Just five rounds of the regular season left.
The big talking-point is the presence of five clubs fighting for the four places in the play-offs. That adds drama and tension to the affair.
The top five shape up like this after twelve rounds.
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
It’s all to play for, but Dave Ward has now admitted Bears’ outlook is grim. They have one game in hand over three of the leaders, but have still to face Chiefs and Quins away amongst their closest rivals. As we can see here:
Future fixtures
Quins play Sharks (A), Sarries (H), Chiefs (A), Bears (H), Gloucester-Hartpury A)
Chiefs play Bears (H), Lightning (A), Sharks (H), Quins (H), Sarries (A), Tigers (A)
Gloucester-Hartpury play Lightning (H), Trailfinders (H), Tigers (A), Sharks (A), Quins (H)
Sarries play Tigers (H), Quins (A) Trailfinders (A), Chiefs (H), Sharks (H)
Bears play Chiefs (A), Tigers (H), Trailfinders (A), Lightning (H), Quins (A)
It’s all very complicated, isn’t it! Clubs have played different numbers of games; it’s an odd-numbered league to start with. Rest days come at odd times to interrupt the flow.
But should Bears, sending out twelve test players at the start, be struggling like this? Ah, their opponents can equal them. In their recent unsuccessful clash against G-H they faced fourteen internationals!
A reminder: the 9.000 spectators watched these line-ups:
Bristol Bears: 15 Jasmine Joyce-Butchers (W), 14 Reneeqa Bonner, 13 Courtney Keight (W), 12 Phoebe Murray (E), 11 Millie David, 10 Holly Aitchison (E), 9 Ffion Lewis (W), 8 Rownita Marston-Mulhearn (E), 7 Evie Gallagher (S), 6 Alisha Joyce-Butchers (W), 5 Abbie Ward (captain, E), 4 Hollie Cunningham, 3 Sarah Bern (E), 2 Lark Atkin-Davies (E), 1 Hannah Botterman (E)
Gloucester-Hartpury: 15 Emma Sing (E), 14 Mia Venner (E), 13 Hannah Jones (W, 12 Tatyana Heard (E), 11 Pip Hendy, 10 Lleucu George (W, 9 Mo Hunt (co-captain, E), 8 Alex Matthews (E), 7 Bethan Lewis (W), 6 Kate Williams (W), 5 Zoe Aldcroft (co-captain, E), 4 Sarah Beckett (E), 3 Maud Muir (E), 2 Neve Jones (I), 1 Mackenzie Carson (E)
That’s a ridiculous profusion of talent, and Ilona Maher still to appear.
Tactics and Strategy
Then we come to the coaching. The staff provide the outlines of how they want to see the team play. That’s where we can ask direct questions. Are the Bears’ coaches mapping out the right path?
The game with G-H was played at a furious pace, and unforced errors were always likely to offer chances. So why were Bears content to play with ball in hand inside their own 22? While Emma Sing and Lleucu George were willing to add the occasional long range-finder, England’s No 1 choice 10, Holly Aitchison, seemed under orders to keep the ball in hand. One feature of Bears’ play was the rarity of visits beyond the opponents’ 10-metre line.
This is an ongoing poser in world rugby. Wayne Smith wanted an open style for his Black Ferns’ side, and they won a world cup with it. But only by a hair’s breadth after playing against 14 for most of the game. Allan Bunting has tried to modify that approach to an extent, no doubt impressed by England’s game-plan that has proved so successful for so long. Simon Middleton was a firm believer in playing the game in the opponents’ half. Any subsequent error was far less likely to result in a score against. The Red Roses still aim to play a balanced game of handling and kicking.
Injuries and Form
To more worrying matters. In a recent piece I mentioned Lightning’s willingness to list their absentees (http://4theloveofsport.co.uk/2025/01/06/a-game-changer/). Other clubs don’t, but they are suffering as badly, if not worse. This is where the large squads now permitted (50+) prove so necessary.
Versatility, one of the Red Rose squad’s hallmarks, is equally vital in PWR.
Some may argue that Amber Reed’s absence from Bears’ midfield is affecting them to an unhealthy extent. But they could still field three test players there. In clubs less well catered for such absences prove costlier. That’s most obvious in Leicester Tigers’ case. Meg Jones was missing from action with an ankle injury from the start of September. That was far more crucial to Tigers’ chances than any absence in the top five clubs; they are used to leaving test players on the bench.
England take up arms on 23 March.
Form is now known as momentum. Quins have it in plenty; they lie top. But nobody really knows what provides and maintains it. It’s a fickle friend, hence the excitement.
Overall
It’s tempting to single out the top-five clashes in those remaining fixtures. They are crucial ten-pointers, but Lightning have just proved that no-one can take victory for granted with their win over Sarries. A home fixture doesn’t ensure a win either; away wins are rarer, especially in the play-offs. So final placings at the top matter intensely.
While three of Quins’ remaining games are against top-five contestants, G-H have only one, then face the bottom three. Odds-on favourites for a triple crown?
The Weekend fixtures:
Saturday 11th: Saracens (4th) v Leicester Tigers (8th); Gloucester-Hartpury (2nd) v Loughborough Lightning (6th)
Sunday 12th: Sale Sharks (9th) v Trailfindefrs Women (7th); Exeter Chiefs (3rd) v Bristol Bears (5th)
