MINEHEAD Barbarians Pink Ladies secured their first win of the season with a fine performance on Sunday away at Chard, sinking them 51-0.

Their greater experience showed as they dominated all areas of the game, with the pack asserting themselves early on and the line-outs functioning well all afternoon.

With confidence building, they began to put phases together and soon started to find space out wide, allowing wings Arkell and Collins to make vital yards.

Lucy Hastings, playing out of position at centre, was first on the scoresheet with a run from just outside the Chard 22, handing off her opposite number, outpacing the full back and racing over the line.

Karina Collins added to the score with the first of two tries for her on the afternoon, and Emily Ahern, who has spent a lot of time practising her kicking, converted to put Minehead 12-0 lead up 15 minutes played.

Before the end of the half, with Minehead continuing to execute their game plan with precision, Hastings picked up a further two tries with one run in from 60 metres out, Dionne Jones added another and Collins secured her second, with one further conversion giving them a comfortable 34-0 lead.

The second half saw Chard start brightly and they went close to crossing the line within the first ten minutes as they kept possession well and targeting the areas around the rucks with short pick and goes.

But Minehead’s defence was solid with Sheach, Woods and Peston-Sheasby all making important tackles, and the Pinks soon worked their way back down the pitch.

Jones scored her second try after finding space down the blind to link well with her team-mates and take the final pass to score, and Ahern’s conversion made it 41-0.

With Chard tiring and players getting injured, the final 15 minutes were very stop-start, but Ahern and Annabelle Cottrell added further tries to bring up the magic half-century and a 51-0 win.

Louise Ash, making a welcome return to the side, was player of the day for a fine all-round performance, stripping players of the ball on several occasions and making a number of important carries to keep her team of the front foot.

Lucy Hastings was back of the day for her hat-trick of tries and Rachel Parkins was forward of the day for her tireless workrate.

The Pinks face a tougher task in their next game, when they face the more experienced Bideford on November 20.