Cooke were looking for a bonus point win to help cement their place in 4th place in the All Ireland League.
Having only won 0-7 against Highfield in the previous fixture, the Belfast girls were expecting a tough match, and a scrap for loose ball.
Cooke opened the scoring via Jemma Jackson’s Boot following a period of pressure in the Highfield 22. Shortly later Jackson put a further 3 points on the board for a Highfield high tackle.
Cooke barely left the Highfield 22, and following another penalty from Highfield, Cooke opted for the scrum and snapped the ball back the blind, giving powerful Ilse Van Staden the chance to get over the whitewash for the first try of the match.
At the break it was 11-0 to the homeside.
In the second half, Cooke took advantage of the Highfield ill-discipline and Jackson slotted another 3 points. Cooke then turned up the heat and a series of excellent forward and back interplay allowed Van Staden to power over for another try out on the wide.
A now confident Cooke had a spell of great play, giving both Emma Jordan and Vicky Irwin the chance to dot down a try each. Jackson’s boot didn’t make the conversions of either.
In the last quarter of the game, Cooke rather switched off after some substitutions which gave the visitors the chance to score a try of their own. But Cooke responded with a final try by Cavan dual status player Dolores Hughes crashing over the line out wide.
Final score 34-5 which gives Cooke huge confidence going into an All Ireland Cup match against the same opponents next week, and a big away match in the League the following week to UL Bohs.