The offerings last weekend brought us a third of the way through the regular season.
Here’s the current table:
Table P W B Pts
Exeter Chiefs 6 6 4 28
Glos-Pury 6 4 6 22
Quins 6 4 5 21
Saracens 5 4 4 20
Bristol Bears 6 3 4 16
Trailfinders 5 2 3 11
Lightning 5 1 4 7
Tigers 5 0 1 1
Sharks 5 0 0 0
The General Position
Appearances remain deceptive, since each week sees one club put its feet up. In effect we have five clubs fighting for four places. Bristol got off to the stickiest start, so need to avoid too many more unwanted reverses. They beat Lightning and Sharks comfortably enough, but a home loss to Quins was a shock.
Since the fixture-list has to be crammed into a much smaller time-scale this year, details like availability, especially injuries, play a bigger role than usual. That’s why the two Leicestershire clubs were glad to welcome back leading players: Helena Rowland to Lightning and especially Meg Jones to Tigers; last season she was named the first ever Allianz Premiership Women’s Rugby Player of the Year. But that didn’t save Tigers from finishing eighth out of nine. And more on their fate below.
Chiefs
Exeter are sitting pretty at the top; they had a vital away win over the champions, Glos-Pury, but neither there nor in the Quins match could they post a heap of points (21 and 8). Their latest contest against Lightning proved far more decisive. Susie Appleby admits that the key to success is their dominance up front.
That is a wonderfully old-fashioned view, based on fundamental truths. We can hunt for trophy- winning sides that trust in the open game, no matter the cost in risk-taking. They have existed, but are rare. The club is still fighting to introduce more local talent to its first-choice side. It’s the NEQPs in the pack who keep producing the goods.
Glos-Pury
They can look a thoroughly streamlined team when they want to. In unpleasant conditions this weekend they didn’t steamroller Trailfinders, but had no trouble staying in charge. Let’s call it a long-term approach. Sean Lynn has such a wealth of talent available that if the PWR did do the unthinkable, he could easily forfeit half a dozen players to other clubs and still thrive.
Visions of a thin cherry-and-white line, fully armed, come to mind as I write that.
Quins
The Quarters are on an unfamilar run of success. Some fans might say: ‘About time too’, but two changes of head coach in short order hindered progress. They lost the first two rounds to the two current leaders; since then they are unbeaten. They look capable of making a real impact again, but may need luck to hold that third place.
Sarries
They had the rare experience of a loss, but it was to Chiefs away. They are perfectly capable of waltzing off with a fourth trophy, but have come to resemble Chiefs more in their dependence on NEQPs. That seems a pity to me.
They are constantly refreshing their line-up; as Leanne Infante retires, Jemma-Jo Linkins appears and May Campbell finds a new life as a flanker.
Bears
They remain the great unreliables. They have put away the lesser lights with relish, but beating the other top dogs remains far less certain. They lost at home to Sarries – that can happen to anyone – but a home loss to Quins by 15 points? Their next round against Trailfinders will be an interesting test. They should win, but how many points will they concede in the process?
Trailfinders
They provided the shock of the season with the sacking of Giselle Mather. At the time I thought: if they don’t do well this season, it serves the club authorities right. They have continued to play their bright open style; it brings them plenty of tries, but few victories. Somehow they have to blend the hard grind up front and defensive accuracy with their vibrant attack. The pack doesn’t yet dominate proceedings.
Lightning
One telling stat: a single win out of five. You can understand them leaking nearly 60 points to Glos-Pury, but over 60 to Trailfinders? Nathan Smith was forced into selecting a thoroughly inexperienced side.
I’ve long felt that the standard below the top players is not high enough. Emily Scarratt and Helena Rowland have returned after lengthy absences, but Cath O’Donnell, Sadia Kabeya and Emma Wassell are still missing.
They too had a change of coach last year. Now Smith has to prove he can get things back on track.
Leicester Tigers and Sale Sharks
I group the two clubs together without apologies.
The news from both fails to improve. Neither has scored a victory in ten combined attempts. I see this as an ongoing structural weakness that the PWR committee will do well to correct. Short of the most stringent reactions (forcing players to move clubs!?!), I don’t see a solution.
It means in effect that there are only seven clubs confidently expecting wins. That’s too few for a major league.
Their cases aren’t identical. Sale have been in the league for longer; Tigers represent one of the most distinguished clubs in the land. Both have found it difficult attracting talent of the necessary quality. The absence of their few Red Roses, Morwenna Talling, Amy Cokayne and Meg Jones, has revealed the need for more quality signngs. But where are they to be found? I glance higher up my paragraphs and spot the answers. A likely story!
A cramped season
A tricky problem this season is fitting everything in. In the build-up to the World Cup next August the PWR had to concentrate the schedule – finishing in March before the Six Nations.
Recent sad news concerns Bo Westcombe-Evans. No sooner had she made her mark on English rugby than she suffered a knee injury that puts her out of contention for the rest of this season.
Almost inevitably, up popped another player receiving maximum media publicity, who could possibly replace her in the selectors’ eyeline, Francesca Goldthorp (Loughborough Lightning too), Her try-scoring exploits in the Australian Women’s National Rugby League and in Union have marked her out.
But when Smith hails her as the leading rival for Ellie Kildunne in the 15 shirt, we have to wonder if he really has his finger on the pulse of every full-back in the PWR. Is Goldthorp a two-footed kicker or the best place-kicker in the land; is her positional sense acute, how lethal is her defence? I hope no Glos-Pury reader has reached this far; the name Emma Sing will be resounding around the 4ED Hartpury Stadium in protest.
It’s a curious and unfortunate accident that the two surviving female head coaches, Appleby and Rachel Taylor, see their teams at the top and bottom of the table. Since last season both Mather and Vicky Macqueen have (been) moved on.
After all the arguing, the issue will be decided in the play-offs, not the regular season. The league now takes a fortnight’s break.
