Premiership Women's Rugby round-up: Exeter Chiefs beat Harlequins, Trailfinders see off Leicester, Bristol win
/dnl.tntsports.co.uk/sd/img/placeholder/tnt_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
ByOli Gent
Published 09/12/2023 at 19:05 GMT
Exeter Chiefs continued their unbeaten start to the Premiership Women’s Rugby season with a thrilling 52-27 win over Harlequins at the Stoop, while Trailfinders recorded their first win of the campaign against lowly Leicester Tigers. Bristol Bears dealt Loughborough Lightning a heavy defeat at Franklin's Gardens, while Gloucester-Hartpury's game with Sale Sharks was postponed.
‘Something very special’ - Bulls break from own 22 as Moodie touches down against Saracens
Exeter Chiefs continued their unbeaten start to the Allianz Premiership Women’s Rugby season with a thrilling 52-27 win over Harlequins at the Stoop.
Merryn Doidge’s hat-trick was the highlight of an enthralling encounter, which saw eight tries scored by Susie Appleby’s side.
Emily Tuttosi opened the scoring on 12 minutes for The Chiefs, but a Lagi Tuima penalty kept Quins in touch in the early exchanges.
Doidge notched her first try on 23 minutes and, seven minutes later, Abby Middlebrooke added to the score to make it 21-6.
On the stroke of half-time, Katie Buchanan almost dotted down her own kick haring after it downfield, but instead it fell for Tuttosi, who went over for the five-pointer.
An early interception try for the hosts from Flo Robinson, the former Chiefs player, saw Quins cut the deficit to 15 points, but Alex Tessier scored her first try for Exeter seven minutes later to restore their authority.
Two tries in three minutes from Claudia Macdonald and Doidge extended the lead to 52-13, and Hannah Sims responded for Quins, touching down for 52-20.
A quick penalty with seven minutes remaining caught out the visitors, and Ella Cromack broke through to touch down one final consolation try for Quins.
Bristol Bears recorded a 46-17 thrashing of Loughborough Lightning at Franklin’s Gardens.
Deborah Wills opened the scoring early, touching down in the first minute of the game, and Megan Varley followed her in just five minutes later to double The Bears’ lead.
Carmella Morrall opened Loughborough’s account in the 11th minute, but Varley was at it again, crossing the whitewash to extend the visitors’ lead.
There was still time in the first half for Sarah Bern to go over and keep the scoring going, and Keira Bevan added another score with the second half only seven minutes old.
The momentum swung - temporarily - in the hosts’ favour four minutes later, with Kathryn Treder dotting down to keep things competitive, but Alisha Butchers, Gabriella Nigrelli, and Lark Atkin-Davies tries sandwiched a Carys Williams finish to give The Bears a big win.
Trailfinders Women claimed their first win in the PWR, beating lowly Leicester Tigers 36-7.
The home side exploded out of the blocks as Liz Crake barrelled over inside two minutes and, seven minutes later, a second try arrived from the hands of Vicky Laflin.
Elis Martin scored her first Tigers try on 14 minutes, powering over from the rolling maul, but Crake added her second of the afternoon 15 minutes later, and she was followed in soon after by Megan Barwick.
Giselle Mather’s Trailfinders found themselves 24-7 up at the interval, and Abby Dow got in on the act in the 56th minute, with an excellent try that stemmed from their own five-metre line.
The icing on the cake was added by Kate Zackary late on, as she went over on the end of Ellie Green’s pass.
Gloucester-Hartpury’s game against Sale Sharks was postponed due to absent medical support.
- - -
TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination.
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement