Still raw from being tantalisingly close to victory in the last game against HKFC, Sandy Bay Storm arrived at their home ground on Saturday ready to raise the metaphorical roof, faced with top-of-the-table Revolution SRC.

The match began with Storm in phenomenal form; the team held possession well and made ground with ease. Revolution played a narrow channel leaving plenty of opportunities for the home side to pop the ball wide, and the first try came from wing Rachel Briggs, off Lucia Bolton, after some beautifully executed set play in the backs (special mention too, to Ishka Hildebrandt, back of the match).

Confidence was high but injury plagued the team and Storm suffered with the loss of Genevieve Simmons and Emma Chung in the first half, leaving a window of opportunity before half time for Revolution to knock the wind from Storm’s sails.

Faced with a widening gap in the scoreline, but buoyed by some well-oiled Sandy Bay supporters entering the stadium, Storm stepped back up pressure on the opposition. It was Harriet Jamieson who found a gap from a quick ball straight off Tiffany Ho (player of the match) at scrum half to score Storm’s second and final try, this time right under the goal posts.

A stunning performance was cut far too short for season newcomer Sarah Molles, whose impressive try-preventing tackle on our 5m line led to an untimely and grave head injury (update: Sarah is now out of hospital with the all clear). Spurred on to continue play for Sarah, Storm brought everything they could to the final quarter.

Credit goes to the whole team for a meteoric but ultimately futile effort, and it would be remiss not to mention the performance of an ever-improving forward pack, sustained by the thunderous tackling power of Laura Horsfall (forward of the match) and some almighty carries by Keri Roberson.

This was a game full of promise (a ‘mist’ opportunity?) and Sandy Bay Storm will be looking to find the silver lining ahead of next week’s match against Police Sirens, if they are to prove they are not just chasing rainbows…