Source: PWR

A Game to Savour

  • +1

Saracens v Gloucester-Hartpury

With neither of these two giants sitting top of the table, one of them had the chance to put Exeter Chiefs in their place.

It was a humdinger.

G-H were right on top from kick-off; Mo Hunt tapped and ran, Mackenzie Carson took the ball on and Maud Muir cut a clever line to complete the job. Emma Sing gained a second try by quite different means: she hacked a loose ball down the touchline; Zoe Harrison tried to reclaim it, but Sing hacked again to score. (0-12)

By then Poppy Cleall had received the first yellow of the day, but Sarries aren’t multiple champions by accident. They pulled themselves together so well that Bryony Field, Gabby Senft (on debut) and McKinley Hunt all scored to redress the balance. In the process it was Neve Jones’ turn to spend ten minutes enjoying the sunshine.

But G-H aren’t double champions by accident either. They responded first with a try by Rachel Lund, fed by Sing’s well-timed pass. Then Zoe Aldcroft capitalised on good work by Kate Williams to finish under the posts. A forwards’ move splintered the Sarries’ defence, and Nel Metcalfe claimed a cross-kick to see G-H into a commanding lead.

Half-time: 21-33

On 47 minutes Marlie Packer was allowed to join the fray. According to Sarries’ fans this wasn’t desperation. They were right, but the game remained on edge till the very end.

It was time for May Campbell’s usual contribution. That was a home bonus-point secured and the margin reduced to 28-35. As in the Exeter game the day before, single incidents were to have a decisive effect on the outcome. On 62 minutes Jones was held up over the line. But first Lund started and finished a wonderful move, now all alone on the edge.

Time for Sarries to show their mettle. Tries by young full-back Jemma-Jo Linkins, Campbell and, in the 80th minute, Senft thrust their side 11 points ahead. G-H were on the attack at the close, but the damage had been done.

Once more Sarries proved their incredible staying power. We await the reverse game (14 Dec) with some impatience.

8 tries, 7 conversions and 2 yellows were squeezed into 80 minutes. Then we may wonder what the defence coaches made of it all.

Result: 49-38

Teams:

Saracens

1 Hunt 2 Field 3 Rose 4 George 5 Galligan 6 Senft 7 Campbell (co-c) 8 P. Cleall 9 Infante 10 Harrison 11 Corrigan 12 McKenna (co-c) 13 Hardy 14 Gregson 15 Linkins
16 Gondwe 17 B. Cleall 18 Clifford 19 McMillan 20 Packer 21 Wyrwas 22 Blacklock 23 Sharp

Gloucester-Hartpury

1 Carson 2 N. Jones 3 Muir 4 Williams 5 Aldcroft (co-c) 6 Lewis 7 Brock 8 Matthews 9 Hunt (co-c) 10 Hyett 11 Lund 12 Heard 13 Hendy 14 Metcalfe 15 Sing
16 Simpson 17 Samuda 18 Tuipulotu 19 Stafford 20 Else 21 Castellucci 22 S. Jones 23 Green

Afterthoughts

This was Leanne Infante’s swansong. She has explained that she is retiring partly in reaction to being excluded from the England squad after the last RWC. It is an unfortunate but all too common feature of the English game that respected players are omitted without public explanation. If they wish it that way, that’s fine, but it can appear as though the selectors are unwilling to offer their reasoning.

It was a relief seeing Poppy Cleall’s name restored to the Red Roses’ squad after another extended absence. Then there was Mo Hunt who disappeared from view too; Infante had no such recall. I still consider her to have been the best 9 England have employed over the past seven years. She has an alternative career already mapped out.

We have to be very grateful for clubs providing moving pictures and commentary. The one drawback I’ve mentioned before is the one-dimensional nature of the commentary. With a lead-commentator from the club and an analyst (normally an injured home-team member) it’s hard to see how balance could be obtained.

To show the abrupt change of scenery the end of WXV brought to squads, here are three indicators: Lightning made 7 changes, Quins 11 and Trailfinders 9.

Officials:

Not a single female among the referees, ARs and TMO this weekend.

A Census (staring XVs only)

Sarries: 2 Red Roses appeared in the recent WXV; 5 more RR caps; 4 NEQP test players
G-H: 7 Red Roses appeared in the recent WXV; 2 more RR caps; 4 NEQP test players

Regular Season v Knock-outs

My concern: could a final be more meaningful than this match? Two top teams bursting with talent. Their final positions in the table are of no account, except for the need to finish in the top 4. The current system reduces the league to a mere subsidiary to the self-important knock-outs.

The one doubt is, who will reach them? It’s almost a foregone conclusion – if neither Lightning nor Quins can put together a strong run of results, it will be the same old four again. And, for me far worse, the same two clubs stuck at the bottom.

There we see the dilemma facing the PWR committee: there was no club ready to step into Worcester Warriors’ boots last season and there still isn’t.

Table                          ​       P​      ​ W      Pts

Saracens                          4        4      20
Exeter Chiefs                  4        4      18
Glos-Pury         ​​               4        2      12
Bristol Bears                   3         2      11
Quins                                4         2       11
Lightning                         4          1        7
Trailfinders                     3         1        6
Tigers                               3          0        1
Sharks                              3           0       0

Leave a Reply

Your e-mail address will not be published. Required fields are marked *