Two delayed matches:
Bears v Chiefs
Sharks v Trailfinders
Bears v Chiefs
A vital game for both sides. Bears nudged ahead when an attacking penalty saw Sarah Bern take a carving-knife through midfield before serving Keira Bevan. (7-0) Bern gave John Mitchell a sharp reminder who his first-choice tight-head is.
Hope Rogers made an early contribution (7-5) after a fine gain-line break by Flo Robinson, then the crowd got their money’s worth. Holly Aitchison found Ilona Maher with a long pass on the edge, where Claudia Macdonald couldn’t bring Maher down fast enough to stop her driving in by the flag. (12-5) – reminiscent of Ellie Kildunne against Wales, squeezing the ball down as two defenders tried to fling her into the stand.
There was a worrying moment when Alex Tessier and Maddie Feaunati clashed heads. Sabrina Poulin took Tessier’s place as she left for an HIA (sadly failed).
If we expect Rogers to score her regulation try, the same goes for Lark Atkin-Davies. (19-7)
A moment before the break the break LAD had her second – just in case Mitchell hadn’t spotted her first time.
Bears secured their try-bonus inside the first half-hour, as if their previous two defeats against Loughborough and Trailfinders had really struck home. It made the outcome far less dramatic, but a crowd of 4,695 lapped it up.
Half-time: 26-5
Could Bears still upset all the odds and claim a play-off place?
Courtney Keight added to Chiefs’ woes straight after, and things wnt from bad to worse. Maher had her second via a high flyer from Aitchison; one of the passes of the season. Then LAD had her hat-trick. At 38-5 this was looking a mite one-sided, but at least Flo Robinson managed to score Exeter’s second. 38-12
Part of Exeter’s woes was the number of penalties they were conceding. With Aitchison and Atkin-Davies around to perform their double-act – penalty to the corner and unstoppable drive – this couldn’t end well. Liv McGoverne was the one to suffer a yellow. One small encouragement for the visitors was a debut try for Georgina Tasker, late of Loughborough.
If the skipper wants a try, she must have won. Abbie Ward completed Bears’ seventh. 45-12
Let’s put this statement win down to Amber Reed’s return. She is the heartbeat of the club, converting four of the seven tries.
Result: Bears 45 Chiefs 17
In the topsy-turvy world of PWR Bears completed the double over Chiefs, but in view of the coming programme, remain the outsiders. They have a single game left, away to Quins, while Chiefs, despite having to face Sarries away, can hope for a full five points against Tigers in Round 18. Maximums possible: Chiefs 56, Bears 54. It’s tight.
Teams
Bears
15 Courtney Keight 14 Reneeqa Bonner 13 Phoebe Murray 12 Amber Reed 11 Ilona Maher 10 Holly Aitchison 9 Keira Bevan 1 Simi Pam 2 Lark Atkin-Davies 3 Sarah Bern 4 Hollie Cunningham 5 Abbie Ward (captain) 6 Christiana Balogun 7 Alisha Joyce-Butchers 8 Evie Gallagher
16 Holly Phillips 17 Hannah Botterman 18 Elliann Clarke 19 Delaney Burns 20 Gabriella Nigrelli 21 Ffion Lewis 22 Meg Varley 23 Millie David
Chiefs
15 Merryn Doidge 14 Claudia Macdonald 13 Nancy McGillivray 12 Alex Tessier 11 Katie Buchanan 10 Liv McGoverne 9 Flo Robinson 1 Hope Rogers 2 Emily Tuttosi 3 Flo Long 4 Poppy Leitch (captain) 5 Linde van der Velden 6 Dorothy Wall 7 Maddie Feaunati 8 Rachel Johnson
16 Clara Nielson 17 Demi Swann 18 Charli Jacoby 19 Niamh Orchard 20 Taz Bricknell 21 Emily Robinson 22 Sabrina Poulin 23 Georgina Tasker
Afterthought
The match marked Ilona Maher’s swansong; she rewarded the crowd with a double. I’ll leave my thoughts on her trip to England for another occasion.
Sharks v Trailfinders
Sale got off the mark with an early penalty, but TF were soon pounding at the home line. Grace White was stopped just short, but after the forwards had done some damage, Julia Schell stepped neatly inside to cross. In the build-up Vicky Irwin suffered a shoulder injury and had to give way.
Delightful interplay by the two TF centres, Lisa Thomson and Kendra Cousineau, led to a short- range try for Kate Zackary. 3-14
Olivia Ortiz made a magnificent break to the line from first possession. (8-14) She is putting in a strong case for the No 9 spot for the Eagles, quick-witted and combative all through.
As the break approached, TF built again menacingly, but were held up over the line. Where have I seen that before this season? You can imagine referees practising that signal in the mirror at home.
At once the visitors made up for the error. Zackary burst ahead, then the two props combined delightfully, Cass Tuffnail giving a fine off-load under pressure. The ball spread wide and White was in at the left corner.
Half-time 8-19
Schell just seemed to hold an arm out to stop people tackling her, and she had her second. Simple, really. 8-28
Ill-discipline from TF caused the refereee to reverse a decision and Scarlett Fielding, just on, reaped the benefit. Robyn Wilkins added two with a fine kick. (15-26) Bea Rigoni undid the good work with a charged-down clearance, and TF attacked. But they upset the referee again – though I could see their point – and were marched back ten.
It took them a while to re-establish their dominance, then Abi Burton forced her way over. That was two tries fewer than in the reverse game, but no-one in green was complaining.
There was plenty of inventive play by both sides, but handling grew less accurate as the game aged. Once more Sharks proved unable to gain that vital extra try-bonus point.
Result: Sharks 17 Trailfinders 33
Player of the Match: Julia Schell
Teams:
Sharks
15 Nikita Prothero 14 Sophie Hopkins 13 Beatrice Rigoni 12 Katana Howard 11 Eva Wood 10 Vicky Irwin 9 Olivia Ortiz 1 Catie Brnson 2 Molly Wright 3 Detysha Harper 4 Iona Antwis 5 Erica Jarrell 6 Jo Brown 7 Niamh Swailes 8 Morwenna Talling (captain)
16 Scarlett Fielding 17 Amber Schonert 18 Nick James 19 Molly Morrisey 20 Polly Bowman 21 Willow Bell 22 Robyn Wilkins 23 Rachel Philipps
Sofia Stefan (21) was a late withdrawal
Trailfinders
15 Niamh Gallagher 14 Vicky Laflin 13 Kendra Cousineau 12 Lisa Thomson 11 Grace White 10 Julia Schell 9 Caity Mattinson 1 Liz Crake 2 Lindelwa Gwala 3 Cassandra Tuffnail 4 Grace Moore 5 Shya Pinnock 6 Rowena Burnfield 7 Abi Burton 8 Kate Zackary (captain)
16 Paige Stathopoulos 17 Alivia Leatherman 18 Rori Wood 19 Tyson Beukeboom 20 Sara Seye 21 Ella Amory 22 Jess Cooksey 23 Rosie Inman
Table P W Pts
Glos-Pury 14 11 58
Quins 14 11 55
Saracens 14 10 53
Bristol Bears 15 9 49
Exeter Chiefs 14 9 46
Lightning 15 6 34
Trailfinders 14 5 32
Tigers 14 2 12
Sharks 14 1 4
One detail: at the bottom of the table Tigers have scored 60 points more than Sharks, but they have leaked 101 more. Attack earns more than defence: there is an 8-point gap in their favour.
