THE hoofing boot of Alice Denton proved an apt barometer to measure Reading Abbey Ladies’ progression in their fifth championship game against Bath Ladies on Sunday, writes Fiona Tomas.

Growing into her newly-accustomed position at fly-half, Denton’s sweetly pin-pointed kicking was the cornerstone of Abbey’s attacking game plan which kept them on the front foot for large parts of the match, albeit they suffered a last-gasp 20-17 defeat in this Championship South encounter.

With it she landed the Nuns continual territory in Bath’s half and perhaps more importantly, the belief the Emmer Green side can match the demands of elite Championship rugby.

For a whole 79 minutes of the match – by which time Abbey were leading by a taut two points – the roars of the Rose Hill crowd ferociously believed victory was a possibility.

Earlier it had fallen silent to aid Denton’s concentration as she teed up a penalty on the hour mark, which she duly slotted through the uprights to steer Abbey into a slender 17-15 lead.

The last quarter of an hour rolled on in similar fashion to the previous three, with both teams grappling against the greasy conditions on a wet pitch, which so often disrupted the fluidity of the game.

The Nuns have been a victim of success in this new environment – where exits from games seemingly make all the difference, a tale Bath lived to tell.

The visitors attacked from a late line-out and stormed relentlessly into Abbey’s half, their wing powering through to thump down for victory.

“It was a hard pill to swallow, but it’s another lesson we have to learn,” said Jack Reynolds, Abbey’s head coach.

“We played better than we had all season and managed to get ahead and lead for the first time all season, but we couldn’t see it out.” Seizing the initiative early on, Abbey’s nascent ability to compete against an established championship outfit was clear.

Pippa Robinson burst through after 20 minutes played to feed Annette Tomas, who wheeled round the right to slide in under the posts.

After the game, Reynolds called for his side to be more ruthless in their approach in their upcoming fixtures.

But retrospectively, he had to look no further than the 10m carry by Hollie King, who powered through several bodies in a fleeting attacking move which saw Tomas dot down her second of the game, before Denton added the extras.

“Unfortunately, the result just shows how cruel sport can be – a few mistakes here and there and a game that should have been ours was lost,” Reynolds conceded.