Gloucester Hartpury does it a third time

Yesterday at 01:52 PM

MATCH REPORT: Gloucester Hartpury made it an historic hat-trick of Premiership Women's titles with a 34-19 win over Saracens at Allianz Stadium.

In Sean Lynn's final game in charge before he takes over as Wales head coach, Gloucester Hartpury again showed their ability to come from behind as they overcame a 14-point deficit to emerge victorious.

A 19-point burst in the space of just over 10 minutes gave Saracens control of the game early on but just as they did in last year's final, as well as in the semifinal against Bristol Bears, the Circus showed that big deficits do not faze them.

Tries from Emma Sing and Mia Venner got them back to within four points by half time, and after the break, they pulled clear as Maud Muir, Neve Jones and Mo Hunt all got over.

It capped off a brilliant display from the Circus, who become the first team to win the title three years running, having done so against three different final opponents with Saracens joining Bears and Exeter Chiefs in falling to Gloucester Hartpury in the final.

The defending champions got off to a dream start with a try after just three minutes. From the first phase, they moved the ball wide where Lleucu George's inside ball put Venner through. The winger then fed the ball to her left where Kate Williams collected off a Saracens player before going over.

Sing was off-target with the touchline conversion and almost immediately, Sarries hit the front. It came from a clever inside ball again, this time Poppy Cleall to Breach, who burst through the tackle of George and then had the pace to skip past the last defender and get over. Zoe Harrison converted to make it 7-5.

That seemed to spark the home side into life, and they quickly extended their advantage. From a powerful rolling maul, Gloucester Hartpury could not deal with the second shove and when Hunt pulled it down, she conceded a penalty try with a yellow card to boot.

It was all Saracens and they quickly had a third as they threatened to run away with it. On the left, in the sunshine of the StoneX, some quick hands from Breach put co-captain Lotte Sharp over out wide. Harrison could not convert but at 19-5 and still with an extra player, Saracens were in control.

But Gloucester Hartpury are back-to-back champions for a reason, and even with 14, they were able to work their way back into the game. Finally getting some territory, they worked the ball out to the left thanks to a fine wide pass by George, with Sing stepping inside Alysha Corrigan to get over. She could not convert her own score but the lead was back down to single figures.

With Hunt's return, the Circus started to dominate possession and territory, earning themselves a third try of the afternoon. Venner started it with a brilliant break down the left, stepping inside a couple of defenders to get close to the line. When the ball came back her way a few phases later, she repeated the trick, stepping inside Breach to crash over. That made it 19-15 to Saracens, who needed a huge defensive stand before the break to lead at half-time.

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As they had in the first half, Gloucester Hartpury flew out of the blocks in the second half. Alex Matthews thought she had put them in front when she went over in the corner, but that was ruled out for a foot in touch in the build-up.

It was only a temporary respite, with Gloucester setting up the lineout before moving it into the midfield where Muir crashed through to go under the posts. Sing's conversion made it 22-19 to the Circus.

The momentum was firmly with them. An unfortunate bounce denied Sing but another rolling maul ended with Jones dotting down; Gloucester Hartpury led 27-19 with half an hour remaining.

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Just as it seemed the game might get away from Saracens, Matthews made a high tackle on Poppy Cleall, earning herself a yellow card and giving Sarries the chance to clear their lines.

Even so, this time around, Saracens could not take advantage of the extra player, with the game played almost exclusively in their half.

Once Matthews returned, Glocester Hartpury sealed the treble of titles, Hunt nipping over from a ruck for their sixth try. Sing converted to make it 34-19 with 10 minutes remaining.

Saracens had the better of the remainder of the game, but could not find a way through as Gloucester Hartpury saw it out in style.

Scorers:

For Gloucester-Hartpury:
Tries: Williams, Sing, Venner, Muir, N Jones, Hunt
Cons: Sing 2

For Saracens:
Tries: Breach, Penalty, Sharp
Cons: Harrison

Teams:

Saracens: 15 Jess Breach, 14 Alysha Corrigan, 13 Emma Hardy, 12 Sophie Bridger, 11 Lotte Sharp (co-captain), 10 Zoe Harrison, 9 Ella Wyrwas, 8 Poppy Cleall, 7 Marlie Packer (co-captain), 6 Gabrielle Senft, 5 Georgia Evans, 4 Rosie Galligan, 3 Kelsey Clifford, 2 May Campbell, 1 Akina Gondwe
Replacements: 16 Bryony Field, 17 McKinley Hunt, 18 Carmen Tremelling, 19 Bryony Cleall, 20 Louise McMillan, 21 Tori Sellors, 22 Sarah McKenna, 23 Sydney Gregson

Gloucester Hartpury: 15 Emma Sing, 14 Mia Venner, 13 Hannah Jones, 12 Tatyana Heard, 11 Pip Hendy, 10 Lleucu George, 9 Natasha 'Mo' Hunt (co-captain), 8 Alex Matthews, 7 Bethan Lewis, 6 Kate Williams, 5 Zoe Aldcroft (co-captain), 4 Sarah Beckett, 3 Maud Muir, 2 Neve Jones, 1 El Perry
Replacements: 16 Gillian Boag, 17 Mackenzie Carson, 18 Kathryn Buggy, 19 Steph Else, 20 Georgia Brock, 21 Meg Davies, 22 Ellie Green, 23 Rachel Lund

Referee: Joe James
Assistant Referees: Alex Thomas and Calum Howard
TMO: Dan Jones

Source @thepwr