‘No, not another one!’
No, relax, madam, this is not an Election, it’s the first set of choices made by Directors of Rugby up and down the country in pursuit of the new PWR Trophy.
Eyes must be directed first at the newcomers. Here’s who Giselle Mather and Vicky Macqueen have selected to represent the two clubs, Trailfinders Women and Leicester Tigers:
Trailfinders:
15 Dow 14 Laflin 13 Cooksey 12 Schell 11 Musgrove 10 Green 9 Amory 1 Crake 2 Blanco 3 Stock 4 Beukeboom (captain) 5 Burnfield 6 Ikahihifo 7 Barwick 8 Zackary
Bench: 16 Gwala 17 Tamai 18 Seya 19 Buckland-Hurry 20 Meta 21 Cooper 22 Molton 23 Inman
Tigers:
15 Swartz 14 Collie 13 M. Jones 12 De Filippo 11McGhie 10 N. Jones (captain) 9 Nye 1 J. Jones 2 Bainbridge 3 Ugiagbe 4 Donaldson 5 Noon 6 Richardson 7 McBrien 8 Brody
Bench: 16 Martin 17 Bartlett 18 Sagapolu Sanele 19 Fray 20 Orrow 21 Relf 22 Childs 23 Feury
And the other sides in alphabetical order:
Bristol Bears:
15 Lovibond 14 Bonner 13 Murray 12 Reed (c-c) 11 Wills 10 Aitchison 9 Burgess 1 Botterman 2 Atkin-Davies 3 Bern 4 Burns 5 Ward (c-c) 6 Butchers 7 Johnes 8 Nigrelli
Bench: 16 Sprague 17 E. Marston-Mulhearn 18 Cunningham 19 R Marston-Mulhearn 20 Wythe 21 Bevan 22 Varley 23 Hesketh
Exeter Chiefs:
15 Cramer 14 Sinclair 13 Doidge 12 Cantorna 11 Buchanan 10 Tessier 9 Bradley 1 Swann 2 Moloney 3 Hanlon 4 Fryday 5 Millar-Mills 6 Jefferies 7 Leitch (captain) 8 Orchard
Bench: 16 Nielson 17 Middlebrooke 18 Sams 19 Van der Velden 20 Feaunati 21 Ortiz 22 Langford 23 Macdonald
Harlequins:
15 Kildunne 14 Mayhew 13 Tuima 12 Burford 11 Wilcock 10 Scott 9 F. Robinson 1 Turani 2 Powell 3 S. Brown 4 Bonar 5 Leaney 6 Fleming 7 E Robinson 8 Konkel (captain)
Bench: 16 Dobson 17 Sims 18 Latsha 19 Lochner 20 Wythe 21 Aucken 22 Cromack 23 Layzell
Loughborough Lightning:
15 Rollie 14 Tasker 13 Rowland 12 Hardy 11 Westcombe-Evans 10 Nelson 9 Davey 1 Trevarthen 2 Waudby 3 Belisle 4 Ives-Campion 5 O’Donnell 6 Wassell 7 Malcolm (captain) 8 Hibbert-Jones
Bench: 15 Andrews 17 Curphey 18 Clifford 19 Meuller 20 Svoboda 21 Weaver 22 Green 23 Scantlebury
Sale Sharks
15 Perrin 14 Delaney (captain) 13 Rigoni 12 Howard 11 Bawden 10 Law 9 Taylor-Roberts 1 Benson 2 Swailes 3 Harper 4 Tounesi 5 Antwis 6 J. Brown 7 McLachlan 8 Hazell
Bench: 16 Kelly 17 Young 18 Washington 19 Talling 20 Grieve 21 VA Irwin 22 Prothero
Note: their published list is one player light, apparently a front-rower
Saracens:
15 Breach 14 Grant 13 Gregson12 Bridger 11 Clapp (c-c) 10 MccDougall 9 Infante 1 M. Hunt 2 Campbell 3 Clifford 4 Evans 5 Taylor 6 De Goede 7 Kasolo 8 Cleall
Bench: 16 Field 17 Gondwe 18 Rose 19 Galligan 20 Packer (c-c) 21 Wyrwas 22 Harrison 23 Wardle
We must wait a week to see who Sean Lynn pulls out of his hat for Gloucester-Hartpury
We should have expected surprises, and we certainly have them. To take the Red Roses alone: some of them are restored to their familiar position straight away (Meg Jones, Ellie Kildunne, Hollie Aitchison and the formidable Bears’ front row).
Others are held back till later (Claudia MacDonald, Ella Wyrwas, Marlie Packer and Morwenna Talling). Tigers will share Amy Cokayne’s disappointment at still not being able to appear.
It’s a delight to see some England players who missed out on WXV lining up, Leanne Infante and Poppy Cleall in particular.
Some DoRs had the problem of fitting all their stars in. So Sophie De Goede, astonishingly omitted from the Team of the Year, slots in at No 6 for Sarries, with Jess Breach at full-back. Zoe Harrison make a welcome return after an extended ACL lay-off.
Trailfinders’ big surprise is to see Tyson Beukeboom awarded the captaincy, not Kate Zackary.
There are so many fascinating additions from abroad, Beatrice Rigoni not least among them.
If Lightning can overcome Sarries, it will be the first time since the Prem 15s took flight.
Likewise, Tigers know almost exactly what faces them, after their 61-7 loss at home to the Chiefs in the Cup. The ‘almost’ is the change in personnel on both sides.
Detysha Harper will be the happiest Shark to be taking to the pitch. She was yet another player to suffer an ACL last year, the injury that is causing so much concern in women’s sport.
My concerns about the new-look PWR remain unaltered. Bears are happy to announce ten test players in their line-up, including Abbie Ward, seventeen weeks after the birth of her daughter, Hallie. It will be a fine team that can overcome them. Sale Sharks are unlikely to be one of them. Which pack will be able to counter a Botterman-Atkin-Davies-Bern front row?
Coverage on Saturday 18 November
TNT will show the Bears-Sharks game; KO 12.30 (UK time), Ashton Gate
Sarries are offering their own livestream on www.youtube.com/watch?v=faOgLX5_uaY. They start at 14.00, the game 30 minutes later
Fixture List
Gloucester-Hartpury bye
Bristol Bears v Sale Sharks KO 12.30 Saracens v Loughborough Lightning KO 14.30 Trailfinders Women v Harlequins KO 15,00
and Sunday 19:
Leicester Tigers v Exeter Chiefs KO 15,00
