Teams
Bristol Bears
15 Meryl Smith 14 Reneeka Bonner 13 Phoebe Murray 12 Holly Aitchison 11 Courtney Keight 10 Amber Reed (co-captain) 9 Keiira Bevan 1 Hannah Botterman 2 Lark Atkin-Davies 3 Sarah bern 4 Delaney Burns 5 Abbie Ward (co-captain) 6 Alisha Joyce-Butchers 7 Evie Gallagher 8 Rownita marston-Mulhearn
16 Jess Sprague 17 Simi Pam 18 Elliann Clarke 19 Hollie Cunningham 20 Gabriella Nigrelli 21 Lucy Burgess 22 Ella Lovibond 23 Jenny Hesketh
Gloucester-Hartpury
15 Emma Sing 14 Mia Venner 13 Hannah Jones 12 Tatyana Heard 11 Pip Hendy 10 Lleucu George 9 Mo Hunt (co-captain) 1 Mackenzie Carson 2 Neve Jones 3 Maud Muir 4 Sarah Beckett 5 Sam Monaghan 6 Georgia Brock 7 Beth Lewis 8 Zoe Aldcroft (co-captain)
16 Amy Dale 17 El Perry 18 Sicilia Tuipulotu 19 Kate Williams 20 Steph Else 21 Bianca Blackburn 22 Millie Hyett 23 Rachel Lund
Officials:
Referee: Sara Cox
ARs: Harry Walbaum and Holly Wood
TMO: Nikki O’Donnell
For once the authorities have managed to appoint three women and only one man to take charge; a rare exception to the pattern of the season.
Bears’ Outlook
This is the Bears’ chance to prove themselves one of the nation’s topmost clubs, their first PWR final.
The big news is the return of Sarah Bern. That’s excellent for everyone, except her opponents.
Very slowly, the established order is being overturned. Saracens are no longer in control; Quins are languishing in seventh place out of nine; even Lightning aren’t quite the force they were.
Now the Bristolians have the task of dethroning the new queens of all they survey, Glos-Pury.
They have the equipment to do so.
Up front Botterman has helped to form a powerful front row, even without the aid of Sarah Bern, now restored.
Holly Aitchison has helped create the positions and the openings for the wide players. Even so, it is Bristol’s defence, not their attack that stands out in the stats. The return of Abbie Ward has made a huge impact for them on many fronts.
Overcoming the odds at the StoneX may prove to have been a decisive moment for the Bears.
G-H’s Outlook
G-H’s great skill is in the smoothness of their combinations, the closest any English club gets to the fluency of the Red Roses. That might well be because so many of the latter play for the club. The ongoing mystery is why another large section of their squad, the Welsh, perform so much better at club level than for their nation. They have a Welsh coach in charge.
It’s an irony that Holly Aitchison left Saracens in order to play 10 regularly. She plays 12 again in the final.
Until their one downfall against Sarries at the close of the regular season, they always found a way of turning a close game into a win. That loss may have been just the reminder they needed to avoid an unwelcome repeat.
One player who will feel that all eyes are on her is Emma Sing. This outstanding full-back suffers from the problem facing several players. For all the quality of her performances, competition for the 15 shirt is so strong that she no longer has a contract. These days that makes a huge difference, not merely to her own self-esteem, but to her financial well-being – yet another large question-mark against the planned increase in professionalisation.
Alex Matthews is still missing, but G-H have reserve stocks to burn.
Zoe Aldcroft may be the only player on the park for whom the final will not be the biggest moment of the week.
The Biggest Day
Each year we can trumpet the coming final as the greatest clash yet at club level. 2024 is no exception. It’s a relief that neither side has the advantage of a home fixture. There is the argument that the side coming top of the league should have the privilege of playing at home. My position is two-faced. I contend that the trophy should go to the club that comes top of the league. If the year consisted of 465 days instead of 365, there would be room for a cup tournament more meaningful than the current Allianz Cup. But since fashion, publicity and funding depend on mounting knock-out stages as well, a neutral ground is the answer.
Incidentally, the very same day, cricket will be undertaking a parallel occasion; four teams will be in contention at Derby. The clash of a traditionally winter game with a summer one is a sign of the times.
Prediction
The only certainty is that the game will be a cracker. The Bears see themselves as the humble underdogs. Some run-ins to finals become a fight for the right to be called the underdogs. Here Bears are justified: they finished only third in the table, a whopping 18 points behind Saturday’s opposition.
It’s said that staying top is infinitely harder than reaching the top, but Glos-Pury, with their overwhelming strength fore and aft, must be the favourites.
A 3-0 win is unlikely.
Coverage:
BBC Sport website, BBC iPlayer plus sound commentary on BBC Radio Gloucestershire and BBC Radio Bristol (via FM, digital, BBC Sounds and online).
Or you could listen to the loudest comments from delighted or furious spectators on site.
Afterthought
Once more Sandy Park is the chosen location for the Big Game. It lies no less than five miles from the two Exeter railway stations. That’s a long walk, Even shuttle buses will take their time, and G-H fans, making use of contracted coaches for the return journey, aren’t expected back in Gloucestershire till mid-evening.
Just imagine Sale Sharks and DMP Sharks disputing the final in deepest Devon.
