again turned to the unflappable Tatjana Toeldte to turn around the defense and keep the game in advantageous territory. It was up to WPL first-year Brittany Dykes – the former Tulane scrumhalf who led the Green Wave to prominence – to chase down everything that was kicked and “make them feel uncomfortable,” per Leader.
“To be honest, the first half went completely according to script, which very seldom happens,” said Leader, who praised the team’s ability to transfer knowledge from film to reps on the training pitch and then perform on game day. “We suffocated their attack and for me that was exactly what I was looking to achieve. It was my biggest point of emphasis.”
The defense shone and the forwards answered the call for physicality, getting leading performances out of flanker Claire Stingley and lock Claire Collins, who were absent for the Twin Cities game. Toeldte and Dykes teamed up nicely in the kick-and-chase and were rewarded with some knock-ons. In the first half, hooker Kathryn Treder and wing Kat Phelan scored tries to lead 10-0 at the half.
Beantown diverged from the game plan a bit in the second half and played in its own end longer than it wanted to. North Shore took advantage of one scoring opportunity and kicked a penalty, points that afforded a bonus point.
“Thankfully in the end we brought on some pretty good impact subs and saw the game out to win, but it was a bit nerve-wracking to not score in the second half and finish within a score of North Shore.”
Leader lauded second-half reserve T Fletcher, the long-time Raleigh player and current AIC men’s head coach who made a WPL debut in Chicago. The forward injected great energy onto the pitch and is representative of the talented bench waiting to take the field. That depth is pushing a competitive, healthy training atmosphere at home.
“This morning in the team meeting before the game, I talked about how for me this is my third game with the squad but the first game where I’m going in ultra confident,” Leader said of entering a new stage with the squad. “We know what to expect from each other. In the first game, it was an unknown; I had one training with them and not much opportunity to implement my pattern of play or overall philosophy. That was a big thing through the week: We had to bring clarity, and clarity would breed confidence. We’re exactly on track for where I’d hope the team would be three games in, but obviously we can’t rest on our laurels. We have a big test coming up and it’s a short season, so you can’t sit back.”
On the other side of the WPL East, Twin Cities (2-2) defeated New York (1-2) 39-20 in Minnesota. This week, Beantown will host New York in a Saturday night game to close out the first half of the season.
“Today was pretty prescribed, which is fine if the opposition doesn’t adjust to it,” Leader said. “We’ll have to play a slightly different game against New York – just for the fact that we’re playing on turf, which means a quicker style of play. We need to do a much better job in our execution and identifying space and how to get to space – run, pass or kick.
“New York is a quality outfit. They have threats across the park, especially in the back lines,” the coach continued. “Skillful with ball in hand and lots of offloads, so we’ll need to figure out how to shut that down. It’s exciting, and the group’s in a good place. Everyone’s smiling and enjoying themselves.”
On the other side of the league, Life West (4-0) defeated San Diego (1-2) 40-16 in SoCal, while Glendale (2-1) traveled to Berkeley (1-2) for at 19-17 thriller.