Richmond take the title as Premiership draws to a close

Richmond were handed the Premiership trophy at the weekend as the narrowly defeated Saracens in a fantastic game of women's rugby. Elsewhere OA Saints game agonisingly close to their first win after they came from behind to draw with Bristol. Wasps bounced back with a convincing win over Worcester while Lichfield ended their season off with a win over DMP Sharks.

Richmond 15 Saracens 13

Richmond had already won the Premiership but when they faced their old rival Saracens at the Athletic Ground on Saturday they were intent on securing their unbeaten run and in a nail biting encounter they just about did it.

The game was a fantastic advert for the Premiership as this was a high quality match from start to finish.

The home side dominated territory in the first half which saw the visitors rarely cross the half way line. Richmond could have opened the scoring with an early penalty but it was sent wide. The first score came moments later when captain Emma Croker touched down under the posts to roars from the crowd. Abi Chamberlain missed the conversion and Richmond took the lead 5-0. A Sarries penalty from April Brown narrowed that lead to 5-3 but Richmond remained in control and went into the break with that scoreline intact.

Stand out winger this season Kay Wilson came off the bench in the second half and scored from her first touch of the ball taking Richmond ahead 10-3. The home side looked to be gradually edging away from their rivals but a period of sustained Sarries pressure close to Richmonds goal line eventually penetrated Richmonds heroic defence and sent the excellent Maggie Alphonsi over the line bringing Saracens within two points of Richmonds lead.

With 20 minutes to go Richmond lost scrum half Fi Davidson to a shoulder injury and Rachel Burford was shifted into that position. Burford handled her new duties well and her side managed to get the ball deep into Sarries half. They looked like scoring again with about ten mins left when Wilson came close but a last ditch tackle which had the crowd on their feet stopped her just short of the line. On the turnover Sarries made a powerful run down the right wing and Mandy Marchak scored giving them their first lead of the game and it seemed that they would take the game but Richmond continued their aggression. After a couple of failed attempts to score and when it seemed like time had run following a surprising length of extra time, out Rowena Burnfield powered over the line from close range and secured the win for Richmond at 15-13.

At the end of the game RFUW Chair and RFU Council Member Deb Griffin and RFUW Board Member Janice Anastasi presented Richmond with the 10/11 RFUW Premiership Trophy. Saracens gave Richmond a superb game in one of the most competitive games of the season and will be delighted with the contributions of standout players like Charlioe Goode and Sarah Stimpson.

One more game is left for Richmond, against Lichfield and that will determine if they can keep a clean sheet on the title this season.

For the team and stats from this game seeHERE

Wasps 22 Worcester 5

Both teams anticipated that this would be a closely contested match, after what seems like a long time since Worcester finished the better team in the first match of the season.

Wasps had a point to prove after a narrow loss to Darlington last week and showed they were out to make amends early on. From the kick-off Wasps turned the ball over and after a few phases of play, prop-turned hooker for the day-Purdy got first points on the board, with Shelley Rae converting, 7-0. Wasps didnt let up the pressure and again gained territory and a move out wide to Liz Riley allowed her to find space and sneak over for a try, to make it 12-0.

Worcester got into the game for the second 20 minutes with Ceri Large and Pippa Crews making threatening breaks, but the Wasps cover defence picked up the tackles and largely kept Worcester out of their 22.

The Wasps forwards made good runs with Steph Fox and Laura Quinn showing they want to get their hands on the ball in the loose. Although the Wasps back three were making ground the last pass didnt seem to be clicking for Wasps, so Shelley Rae ensured they took points from being in the Worcester 22 by slotting over a drop goal to put Wasps 15-0 in front.

The first half finished with a clever kick from scrum half Toya Mason to the blind side of the scrum, chased down and scored by Adrienne Garvey.

After half time, Worcester took a step up and put a lot of pressure on Wasps. Turning over the ball just outside the 22 they made a few quick passes to put Kat Merchant in space to get around the Wasps defence and score in the corner.

Wasps struggled to find the form which put them in front in the first half, and Worcester were quick to capitalise on mistakes and continue to create chances for Kat Merchant and Sam Bree out wide, however Michaela Staniford showed her experience to put in strong tackles out on the wing and keep Worcester out for the rest of the half.

