PWR – Round 12 – Sunday Games
Bristol Bears v Gloucester-Hartpury
Loughborough Lightning v Saracens
Bristol Bears v Gloucester-Hartpury
After the Big Game at Twickenham came Bears’ attempt at staging an even bigger one. According to many pundits this was the way women’s rugby, even rugby as a whole, must go. It was Ilona Maher’s baptism of fire in the PWR.
Background issues crowded in, but first the game:
It was all Bears at the start till Courtney Keight couldn’t hold a pass. G-H won the first scrum to set a marker. With so many Red Roses up front, this was bound to be a vital testing-ground.
Bears retained their preference for working the ball out of defence, though I suspect the Bristol staff may be having second thoughts. Certainly Mo Hunt hoisted an early box-kick to keep defences guessing.
G-H had been guilty through the season of not taking scoring chances. Now they put things right. Even with Bears dominating possession, they mounted the first score. After a multi-phase movement orchestrated by Hunt, the ball spread wide to Emma Sing; she slipped through to prove she isn’t just one accurate boot. 0-7
But a moment later Millie David outmanoeuvred Lleucu George, her twelfth offering of the season. Wingers are queuing up to play for England. 5-7
Both sides revealed their supposed weaknesses: Bears were avoiding kicking, but that left them susceptible to trouble. With Aitchison at 10, it seemed illogical.
On the other side, G-H weren’t shaking off doubts about their ability to turn possession into points. The outcome was untidy play, even a suspicion of afters, as players made errors. It was as if the importance of the game was affecting people. Pip Hendy was almost over the line, then G-H recycled at pace, but this raid ended in a knock-on. Hannah Jones was found guilty of not releasing. Even Tatyana Heard’s link passes were lacking accuracy.
Yet more G-H pressure up to the 5-metre line was thwarted by a penalty. Bears were mighty relieved, but their defences were being sorely tested.
This was high intensity stuff, play switching from end to end. Heard was lucky to avoid a yellow for slapping at the ball, but George wasn’t. 15v14 once more.
In a half of few scores, Alisha Joyce-Butchers added a vital five points for the hosts, selling Pip Hendy a dummy she won’t want to keep.
Half-time 10-7
At once Bears won a scrum penalty, Louis Deacon no doubt drawing his own conclusions. The front-row battle was a game in itself.
A sequence of lost possession kept the crowd on edge. At least G-H could boast they hadn’t conceded a point during George’s absence.
Beth Lewis went off after an earlier knock, to be replaced by Georgia Brock, who was to play a vital role with her turnovers.
The match continued its harum-scarum path, till a period of intense pressure by G-H gave Hunt the chance to show her snipiness close in. The pendulum was swinging. 10-14
Now it was all hands on deck for the Bears. Mia Venner, Brock and Sarah Beckett all went close, before Rachel Lund overcame determined defences to score. 10-21.
Another Brock turnover resulted in a try for Maud Muir. (10-28) That was the bonus – and the end for Bears?
To counter disappointment, Dave Ward now introduced Maher, to play on the right wing. The crowd roared. David was almost away, but Sing stopped her progress, a vital intervention. It remained hammer and tongs; Bears were stopped short of line more than once, but then Sarah Bern was over. 17-28.
The drama continued unabated till Venner, despite some sloppy passes, scored on the far right. Two Brock interventions had been crucial. 17-33
The arm-wrestles went on till the end, but Brock profited from the choice of a scrum at an attacking penalty to complete the try-scoring. Sorry! Sing missed one kick all game.
Result: Bristol Bears 17 Gloucester-Hartpury 40
Player of the Match: Mo Hunt
Attendance: 9,240 – in my view this figure is more significant than the huge crowd at HQ; this was a standalone. But then, you don’t have an Insta superstar dropping out of the sky every day.
Teams
Bears
15 Jasmine Joyce-Butchers 14 Reneeka Bonner 13 Courtney Keight 12 Phoebe Murray 11 Millie David 10 Holly Aitchison 9 Ffion Lewis 1 Hannah Botterman 2 Lark Atkin-Davies 3 Sarah Bern 4 Hollie Cunningham 5 Abbie Ward (captain) 6 Alisha Joyce-Butchers 7 Evie Gallagher 8 Row Marston-Mulhearn
16 Jess Sprague 17 Simi Pam 18 Holly Phillips 19 Delaney Burns 20 Gabriella Nigrelli 21 Tilly Ryall 22 Meg Varley 23 Ilona Maher
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 Zoe Aldcroft (co-captain) 6 Kate Williams 7 Beth Lewis 8 Alex Matthews
16 Lucy Simpson 17 Kathryn Buggy 18 Sisilia Tuipulotu 19 Steph Else 20 Georgia Brock 21 Meg Davies 22 Ellie Green 23 Rachel Lund
Try picking a XV out of those 46!
