Cherry-and-White Skies in the Big Smoke
Happy agreement allowed the Sale v Gloucester-Hartpury game to be relocated to Richmond Athletic Ground in London, so the Sharks could then move on to support their menfolk at Twickenham in the Gallagher Premiership final.
By pure chance this meant a second consecutive visit for me to a club condemned to banishment from the Premier 15s. However many Richmond and Wasps players have garlanded England games? We’re talking hundreds here.
Sale Sharks v Gloucester-Hartpury
Result: Sale 14 G-H 48
G-H have won the league, pre knock-outs only of course.
Sale provided plenty of competition all through, but were on top only in the first quarter. G-H started with typical drives through midfield. When the ball spread wide right, there was Ellie Rugman on an overlap.
Sale delighted their supporters with an immediate riposte. Georgie Perris-Redding made a great break through the middle, then twisted and turned to reach over the line. Better still, when G-H tried a cut-out pass, it landed in Sale hands. Quick passes sent it spinning to the far wing where Lauren Delany went over. The league leaders were behind!
But they have too much class and nous for most teams. Alex Matthews and Emma Sing were missing, but Sean Lynn could still leave Connie Powell and Sam Monaghan on the bench, sparing them for contests to come.
By half-time they had added three tries to reach en encouraging eight-point lead. 14-22
From there it was more like one-way traffic. G-H had far more accuracy in their interlinking; their centres, Tatyana Heard and the highly promising Sophie Bridger asked constant questions, and Lleucu George kicked them into advantageous positions when needed. Then there were Mo Hunt and Sarah Beckett as the two pivots, ensuring sensible decisions when they mattered. Beckett finished with three tries and a Player of the Match award.
There is a lot of class around the top four squads, but this Cherry-and-White outfit has the chance to achieve a memorable first trophy.
Teams:
Sale: VA Irwin, Delany, Haungatau, Howard, Thorpe, Duffy, Grieve, Young; Fielding, Benson, Washington, Howat, McLachlan, Perris-Redding, Tounesi
Bench: Swailes, Iwanejko, Lewis, Antwis, Searcy, Waters, Law, Perrin
Glos-Pury: Venner, Rugman, Bridget, Heard, Neumann, George, Hunt, Muir, K. Jones, Tuipulotu, Else, Aldcroft, Brock, B.Lewis, Beckett
Bench: Powell, Learned, Hale, Monaghan, Lillicrap, Blackburn, Lake, Goulden
Exeter Chiefs v Wasps
This was the unacceptable side of the league once more. The game proved to be as one-sided as expected. Last week Wasps had conceded over 70 points to eighth-placed Sale; this time it was 82 against a side brimming with overseas internationals.
At least the visitors had the reward of a late try by Chloe Flanagan, after a fine break by the departing skipper, Liz Crake.
We can only hope that the newly shaped league will avoid these uneven contests, but hae ma doots.
The third match, between Loughborough Lightning and UWW fell foul of the need for an ambulance to be in place. It isn’t the first time this has happened, but it remains one of the more frustrating reasons for calling a game off. Then we have to wonder how many ambulances and crew were whiling their time away unused across the nation. Very few, I suspect.
Saracens v Bristol Bears
This was the big game of the weekend and it turned into a classic in the warm sunshine.
Bristol were determined to play a running game, and for lengthy periods they did run Sarries off their feet. It’s a rare sight to see a group including Sarah McKenna, Jess Breach, Sydney Gregson, Coreen Grant, Holly Aitchison and Lotte Clapp beaten for pace, but Deborah Wills achieved just that.
A miscue at the start by Ella Wyrwas gave Bears their first chance. A beautifully executed move saw Phoebe Murray plant a try in the first minute. Sarries restored some sanity with two tries (Campbell and Packer) from forward drives (12-7), but a needlessly conceded penalty let Elinor Snowsill kick to the corner. With Lark Daavies on your side, there can only be one outcome. (12-14)
Bears did well to stop a Breach break just short of the line, but Sarries’ pack took over for Grace Moore to score. Before half-time Davies added a second contribution and a Snowsill penalty to leave Sarries’ fans rather concerned over their cooling drink. 19-24
The second half was a whirlwind of changing fortunes. Sarries are famed for pulling chestnuts out of the fire but this fire was unusually hot.
Result: 48-38
Player of the Match: Grace Moore
Quins v DMP
The game was marked by a serious injury to Katy Mew in the 16th minute. The medics took the greatest care, the stretcher being left unused for a long while. It took the best part on an hour to see the patient to safety. Everyone in rugby wishes her safe progress.
The irony was that Katy had scored two of Quins’ three tries in those 16 minutes; the other inevitably from Abby Dow.
From the restart Quins went past the 80-mark, but DMP earned more credit by crossing the line twice.
Results:
Saturday 27 May
Exeter 82 Wasps 7
Loughborough Lightning v UWW – postponed, no ambulance
Sale 14 Gloucester-Hartpury 48 (played at Richmond Athletic Ground)
Sunday 28 May
Harlequins 81 DMP Sharks 10
Saracens 48 Bristol Bears 38
Table P W L Pts
Gloucester-H 17 16 1 79
Exeter 17 14 3 73
Saracens 17 14 3 70
Bristol 17 11 6 57
Harlequins 17 10 7 52
UWW 16 6 10 35
Sale 17 6 11 30
Lightning 16 5 11 29
DMPS 17 2 15 10
Wasps 17 0 17 1
Interesting to discover how many supporters of the final four will go to the away games. Not too far from Bristol to Gloucester. Quite a trek between Exeter and NW4.
