Saracens and Richmond pull away at the top

Richmond 31 Worcester 12

On a foggy afternoon in Richmond the home side showed their intent from early on, taking the ball flat with hard running lines and always at pace.

The pressure was on early on Worcester, camped in their 22, and it was only a matter of time before Richmond converted their attack into points. Jo O'Sullivan was the recipient of a perfectly timed flat passes; breaking through the centre to score by the post. Abi Chamberlain added the conversion, 7-0.

After some to and fro play in the middle of the pitch, Worcesters backs ran a well-practiced move, try scorer O'Sullivan missed a tackle on Kat Merchant who off loaded to Nollie Waterman. She evaded the Richmond tacklers to score; conversion missed 7-5.

Worcester looked decidedly more dangerous than in the opening phases until Richmond took a quick tap penalty and spread the ball quickly away from the defence. Barbara Pla Vegue scored on the wing with Chamberlain landing an impressive conversion 14-5.

A great phase of play from the red gold and black, using both forwards and backs in their attacking moves, led to a second try for Richmond's Spanish winger Pla Vegue. Conversion missed 19-5.

Mistakes from the Richmond full back Garcia Alonsa and a string of penalties in their 22 put Richmond under pressure at the end of the first half, but Worcester failed to score again before the break.

Worcester opened the second half with vigour. Numerous tactical attacking kicks in the opening few minutes marked a change in tactics as they probed behind the defensive line for weakness. They opened the second half scoring when a perfectly weighted kick from Ceri Large was caught on the try line by Waterman who touched down for her second. Large landed the conversion 19-12.

In the period that followed neither team could gain the advantage due to a flurry of penalties which left the game disjointed. Pla Vegue broke the stalemate with her third try, which was converted by Chamberlain taking the score to 26-12.

Richmond gained the five try bonus point when the pack shoved the scrum over the try line. It was a well deserved try for the stand out player of the day Nic Hoole; apt reward for a player who had run great lines, made yards and broken the line all day. The home side's fifth try was unconverted, 31-12.

Fresh legs were bought on for both sides, but the score remained 31-12 at the final whistle. Another solid display from Richmond and a bonus point win; the perfect way to finish before a two week break for the Autumn internationals.

Seeherefor full details of tihs game

Darlington Mowden Park Sharks 13 Bristol 12

The first score in this match played in foggy conditions after just five minutes when a break from Katy McLean on the half way line which saw her run around the defence and set up a great score. Linking up with George Roberts, she attacked the line aggressively before fending off a Bristol winger with one hand and managing an excellent offload to winger Jen Edwards with the other who touched down in the corner.

A close fought game saw more ball retention from Bristol and turning over a Sharks ball in midfield enabled them to create a mismatch on the blind side and a strong run from the Bristol centre Sally Tuson saw them make a mark on the scoreboard. With Bristol fly half Sarah Graham converting the try the scores stood at 5-7 to Bristol after ten minutes played.

After 22 minutes McLean slotted over a penalty taking the Sharks back into the lead by 1 point. The remaining half saw Bristol hit up through the midfield and around the fringes of the breakdown and with some dominant scrummaging they were able to set a solid platform and gain good territory and after a few phases Poppy Cleall managed to push over the line for a score in the corner right on the 40 minute mark. Graham was unable to convert the difficult kick and so the half time score was Sharks 8, Bristol 12.

Still confident on home soil, the Sharks approached the second half determinedly. Maintaining possession and territory the Sharks were in control but were unable to convert the opportunities into points. Great work from the Bristol back row kept the Sharks at bay but with Bristol not managing to get out of their own half, the Sharks continued to exert the pressure and pepper the Bristol 22 for most of the second half. Finally after remaining patient and some good phase play from the forwards pack, the Sharks backs were able, despite the poor conditions to whip the ball to the wing with a couple of miss passes of McLean and Roberts to see Edwards score her second try of the game in the corner. Mclean hit the post with her kick meaning that the scores were now poised at 13-12 with just 5 minutes left to play.

Bristol came back after the kick off and made excellent ground with some great runs from Isabelle Noel-Smith but excellent pressure from Roberts and substitute Mairead Nee saw the Sharks gain a penalty which signified the end of a very close game.

Seeherefor full details of tihs game

OA Saints 0 Saracens 52

Saracens maintained their top of the table spot with a convincing win at their near neighbours.

The visitors started strongly with their forwards using quick ball from a turnover to create space for flanker Hannah Gallagher to score under the posts. Fly half April Brown converted to make the score 0-7. The Saints rallied well to clear their lines as Saracens ill-discipline started to show with the first of several penalties in favour of the home side. The Saints used the field position well to allow strong runs from their forwards captain Leah Carey and flanker Chloe Allcorn. Saracens stole a Saints lineout for centre Sarah Ulmer to cut though the Saints midfield and set up winger Louise Meadows for the second score of the afternoon. Brown converted to make it 0-14. Flanker Leah Morley added to the score just minutes later when she caught a clever offload out of the tackle from a teammate to make the score 0-21 with Browns conversion. The Saints forwards started to gain momentum as prop Ellisha Dee and second row Emily Coleman demonstrated excellent handling skills to offload out of the tackle and get behind the gain line. Unfortunately the ball went to ground and Saracens had the scrum just in the Saints half. Saracens number 8 Sonia Green made a break off the back of the scrum to outpace the Saints defence and showed excellent footwork to score underneath the posts. Brown converted to make it 0-28. Green added to her points tally for the afternoon minutes later with excellent support play to score her second try of the afternoon. Brown missed the conversion to make the half time score 0-33 to Saracens.

The second half started with the Saints under pressure straight away as Saracens stole the ball from the kick off. The Saints fought back with some excellent tackles from centre Simone Shepherd and full back Kate Barnes but Saracens wing Rachel Potter found a gap and managed to keep Saracens points ticking over. Brown missed the conversion to keep the score at 0-38. The Saints began to use some of their possession and territory to put pressure on the Saracens defence with the next 15 minutes being played in the Saracens 22m. The Saints worked the phases well with good decision making from scrum half Bethan Jones and fly half Nicky Cameron only for the ball to be lost in contact at a crucial time to relieve the pressure on the Saracens defence. Saints centre Robyn King and wing Ally ODonovan combined well and were unlucky to get caught just short of the Saracens try line. A knock on from the Saints allowed Saracens a scrum just outside their 22m and after a well worked backs move Saracens full back Megan Williams scored unopposed under the posts. Brown converted to make the score 0-45. Saracens began to find themselves under more pressure soon after with a succession of penalties against them for infringements at the ruck and with the Saints camped out in the Saracens half again, the visitors did well to keep the home team at bay. Rachel Potter scored her second soon to make the final score 0-52 to Saracens after Brown converted.

Despite the scoreline, it was much better team performance from the Saints which will hold them in good stead when they travel to Wasps on the 11th of December for their next league fixture.

Seehere for full details of tihs game

Lichfield 34 Wasps 17

No report recieved.

Seehere for full details of this game