PWR – Round Nine’s Saturday Games
First, your weather report:
Storm Darragh brought high winds, heavy rain and a first cancellation of the season. It had to be the most anticipated match thus far: Bristol Bears v Exeter Chiefs. So Ilona Maher was saved a few thousand selfies and autographs. But the disappointment was great.
Trailfinders v Sale Sharks
The weather was only slightly more favourable in west London; just wind, rain and cold.
This was a strangely shaped game. TF had the advantage of the wind at the start; they dominated possession and territory, but managed their third try only at the last moment.
Caity Mattinson hoisted an early box-kick that fell back into TF hands. A solid first scrum allowed Kate Zackary to drive deep, but an offence short of the line halted the good work.
Sharks’ one big break came through the impressive Olivia Ortiz, making a first invasion into the opponents’ half.
Another attacking TF scrum saw them finish the job. Abby Dow burst through and Abi Burton opened the scoring. Emma Taylor’s conversion spiralled over. 7-0
In the conditions it was vital for TF to get well ahead before the break. They didn’t help themselves when two successive line-outs fell into Lucie Sams’ hands at the back. It was Sharks’ misfortune that a subsequent error led them back to their own 5-metre line for a scrum. TF dismantled them and Burton had her second. Oh no, she hadn’t! The referee scrubbed it off!
A Dow charge down saw the ball cannon over Sharks’ dead-ball line, so we had the rare sight of a 22 drop-out.
At last Burton gained her second, cottoning on to a pass from Mattinson. 14-0
On 35 minutes Sharks made their first entry into TF’s 22, thanks to a Lizzie Duffy penalty. For once the throw-in was perfect; Scarlett Fielding made a huge thrust to the posts; the ball came back left and Eva Wood was over. 14-5
Now TF leapt from their end to the other, but they fell off-side and Duffy cleared. Well into tea-time Taylor was on the end of another attack that gave TF the extra buffer they desperately needed.
Their style is eye-catching, quick, inventive play, switches, off-loads, drives. Yet they had squandered a heap of chances. Could Sharks profit from the wind on their return?
Half-time: 21-5
Answer: NO! And yet Trailfinders conceded three penalties in quick succession. These should have placed Sharks firmly on the opposition line, but strangely they didn’t exploit long kicks.
We now saw TF at their best: a series of thrusts through midfield, then a long dart by Chloe Rollie who gave a scoring pass to Dow. 26-5 and the bonus. Next it was Schell on the charge. She couldn’t link to her wing, but won a penalty at the breakdown. It was as if the wind had dropped; it hadn’t.
Sharks’ first attackof the half was a disappointment; they went through many phases, without making use of the conditions. It was hard for the opposing back-three to cover all the ground, but the advance ended with a tame forward pass.
Next Dow slipped past several tackles, Schell made another burst, and Burton had her hat-trick after effective work by her pack. 31-5
The one oddity of Duffy’s play was that, after an excellent first half, she rarely used her boot to exploit the wind as it grew stronger. Later she did oblige, and Sharks pressed hard. A flowing move down the threes failed only with the last pass to Wood, who had stayed wide. The line gaped; such is life.
Result: Trailfinders 31 Sale Sharks 5
Player of the Match: Caity Mattinson
Sharks’ most impressive players were Duffy, Ortiz and Sams. It harmed their chances when she had to leave the field prematurely.
Other good features: Mattinson and Ortiz’ live-wire acts, and Trailfinders’ safe hands plucking the ball from a swirling wind.
For a brief moment the Londoners found themselves one place behind the champions in the table.
Teams
Trailfinders
15 ROLLIE 14 WHITE 13 COOKSEY 12 THOMSON 11 DOW 10 SCHELL 9 MATTINSON 1 LEATHERMAN 2 K. EVANS 3 TUFFNAIL 4 BEUKEBOOM 5 PINNOCK 6 TAYLOR 7 BURTON 8 ZACKARY (captain)
16 STATHOPOULOS 17 TAMAI 18 SEYE 19 MOORE 20 BURNFIELD 21 AMORY 22 INMAN 23 GALLAGHER
Sale Sharks
15 PROTHERO 14 HOPKINS 13 IRWIN 12 RIGONI 11 WOOD 10 DUFFY (co-captain) 9 ORTIZ 1 HARPER (co-captain) 2 FIELDING 3 JAMES 4 COWAN 5 JARRELL 6 SWAILES 7 CAPELL 8 SAMS
16 HYNDMAN 17 S. LEWIS 18 BENSON 19 MORRISSEY 20 HAZELL 21 STEFAN 22 WILKINS 23 R. PHILLIPS
Leicester Tigers v Saracens
At 9.30 Tigers reckoned the game would go ahead, despite the weather warnings. It did, and Sarries were on top from the start: two tries in four minutes to Kelsey Clifford then Lotte Sharp. This was an unwelcome reminder of the attainment gaps remaining in the league. 0-14. Gabby Senft soon had a third.
One consequence of this mismatch was Tigers’ mounting penalty count. The climax was a red card for Tahlia Brody as early as the 19th minute for a head-on-head tackle on Marlie Packer. The immediate outcome was a bonus-gaining try for May Campbell, now restored to the No 2 shirt.
0-26, and barely a quarter of the game gone. At least the Tigers held the former champions at bay till half-time.
The tide didn’t turn. In the next fifteen minutes Sydney Gregson added two more tries. 0-38
I’m glad to report that Tigers did at last conjure a reply. Leah Bartlett profited from a charged- down clearance; the impressive Julia Omokhuale again the cause of a Tigers’ uplift.
Alex Austerberry may well be enquiring why his team took the foot off the pedal so early in proceedings.
Result: 5-38
Teams
Tigers
15 GALLAGHER 14 HENRICH 13 WILLS 12 CHILDS 11 FEURY 10 N. JONES 9 RELF 1 BARTLETT 2 COKAYNE 3 BENAVENT 4 DONALDSON 5 FRAY 6 OMOKHUALE 7 McBRIEN 8 BRODY
16 BAINBRIDGE 17 CONSTABLE 18 VINCENT 19 RUSSELL 20 SIMPSON 21 MAXWELL 22 TUTT 23 SWARTZ
Saracens
15 SHARP (co-captain) 14 CORRIGAN 13 GREGSON 12 HARDY 11 BERMUDEZ 10 HARRISON 9 WYRWAS 1 GONDWE 2 CAMPBELL (co-captain) 3 CLIFFORD 4 McMILLAN 5 EVANS 6 SENFT 7 BENNETT 8 P. CLEALL
16 FIELD 17 MONTIEL 18 TREMELLING 19 GALLIGAN 20 M. PACKER 21 INFANTE 22 McDOUGALL 23 GRANT
Afterthought
Tigers were long famed for having the biggest club ground in the country and the biggest following. That was the men’s team. The women came late to the table, swallowing up Litchfield Ladies in the process. They are still building their support, but it won’t be easy, if the chances of success remain as low as at present.
It’s the old dilemma: however much team standards improve, the gaps in attainment persist.
Results
Leicester Tigers 5 Saracens 38
Trailfinders 31 Sale Sharks 5
Bristol Bears v Exeter Chiefs (postponed)
One game tomorrow, we hope:
Loughborough Lightning v Gloucester-Hartpury
