Allianz Premier 15s – Round Six
One of the stranger Prem 15s rounds we have experienced: four teams only half in, half out of the league.
That was the effect of the RFU’s fumbling decision to announce the acceptance of only eight clubs; the others left in limbo, wondering if they might be offered one of the two remaining positions available.
You could imagine a more positive start to the new year. The two clubs newly admitted, Leicester Tigers and Ealing Trailfinders, have to look on from the sidelines till next September.
University of Worcester Warriors v Gloucester-Hartpury
What do these G-H players have in common: Bethan Lewis (Wales), Gwen Crabb (Wales), Kelly Smith (England), Maud Muir (England), Sam Monaghan (Ireland) and Siwan Lillicrap (ex-Wales)?
Yes, none of them was playing in this match, and still G-H played Warriors off the park, maintaining their 100% record in this M5 derby. Mo Hunt conducted the orchestra with a confident swagger.
It’s hard to see who is going to down their colours; they have quality all over the field. The forwards were undone just once, when Carys Phillips’ appearance off the bench coincided with UWW’s one successful driven maul. But that was not till the 57th minute, and the result was already beyond doubt.
The tone was set early. After a short kicking rally by the No 15s Hunt made a clever break to bring them to five metres out. From there forwards with the power of Alex Matthews and Sarah Beckett took the game away from the hosts. This superiority meant the backs received the ball on the front foot; that in turn allowed confident interplay to prove increasingly productive.
Try as Warriors might, G-H always seemed to have the advantage on contact.
On another perfectly foul day, Emma Sing had an outstanding game off the tee and added a clever try out wide from a delightful kick-pass by Lleucu George.
G-H scored four tries in each half. Sisilia Tuipalotu added two, once emerging magically from a maul to score, like a butterrfly from a chysalis, only much faster.
Result: 5-52
Player of the Match: Mo Hunt
Saracens v DMP Sharks
This game was as predictable as you could wish. Sarries revealed their thoughts about it by heading their coverage with news of the BIGGEST FIXTURE in the calendar, their coming clash with Herlequins.
They had their bonus point secured well inside the first quarter. Poppy Cleall politely waited for Holly Aitchison and Kelsey Clifford to score before making her first contribution.
There was no let-up after the interval, the hosts more than doubling their half-time total of 41.
So much for levelling up. Of the three other games only one failed to show a team-total of 50+. (See below) We were assured of even tighter competition this season.
Results
Saturday
Saracens 89 DMP Sharks 0
University of Worcester Warriors 5 Gloucester-Hartpury 52
Sunday
Sale Sharks 10 Exeter Chiefs 35
Loughborough Lightning 62 Wasps 5 (played at Franklin’s Gardens)
Bristol Bears and Quins sat out this weekend.
Table
P W L Pts
Gloucester-H 6 6 0 29
Exeter 6 5 1 25
Harlequins 6 4 2 19
Bristol 5 3 2 15
Saracens 5 3 2 15
Sale 5 3 2 13
UWW 5 2 3 11
Lightning 6 1 5 8
Wasps 5 0 5 0
DMPS 5 0 5 0
Afterthoughts
The absence of promised livestream coverage by England Rugby Productions is getting beyond a joke. 15 minutes after kick-off at Northampton, I knew how many turnovers had been won, how many passes completed, but hadn’t seen a glimpse of the game. Later I spotted ‘loading’, but that proved a false alarm and disappeared, not to return.
This is not a good look for an enterprise that wants to court more media coverage of a more professional game for a larger worldwide audience.
The Prem 15s website offered this mysterious claim: ‘Wasps have won each of their last four Allianz Premier 15s away matches, their longest ever such run in the competition, after winning two in a row previously; they have conceded 31+ points in each of their last four games on the road.’
The table above summarises their fate succinctly.
It’s a huge relief seeing Sixways open for business. Just a few weeks ago the only way in was by climbing barbed-wire entanglements.
