Busy weekend in top leagues

Harlequins set out their intent in England

Harlequins demolished nearest rivals Richmond in a 101-0 win at the Stoop on Saturday, reminding everyone just how strong they have developed and setting down a marker for the rest of the league.

Richmond were chasing shadows for most of the match and once scoring began after just two minutes when Anna Caplice scored, it hardly stopped till the final whistle.  Newcomers like Giada Franco and Chloe Rollie impressed while flying winger Jess Breach enjoyed a fine game on the wing. It doesn’t get any easier for Richmond who are away to Saracens in round 2 but they will surely be much more competitive when they play sides towards the other end of the league.

Reigning champions Saracens beat Bristol 35-22 in a game in which new signing Lisa Martin was prominent. Bristol started very well and scored early through  Lucy Attwood and Kiera Bevan.  However Sarries’ big name players came good. Hannah Botterman set up Vicky Fleetwood for a try and Lisa Martin kicked extra points. The hosts went 35-10 up but Bristol rallied and scored through Began again and Clara Neilson, winning a losing bonus point.

Gloucester-Hartpury secured a 48-7 victory over Firwood Waterloo in Liverpool. It was rather a game of two halves and even though Gloucester led 12-7 at half time, the hosts were well in the game. They were too strong in the second half, with replacements Connie Powell and Ellie Underwood shaping things up. There were three consecutive tries, converted by Ellen Murphy following the restart from Karin Ingram, Ceri Large and Ellie Underwood which saw the Cherry and Whites pull clear.  New Zealand arrival Ti Tauasosi’s was impressive while Welsh signing Shona Powell-Hughes scored an excellent individual try.  The Waterloo try came from Lauren Delany.

Wasps beat Worcester 47-10 at Twyford Avenue.  Worcester started well and took the initial lead but Wasps, helped by Irish start Claire Molloy, got on top with Hannah West driven over for the first try before she grabbed a second shortly after and Gemma Rowland made it 19-3.  Wasps pulled away in the second half with Cliodhna Maloney racing away to score and there were firther tries from Sarah Mitchelson and Lucy Nye.

Finally Loughborough Lightning secured a 27-12 win over DMP Sharks.  Rhona Lloyd was the star for the Midlands side as she grabbed a hat trick.  After her opening score, play bounced back and forth between the teams, and it was DMP who took seven points under the sticks after a loose pass was picked up, taking the lead into half time 5-7.

Coming out strongly from half-time DMP struck within minutes  with another score from Rachel McLachlan  and Lightning were down to 14 players. Almost instantly Lloyd crossed the whitewash after picking up a loose ball from the restart and ran the pitch to score in the corner. Finishing off her hat-trick in style, Lloyd made a 50m run, weaving in and out of defenders to score under the posts. Rachael Woosey then struck and the hosts then had a final flourish to secure a good win.

Leinster win Irish title

Leinster retained the IRFU Women’s Interprovincial Championship with a 25-12 win over Connacht at Energia Park. It’s the first time the province have won back-to-back titles, but they were made to work hard for the perpetual trophy after a strong second-half comeback from Connacht.

It was a typically clinical start from the champions, who made full use of their time in the opposition 22 with two tries in the first 11 minutes. Lindsay Peat was first to strike from close range after an initial line-break from Naoupu.

It was Peat who carved up the Connacht defence three minutes later to create an overlap for Elise O’Byrne White and Leinster were 15-0 after 20 minutes up when they found even more space on the left wing for Grace Miller.

Connacht fought their way back into the game in the second quarter as player coach Alison Miller got to grips with her younger sister Grace, but they still struggled against Leinster’s aggressive rush on their midfield.

That changed in the second half as the introduction of Nicole Fowley at out-half saw Connacht kick into the space behind Leinster amid worsening conditions. It put Leinster’s back three under huge pressure and Aoibheann Reilly’s quick feet in midfield gave Connacht’s pack the platform to drive over with Edel McMahon going under the sticks. It was a special moment for McMahon after it was confirmed this week she was making the switch cross-channel to play with Wasps in the Tyrrells Premier 15s.

Connacht’s new plan also unlocked the pace of Beibhinn Parsons and the young winger accelerated onto Fowleys pass to finish off a big rumble from the Westerners’ pack on 55 minutes. For the first time in this Championship, Leinster were a try away from losing their lead in the second half.

Ben Armstrong’s women had the time and the resources to respond. They reshuffled their backline to restore confidence under the high ball and Sene Naoupu had her pick of support runners on a searing break on 63 minutes. Megan Williams was first on scene and combined with her captain to send Hannah O’Connor over.

Connacht were pinned back and Judy Bobbett got her reward for a night of heavy-duty carrying when she powered over to seal the win with seven minutes remaining.

Canterbury back on top in Farah Palmer Cup

Canterbury moved back to the top of the points table in the Farah Palmer Cup when beating Manawatu 54-7 on Saturday. Auckland beat Wellington 38-10 to join Canterbury at the top of the Farah Palmer Cup Premiership on Sunday.

Canterbury got out to a 40-7 lead by halftime but had a much harder contest in the second when scoring only two more tries.

Bay of Plenty achieved a significant first win over the season when beating Waikato 26-21 and achieving a bonus point in the process.

In the Farah Palmer Cup Championship section Otago and Hawke's Bay remain unbeaten and on 15 points after taking bonus points from their games. Otago beat Tasman 58-15 and Hawke's Bay thrashed Taranaki 74-0.

On Sunday, Auckland were too good for Wellington at Eden Park and Northland picked up an historic victory over North Harbour in Whangarei - their first ever win in the Farah Palmer Cup.

Last season's finalists lead the way in France

Hopes for a more even tournament remain unfulfilled after the second week of the French Elite 1. Last year’s finalists Montpellier and Toulouse lead their respective pools, and the Top 8 teams from 2017/18 fill all of the leading places.

In Poule 1 Montpellier scored over 50 points for he second week, beating Stade Francais – one of the clubs expected to play a leading role in this year’s championship – by 62-3, with 10 unanswered tries.

Bobigny also won for a second week, beating last year’s semi-finalists AS Bayonne. The Parisians were helped by an early red card against Bayonne. Even so Bobigny only held a 15-14 lead at the break before winning by 29-14. Despite the defeat, Bayonne remain third in the pool. In the two other games in the pool, Grenoble beat Rouen 62-0 while Lons beat newly promoted Chilly Mazarin 15-7.

In Poule 2 Stade Touloussian are the only unbeaten team, after a 45-5 win over Rennes (who nonetheless remain fourth), but the best performance of the day came from last season’s Elite 2 champions, Lyon, who destroyed Care by 80-0. The fact that Lyon lost 53-0 in a week ago to Toulouse illustrates how big the gap is between the teams in this league.

Blagnac and Romagnat – second and third in the pool – met and could not be separate, drawing 14-14, while Lille won their first game of the season, beating Bordeaux 35-10, and now lie in fifth place.