Portsmouth Valkyries suffer first Championship SW 2 loss of the season in battle of Hampshire’s top two women’s teams

After hammering Newton Abbot 44-5 and drawing 10-10 with Wasps 2nds, they were well beaten 25-5 at Rugby Camp by Trojans. It was a clash of the top two women’s rugby teams in Hampshire, with Trojans having been relegated from the second tier at the end of the 2019/20 campaign. Sammy Groves scored Portsmouth’s only points with a try as they trailed 10-5 at the interval. But any thoughts of a second half comeback were dashed, though, as Trojans stepped up a gear. ‘I was initially disappointed with the result,’ said Valkyries head coach Mark Witcher. ‘At 10-5 at half-time I thought it could have gone either way. ‘But Trojans have come down from the league above and they have a point to prove. They absolutely deserved to win - they showed their experience and got a complete stranglehold on the game in the second half. ‘We must have defended for three quarters of the second half, we didn’t really have an opportunity to attack. ‘It showed us where we aspire to be. I’m also the county head coach so I know most of the Trojan girls, and they played as well as to be expected.’ Valkyries have a new-look midfield this season which Witcher admits will take time to fully bed in. There are two new signings - Chloe Sopp and Sam Wharton - while Gemma Gilbert joined Valkyries last year but due to lockdown hadn’t played adult rugby until recent weeks. ‘Trojans are very experienced in the middle of the park and it showed,’ said Witcher. Valkyries travel to Devon this Sunday to face Cullompton, minus openside flanker Abi Harding and blindside flanker Jordan Wilshire. Charlie Morgan, who used to play scrum half, will continue in her new role in the back row.