Full Coverage
This round, number unlucky 13, has gained an extra title, SuperPWR Weekend.
For the first time this season all four matches will be shown live on a variety of channels, including TNT Sports, YouTube, and TikTok Sports. So we are very lucky.
Once more the big game will be in the west country. Glos-Pury face another test of whether they can pull victory from the jaws of defeat. Till now they have proved remarkably successful. On the other hand Chiefs haven’t been as all-commanding as in previous seasons. Just last week they failed to put Quins to the sword, though seven other clubs have achieved the feat. Still, draws are always exciting for the neutral observer.
Quins’ weekend off might have given Trailfinders the chance to rise one place above them for the second time. Sadly for them, it’s the Bears’ turn to come to the party. Though they are another club to have underachieved, their best form lets them look like world-beaters. TF’s main task must be to tighten defences. They have wonderful attacking prowess, but that means nothing if the back door is left open.
The two Sunday games look like home bankers, which is a pity. The organisers of this big weekend would have preferred four tight games, but that can hardly be, given the contrasting strengths of the nine clubs. Second versus eighth can bring only one result at the StoneX.
Lightning’s performance against Bears last week saw them coming closer to their form of old. The return of Emily Scarratt showed she has lost none of her outrageous skills – flip passes over the top, chips through off the outside of the right boot straight into the hands of a team-mate. And she wouldn’t mind at all playing for England again. Can we find room for her? Sharks have decent players in their midst, but the overall standard has led to a series of deflating losses. It takes an excellent sports psychologist to overcome feelings of despondency.
The good news about full coverage masks the fact that far fewer games have been available to watch than in recent seasons. Live stream broadcasts have largely dried up, just the odd club doing the generous thing and allowing their game to be watched away from the ground. And TNT have a useful gap in their schedules – no Six Nations round this weekend. Are they likely ever to extend their ration of live broadcasts beyond the basic one per week? That must be the hope of everyone concerned.
Fixtures:
Saturday 2 March
Gloucester-Hartpury v Exeter Chiefs, KO 15.05 (at Kingsholm, Gloucester)
Trailfinders Women v Bristol Bears, KO 17.00
Sunday 3 March
Saracens v Leicester Tigers, KO 13.00
Loughborough Lightning v Sale Sharks, KO 15.00 (at the cinch stadium, Northampton)
Harlequins have the bye
Table P W D L Pts
Glos-Pury 11 11 0 0 54
Saracens 10 9 0 1 45
Exeter 11 7 1 3 40
Bears 11 7 0 4 36
Harlequins 11 3 1 7 22
Lightning 10 4 0 6 22
Trailfinders 10 3 0 7 18
Tigers 11 2 0 9 8
Sale 11 1 0 10 3
