SCRUM-half Paige Darvill-White registered two tries as Ellingham & Ringwood progressed to the second round of the RFU Junior Plate thanks to a 24-22 victory over Medway.
Fly-half Charlotte Benson opened the scoring at the Raymond Brown Memorial Ground before Darvill-White went over for her first, converted by Chloe Barrett, to give them a 12-5 lead at the interval.
Although Kent-based Medway came back strongly to edge 17-12 ahead, wing three-quarter Nina Hoadley’s try, again converted by Barrett, saw Ellingham regain the lead.
Darvill-White scored her second to make it 24-17 and, although Medway went over late on, the conversion was missed, leaving Ellingham to close out the game and go into the draw for the next round.
Ellingham coach Henry Benson said: “It was an impressive performance against a team from a division above who knocked us out in the quarter-final of this competition last season.
“There is plenty for us to still work on, but I was really impressed by the quality of our defence against a very strong and physical side.”
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