The Second PWR Semi-Final
Gloucester-Hartpury were well aware of the result up in London NW4 and wanted to ensure a similar upset didn’t occur at Kingsholm.
On five minutes the unlikely first try-scorer was Lleucu George, who strolled over.
Then as the crowd were applauding two minutes later to commemorate Rob Burrow, Hannah Jones profited from Mo Hunt’s disruptive powers at the back of a scrum to add a second.
Sean Lynn had kept his trump card secret. We spotted it as George received an over-the-top pass to post her second. Till now opponents had seen her as the provider of passes, not the receiver. A cunning plan.
By the break all our predictions were coming true – for a change. Those tries from the Welsh pair, Jones and George, plus a fourth from from Pip Hendy gave Chiefs a mountain to climb. Hendy’s try symbolised Chiefs’ failings: Hannah Jones gathered up a loose pass via her foot and flung the ball wide to the left-winger. She took an outside arc that Connie Clarke couldn’t answer. She leant infield as Robyn Wilkins approached, then beat her on the outside too.
Not many people can stop Maud Muir when she receives the ball inside the 5-metre line, and Chiefs couldn’t. (Will Sarah Bern regain her test place?)
G-H’s versatility was shown as Muir fed Sarah Beckett on the far left to add another. Faulty positioning on the edge allowed Mia Venner to make a huge break from inside her own 10-metre line to deep inside Chiefs’ 22. More accurate passing let Emma Sing – to every Gloucester fan’s bemusement uncontracted by England – score on the left. Yet another pin-point offering from the invaluable Tatyana Heard.
Sisilia Tuipulotu doesn’t need to be inside the red zone to score; here she started from way out, but four tacklers in turn failed to stop her advance. And a note on G-H’s overwhelming strength: she wasn’t required to start the game; in Wales she’s seen as the foundation stone of a new national side.
Half-time 26-0
The second half saw more of the same.
At least Chiefs had a handful of consolations: their first two tries came from forwards powering their way over, Rachel Johnson then Cli Moloney, who took a tap penalty herself and crashed across the line. Every game she plays these days is like a reminder to the Irish board of the mischief they caused.
The third and last try was the only one to involve the backs. On 80 minutes Katie Buchanan finished a move that was more in keeping with Chiefs’ familar style.
Putting fifty points up in a semi-final is some achievement, but it underlines the chasms that separate teams in the current climate. Whether that is best for the game as a whole is open to considerable doubt. At least the other semi was the nail-biter every neutral hoped for.
Result: 50-19
Player of the Match: Lleucu George
The Teams: Gloucester-Hartpury
15 Sing 14 Venner 13 H. Jones 12 Heard 11 Hendy 10 George 9 Hunt (co-captain) 1 Carson 2 N. Jones 3 Muir 4 Beckett 5 Monaghan 6 Brock 7 Lewis 8 Aldcroft (co-captain)
16 Dale 17 Perry 18 Tuipulotu 19 K. Williams 20 Castellucci 21 Blackburn 22 Hyett 23 Lund
Exeter Chiefs
15 Tessier 14 Buchanan 13 Doidge 12 Cantorna 11 Clarke 10 Wilkins 9 Bradley 1 Rogers 2 Tuttosi 3 Menin 4 Van Der Velden 5 Leitch (captain) 6 Jefferies 7 Allen 8 Johnson
16 Moloney 17 Sams 18 Hanlon 19 Orchard 20 Feaunati 21 Millar-Mills 22 Bricknell 23 Brennan
A Game of Consequences
So the final will be between two rivals from the west-country, where the heart of English rugby now lies. Will we ever see the Red Roses playing a game away from there (Ashton Gate, Kingsholm, Sandy Park) and Twickenham? I won’t offer odds.
A bitter fact for Chiefs to swallow: they miss out on a final that takes place at Sandy Park (22 June).
Here’s the make-up of the two starting XVs:
G-H:
Two Irish
Three Welsh
Ten English
Chiefs:
Three Canadians
Three Americans
One Welsh
One Dutch
Seven English
You can draw tour own conclusions.
