PWR Week 2 results
Now we've seen every team in action!
Firstly an apology for just the one post last week… full transparency I work outside of media and do this in my spare time, something that has been in short supply of late. I’ll do my best to improve this in coming weeks, but please bear with me while I find the right balance.
Anyway, enough of that and onto the action. Week two brought with it some big matchups and two fixtures that have been finals in the past. Let’s get stuck in shall we?
The circus travelled down the M5 as Exeter Chiefs Women hosted the reigning champs in a hard hitting, high energy, battle. Gloucester-Hartpury Women emerged victorious in Saturday’s only game, weathering the early loss of Maud Muir, before Tatyana Heard provided a hat-trick of tries and the reliable boot of Emma Sing kept the points ticking over for a 31-47 victory. Chiefs will be gutted their try bonus point wasn’t supplemented by a losing one, as they couldn’t quite close the gap despite some late heroics, but it nevertheless shows Exeter are up for some fights this year!
Turning to Sunday and a pair of matches went live on YouTube at the same time… it’s great that games are available this way but feels like a little more effort in scheduling could increase the value a great deal here.
In Northampton Loughborough Lightning got their first win of the season in a spirited affair against Sale Sharks Women. Lightning scored the only points of the first half with a late try, before Sale battled back in a tightly contested second half. The home side held on for a 19-12 victory though Sale continue to show how much they are improving against last season’s performances.
Just up the road Leicester Tigers Women hosted Bristol Bears Women. The West Country team sat out last weekend so were raring to go out of the traps. In the end it was a one-sided affair in a very empty looking Welford Road as the Bears scored 74 unanswered points in a game marred by a long delay while Bristol’s Phoebe Murray was treated for injury. I shared my feelings about Tigers in my season preview and it really is a shame to see this proud club not getting behind their women’s team. The lack of investment and the small turnout are so much less than the players, staff and coaches deserve.
Last up was the first London derby of the season, with Harlequins Women heading round the M25 to take on Saracens Women. The hosts would ensure North London had bragging rights after a dominant 47-10 victory that was all the more impressive given a host of last minute changes for Saracens. Black and red dominated and played some lovely rugby, including a nice try finished by Alysha Corrigan that I’ll link to below. Quins will lick their wounds but no doubt use this as extra motivation for the return fixture down the line.
So that’s week two in a nutshell. We’re quickly seeing how wrong I am as the champs have hit the ground running while elsewhere Saracens continue to look strong and Tigers, sadly but predictably, struggle. Here’s how the table looks after week two.