For the team and stats from this game seeHERE

Lichfield 27 DMP Sharks 15

In their last home game of the season, Lichfield were determined to end their season on a hig and the home team came out firing from the lick off. Dominance at the breakdown and clinical handling from the backs ensured they kept the ball in the early phases and after 11 minutes Tash Jones found a hole in the opponents defence, 10 metres from the opponents try line and sailed under the posts to open up the scoring. Emily Scarret. It was Scarret who added the next two sets of points to the score board, showing exceptional footwork and using her speed to get around her opponents and score two tries. She was unable however to convert these and the score after 30 minutes 17-0 in Lichfields favour.

Despite what was an excellent start, Lichfield started to make errors and the determined Darlington side were more than willing to capitalise on these. After Lichfields Emily Braud was yellow carded, Darlington moved the ball well across the park, forcing the Lichfield defence to work hard and cover extra ground. With some excellent handling through the backs, it was Natasha Fitt who got the first try for Darlington, showing her pace to get around the edge of the Lichfield defence.

In the second half, both teams came out strong, however, it was Scarret who showed her dominance in running with the ball and stepped the Darlington winger to score. Play moved from end to end of the pitch and it was the Lichfield team who stretched the Darlington defence to allow winger Liz Pulson to score in the corner.

Darlington continued to work hard and Tamara Taylor continued to be a threat running hard lines into the Lichfield defence. Excellent handling between both the forwards and the backs allowed them to get Nikki ODonnell into space who showed her speed as she dashed down the wing to score in the corner. Darlington continued to test the Lichfield defensive line, continually hitting the gain line from set piece. To finish the game, it was Katy McLean who scored for Darlington, but she was unable to convert the try and the home team secured their final win of the season.For the team and stats from this game seeHERE

Old Albanian Saints 27 Bristol 27

OA Saints came from 27-8 down at half time to draw an entertaining match in sunny conditions at the weekend.

In a game of two halves it was the visitors that started the sharper forcing the penalty early which fullback Amber Reed put over. Minutes later number 8 Nicola Hoole crashed over to give Bristol an 8-0 lead after only 10 minutes. OAs began to find their feet however and after exerting some pressure on the Bristol line, executed a training park move pushing the ball wide to winger Claire Mckenna who looked set to score but played safe off-loading to sister Sarah McKenna to guarantee the touch down closing the gap. This kicked Bristol into life and they began to speed the ball up at every opportunity trying to move their larger opposition around. Running the ball side to side the Saints fell off tackles leading to two tries in quick succession for outside backs Katie Mason and Amy Wilson. A McKenna penalty stemmed the tide but on the stroke of half time second row Kate Newton extended the lead to a comfortable 27 8 at half time.

The second half saw the arrival of influential centre Simone Shepherd for the home team and she made an immediate impact smashing over the line after some excellent lead up work from the forwards. The Saints pack were starting to edge the scrums stealing ball and the back line was beginning to fire. With Skipper Leah Carey and fellow back rowers Caz Rees and Cath Botterman at the heart of much of the good work, the Saints began to dominate possession. Any attempts to speed the game up by Bristol were thwarted by some huge hits especially from McKenna, makeshift centre Geri Thomas and debutant prop Elisha Dee.

Despite the pressure Saints were stopped time and again by excellent Bristol defence in particular flanker Marlie Packer finally the pressure told and from a quick tap penalty captain Carey crashed over under the posts and with the easy conversion for McKenna it was back to a five point game with 15 minutes remaining. Whilst Saints sniffed a first victory of the season Bristol continued to play a high tempo game and go looking for more scores. There adventure nearly paid off as the broke deep into saints territory but the last pass just failed to go to hand and the threat faded.

With the clock ticking away it looked like Bristol were to have their second victory of the season and Saints would once again leave empty handed. They threw one last desperate attack at the blue wall and it was again Sheppard who found the gap breaking down the Bristol blindside and a perfectly weighted pass saw wing Robyn King go over in the corner. With the scores tied McKenna had a kick to win the game but it fell agonisingly wide and the final whistle blew on this compelling encounter.

For the team and stats from this game seeHERE