SUPERMARINE Ladies are once again soaking in the shine of silverware after they beat Darlington to retain the RFU Women’s Intermediate Plate.

Marine, who tasted plate glory by dispatching Moseley at Lichfield RFC in 2015, repeated the trick at the same ground last weekend, storming to a 43-12 victory to ensure their trophy cabinet remains stocked.

The two teams last met in last year’s semi-finals, with Marine running out 22-0 winners, and they exploded out of the blocks, with Claire Legg almost breaking over the whitewash early on, but for a crucial interception, before Harriet Marshall was successful in scoring the first try of the game.

Marine’s scrum dominated early on and gave winger Jenny Benton space for a 60-metre break down the wing and under the posts, giving Marine their second try with 18 minutes on the clock, which was converted cleanly by centre Nat Williams.

The restart was finely caught by flanker Sam Gooch, who shipped the ball wide, allowing for a beautiful passage of play between Legg and Claire Chard down the wing, which allowed the latter to cross the line just two minutes later.

Another strong take on the bounce from the next restart ensured that Marine, who finished second in the South West 2 division this season, regained possession once again and after they went through the phases, prop Aileen Douglas went over for their fourth try of the match before Chard added to their total by scoring again in the 35th minute.

With just minutes to go until the break, Marine kept their foot firmly on the gas pedal and Gooch snuffed out a Darlington line-out to protect her team’s 27-0 lead.

Darlington attempted to launch a second-half fightback but their early efforts went unrewarded as Gooch crossed the line with 44 minutes on the clock, but after that, the North One East side did finally open their account with a converted try.

A penalty in the Darlington 22 led to a scrum but Marine drove forward and turned the ball back over, allowing Chard to break for a hat trick and the sixth try of the game on 52 minutes.

Darlington fought back well but a fumble led to a turnover and Marine maximised on the error, getting back into the 22.

Williams took the ball to ground and Gooch opted for a pick and go, crossing the whitewash again in the 60th minutes.

With time running out, Chard held up an impressive break as Darlington looked certain to cross the whitewash.

Darlington did manage their second try of the game late in the day but it was too little too late as Marine made sure that the Intermediate Plate will be staying in Swindon in emphatic fashion.