Loughborough Lightning v Saracens
This game represented as big a blow to Saracens’ ambitions as a boost to Lightning.
As if a 5.30 kick-off in early January wasn’t beastly enough, the start was pushed back ten minutes. Northampton Saints were playing an afternoon fixture at Franklin’s Gardens too. It begs the old question: are double-headers the answer to every problem; if so, under what arrangement?
Sarries started right on top, Marlie Packer being held up over the line inside the first minute. From there momentum swung. Krissy Scurfield, in rich form, had the opening score. (5-0)
Zoe Harrison made the first reply, profiting from a strong surge up front. She is in fine form and obviously intent on regaining the England 10 shirt. (5-5)
Lightning had missed Sadia Kabeya during her lengthy absence. Now, on her fiftieth appearance, she scored a hard-working try to reclaim the lead. Emily Scarratt converted from wide out. 12-5
Soon after, Lightning were punished by a try from Sydney Gregson on the edge. 12-10
As the break approached, Lightning posted a third try, a second for Scurfield. The backs combined beautifully, with Alev Kelter exploiting Helen Nelson’s break with a fine pass to find her winger.
Half-time: 17-10
If Sarries couldn’t make their traditional comeback, they would suffer their fourth defeat. They soon found themselves defending furiously in front of their line.
Alex Austerberry may have intended all along substituting as early as the 50th minute, but A Game-Changer? his changes worked against him. It was Scarratt who exploited another Scurfield run to log Lightning’s fourth try, and with it the invaluable bonus. (22-10)
Sarries’ engine was still spluttering.
Into the last quarter, and they found a new gear. They were held up on the line, won a penalty, but failed to profit. Ten minutes left, and still they awaited their first points of the half.
With one minute on the clock Akina Gondwe brought them within one score, and Amelia MacDougall converted. 22-17
But it was too late, and Lightning recorded their best win of the season.
Result: 22-17
Teams:
Loughborough Lightning
1 Anne Young 2 Kathryn Treder 3 Laura Keates 4 Abby Duguid 5 Lilli Ives Campion 6 Hallie Taufoou 7 Sadia Kabeya 8 Daisy Hibbert-Jones 9 Megan Davey 10 Helen Nelson 11 Krissy Scurfield 12 Alev Kelter 13 Emily Scarratt 14 Bulou Mataitoga 15 Francesca Goldthorp
16 Elis Martin 17 Amelia Williams 18 Christine Belisle 19 Courtney Holtkamp 20 Kendall Waudby 21 Rachel Malcolm 22 Leia Brebner-Holden 23 Carmela Morrall
Saracens
1 McKinley Hunt 2 Bryony Field 3 Kelsey Clifford 4 Rosie Galligan 5 Georgia Evans
6 May Campbell 7 Marlie Packer (co-captain) 8 Gabrielle Senft 9 Ella Wyrwas 10 Zoe Harrison 11 Lotte Sharp (co-captain) 12 Emma Hardy 13 Sydney Gregson 14 Alysha Corrigan 15 Sarah McKenna
16 Carmen Tremelling 17 Akina Gondwe 18 Maya Montiel 19 Poppy Cleall 20 Louise McMillan 21 Leanne Infante 22 Amelia MacDougall 23 Coreen Grant
Afterthoughts
This loss was a blow to Sarries’ pride, but fortunately for them Bears still lag a distance behind.
Once again Lightning/Saints were happy to list the players unavailable. They were: Emma Wassell, Cath O’Donnell, Catherine Wells, Ellen Scantlebury, Bo Westcombe-Evans, Helena Rowland, Grace Clifford, Isla Curphey and Alicia Maude. That adds up to heap of established and coming talent.
While some may call this an excuse for any inadequacies on the field, it would be fairer to see it as the challenge facing clubs and coaches to produce teams that can survive at this level.
Table P W Pts
Quins 11 9 45
Glos-Pury 11 8 43
Exeter Chiefs 9 8 38
Saracens 11 7 37
Bristol Bears 10 6 31
Lightning 11 4 23
Trailfinders 10 3 20
Tigers 10 2 11
Sharks 11 0 0
Chiefs remain the unknown factor. With two games in hand, they could pick up a healthy ten points while others remain sitting on their hands.
