Gloucester-Hartpury 27 Sale Sharks 12
Leicester Tigers 17 Trailfinders Women 34
Gloucester-Hartpury v Sale Sharks
After their two unwelcome defeats Glos-Pury will have been silently grateful to be facing the back- markers, Sharks.
Pre-match Sean Lynn preferred to comment on the touching renaming of the home stadium in honour of the MND sufferer, Ed Slater.
He might have mentioned his choice of team, but diplomatically he didn’t. Missing were Aldcroft, Hunt, Muir, Lund, Matthews and a few other notables. That’s how you line up against a side that has failed to register a point in three games. At least Ellie Rugman was present after a long absence.
G-H went straight on the attack; only a dropped catch prevented an early score. Better luck after four minutes, as Beth Stafford broke through a series of tackles to claim a first try.
Sale were up for the fight. They won some of the early 50/50 chances, making life difficult for the hosts. Sofia Stefan caused plenty of problems; she pushed a kick through and won the chase to the touchdown. 7-7
When Lucie Sams incurred a yellow, G-H had a scrum penalty, but Carmen Castellucci was held up over the line. Georgia Brock failed to give a scoring pass and to score herself.
Half-time: 7-7
This new-look G-H was disjointed. Would Lynn set out different tactics? Yes! Nel Metcalfe scored from a quick snipe round the blind-side. Very simple, but why only now? 12-7
But from there they returned to their disorganised selves. Trudy Cowan was shown yellow amidst untidy play. At least Neve Jones increased the lead from a line-out. 17-7.
Jones completed the scoring from a pack rumble. With so many reserves in action, Lynn may be satisfied. At least they had a chance to get some proper game-time under their belts.
It’s a moot point whether sides at the bottom of thr table are less fit than their opponents or simply suffer by seeing less of the ball.
Teams:
Gloucester-Hartpury
15 Sing 14 Metcalfe 13 Hendy 12 Heard 11 Woodman 10 Green 9 S. Jones 1 Carson 2 N. Jones 3 Tuipulatu 4 Stafford 5 K. Williams 6 Else 7 Brock 8 Castellucci
16 Boag 17 Cockbain 18 Samuda 19 Lewis 20 Copson 21 M. Davies 22 Hyett 23 Rugman
Sale Sharks
15 Prothero 14 Hopkins 13 VA Irwin 12 Rigoni 11 Thorpe 10 Wilkins 9 Stefan 1 Benson 2 Swailes 3 Harper 4 Antwis 5 Jarrell 6 Sams 7 Capell 8 Talling (captain)
16 Fielding 17 Schonery 18 James 19 Cowan 20 Searcy 21 I. Perris-Redding 22 Perrin 23 Phillips
Leicester Tigers v Trailfinders
This game summed up the ways in which the two new entrants established themselves in the league last year. Both had female DoRs in place; neither survived into this season.
But Giselle Mather’s skill at attracting quality players to Vallis Way was evident again, as Trailfinders kept their unbeaten run.
One of their clutch of Scottish players, Chloe Rollie, made a darting run to score within five minutes. A second score came as Tigers failed to secure their own line-out. Tyson Beukeboom seized possession, fed Rosie Inman, now on the wing to make room for Rollie, and she was away. Both Lisa Thomson and Caity Mattinson made good use of the boot to establish attacking positions.
But every one of the nine clubs has special players. Charlotte Fray provided the chance; Fran McGhie chipped ahead on the wing, collected and was over for Tigers’ first offering.
Neither side was managing to keep control of the ball for long, which helped to explain the modest half-time total of 5-10.
The home crowd’s spirits rose as Julia Omokhuale drove over the line. Claire Gallagher’s conversion gave Tigers the lead for the first time. 12-10
In a strange sequence, TF came under heavy pressure at the scrum. Cassandra Tuffnail, the third Canadian mentioned already, saw yellow. But as they defended furiously on their own line, fortunes switched. Rollie intercepted a cross-field pass and ran most of the way home. For once she didn’t have the pace; McGhie sprinted back to check her, but Julia Schell was on hand to accept a last pass.
At their best, the TF backs come close to equalling Mather’s backs of three years ago. (no Dow, Uren, Boatman today; Laflin on the bench) A dazzling set of runs and offloads allowed Caity Mattinson to extend the lead. By the time the scrum-half crossed, the Tigers’ defences had been disrupted by the speed of ball movement. 12-22
Five minutes later it was back to more orthodox means; Emma Taylor scored from a line-out. 12-29
Tigers weren’t done; McGhie sped in for her second. Starting from scrum-half. she spotted a gap and was away. (17-29) But Taylor wasn’t satisfied either. She too had her second try and converted it.
Result: 17-34
Teams: Tigers
15 Feury 14 Henrich 13 Wills 12 Childs 11 McGhie 10 Gallagher 9 Relf 1 Bartlett 2 Cokayne 3 Benavent 4 Omokhuale 5 Jacobs 6 Donaldson 7 Richardson 8 Fray (captain)
16 Simpson 17 Constable 18 Vincent 19 Heath 20 Russell 21 Maxwell 22 N. Joes 23 Beaver
Trailfinders
15 Rollie 14 Inman 13 Cooksey 12 Thomson 11 White 10 Schell 9 Mattinson 1 Tamai 2 Blanco 3 Seye 4 Beukeboom 5 Pinnock 6 Taylor 7 Moore 8 Zackary (captain)
16 Evans 17 Leatherman 18 Tuffnail 19 Barwick 20 Meta 21 Amory 22 Laflin 23 Gallagher
Table P W B Pts
Exeter Chiefs 5 5 3 23
Saracens 5 4 4 20
Good-Pury 5 3 3 17
Quins 5 4 3 11
Bristol Bears 3 2 3 11
Trailfinders 3 1 2 6
Lightning 4 1 3 7
Tigers 4 0 1 1
Sharks 3 0 0 0
Afterthoughts
Barney Maddison, the new head coach of Trailfinders, said: ‘The more professional women’s teams there are the better’. Thereby hangs a tale! The PWR has reduced in number and shows no sign of reversing the trend. And where else are more pro-teams appearing? Ah, the USA with its WER! But TF have just signed on another Eagle, Alivia Leatherman.
The PWR Team of the Week (Round 5) contained three players from outside the top four clubs.
The PWR does seem to be blessed with a string of outstanding wingers at present – all those glorious runs from their own dead-ball line to the other end. But the true test comes at international level: can a player add the defensive and positional skills to the armoury she already possesses?
Officials
Just the one this weekend, Holly Wood, and she was running the line for the Trailfinders’ men’s game beforehand. Katherine Ritchie was taking a men’s game in the Ereklasse in Holland.
