After all the tension and doubt we now know the four semi-finalists.
Contrary to my expectations, Bristol Bears are through for a second attempt at winning the trophy.
The other three, far less of a surprise, are Gloucester-Hartpury, Harlequins and Saracens.
The mortified losers are Exeter Chiefs, but we can thank them for helping to provide the tensest end to a regular season we have yet known.
This is a clear sign of the increasing strength of the league. For many weeks the five clubs were in an almighty tussle. Their task was made harder by the competition coming from lower down the PWR table.
Here’s a selection of results involving top-5 clubs against the “also-rans”. Few of us could have foreseen the narrow margins of victory, let alone the defeats:
Trailfinders 39 Quins 46
Loughborough 22 Saracens 17 !
Gloucester-Hartpury 33 Trailfinders 31
Trailfinders 39 Bristol 38 !
Exeter Chiefs 7 Sale Sharks 12 !!
Bristol 22 Loughborough 31 !
It’s hard to recall a season (of Prem 15s or PWR) with so many upsets. But then we come to the core results, games between the top-5.
In the first round Chiefs beat Quins away, by a point, 8-7. It took four-and-a-half months to prove that was misleading. In round 3 Chiefs beat Gloucester-Hartpury 21-15 away! Were they red-hot favourites at that stage?
Quins had lost their first two matches to big-name rivals. They put their house in order to string ten wins together, before Sarries lowered their colours in round 15. But when Bears beat them 19-10 at the Stoop, the doubts returned. Two losses in succession?
The most recent round, Number 17, proved decisive: Chiefs lost 21-12 away to Sarries without claiming a point. The night before, Bears had won that signal victory over Quins. They had a decent chance of pulling through, and so it turned out.
With one round of the regular season to come, the only doubt is whether Quins or Sarries will gain home advantage for their semi-final. The odds are firmly in favour of Sarries, as they face bottom club Sharks at home, while Quins travel west to face the double champions Glos-Pury.
At least it means the tension will remain as taut as a bow-string right to the end. For what it’s worth, Quins lost the reverse match at home 18-27, but that was back in the dark ages, last October.
Selection
When it comes to selection, head coaches have been playing a strange version of Russian roulette. Do I play my strongest side every week, to ensure positive results? Or do I save my best players up for later games against even stronger opposition? How much rest and recuperation do they need? Will John Mitchell be contacting me about saving his Red Roses from excessive demands? The Six Nations is barely a month away.
The Four
Gloucester-Hartpury
The next two (or three?) games will be Sean Lynn’s last with the club. Whatever the outcome, he will retain an honoured place in their annals. Since 2017 they have taken advantage of the nursery Hartpury College provides. But till 2023 it has left them short of the experience and stability needed to beat allcomers. So many of their best students returned home after their studies, joining clubs elsewhere in the kingdom.
Only G-H will know how far Gloucester RFC’s closer collaboration has helped them to their present eminence. But the addition of a phalanx of Red Roses (for example Alex Matthews, Maud Muir, Mo Hunt and Sarah Beckett) has given them an edge that has proved almost unstoppable. Six losses in three seasons is pretty special. A third win in succession would be an achievement beyond even Saracens’ reach.
Saracens
Sarries have been at the heart of English women’s rugby from its earliest days and have survived, unlike their London rivals Richmond and Wasps. Alex Austerberry has been at the helm ever since Rob Cain was appointed head coach of USA Eagles in 2018.
But this season has proved tough for them. They have lost four matches, far more than in their palmier days. They came unstuck against Loughborough, then responded with a 100-0 win over Sale Sharks. That is the sort of result I hate seeing in the headlines – and the only extreme margin of the season – but it shows a determination to put matters straight that marks them out as a club.
They beat table-toppers Glos-Pury at home, but lost to them by 16 points in the return match. They also lost by a point to Quins. The absence of key players has played its part, but the same is true for every competing club.
Quins
Quins experienced a few poor seasons, marked by the disappearance of two head coaches. At last the newcomer, Ross Chisholm, has contrived to build a team that knows how to win. Even so, they have been defeated four times out of fifteen, but that has been the hallmark of the season, a welcome sign of the increasing competition.
We cannot overlook the contribution that Ellie Kildunne has made. It’s harder these days for individuals to make their mark consistently, but she has done just that.
In front of her Lucy Packer has stepped her game up considerably, and may well prove John Mitchell’s first choice for the No 9 Red Roses spot. She in turn will be grateful to her pack for providing more quality possession than in recent years.
It’s likely they will have to reach the final the hard way, by beating arch-rivals Sarries away from home. While Sarries take on the bottom club Sale in the final round, they must confront Glos-Pury away. At least Sharks took a bonus point by scoring four tries against them, but the Circus line-up may well look a shade tastier next time.
Bears
For me, and possibly for them, they are the surpise package. A semi-final place was always the main target, but their performances have been so erratic since October, that you didn’t want to bet your house on them pulling through.
Thanks to a series of improved results, they now have the pleasure of taking on local rivals G-H at Queensholm under lights. The best of luck.
The club has worked hard to build up extra support from the local community. Part of that meant switching more games from their home patch at Shaftesbury Park to Ashton Gate on the other side of the city. The mere possibility that Ilona Maher might be on the premises at the same moment was enough to boost attendances mightily.
I still feel Bears let themselves down across the season. With the great playing strength they possess (a complete England front-row for starters), they really shouldn’t have suffered such stop- start results. I hesitate to query the coaching policy, but I do wonder if they got the balance between ball-in-hand and ball-on-foot correct.
And the Fifth: Chiefs
Their recent record explains why they failed to make the final four. It tells a dismal story; a sequence of losses, most ignominious of all a home defeat by bottom club, Sale Sharks.
At board level, questions may now be asked about the competence of the coaching staff. There are plenty of talented players in the squad, but they haven’t produced the results. If they gain full points against Tigers, they will still finish two points behind Bears, and Tigers hit top form against Trailfinders last weekend.
NEQPs
To add a favourite topic of mine: here are the numbers of players chosen to start in Round 17, who are not qualified to play for England:
Glos-Pury 5
Sarries 3
Quins 9
Bears 5
Chiefs 7
Total: 29
That means that only 46 of the 75 players involved in the top-five clubs’ XVs were EQPs. We still await the PWR’s verdict on where the line should be drawn between two priorities: the well-being of English rugby and the attraction of world-class players adding quality and personality to the league.
Those bald stats are of limited value, as selectors were playing that roulette game I mentioned above; and injury always adds its unwelcome contribution. We must hope that no unfortunates will be denied a start at this late stage.
Semi-final details as known:
1 March
Kick-off: tbc
Quins v Saracens: venue depends on Round 18 results; Sarries have a big advantage there
2 March
15.00
Kingsholm: Gloucester-Hartpury v Bristol Bears
Final
16 March
15.00
StoneX Stadium
