Two from two for Wasps, Richmond and Sarries

(Wasps and Lichfield in action. Pix thanks toRichard Tidmarsh)

Wasps, Saracens and Richmond made it two from two in the second round of the English womens Premiership. It took a last minute penalty from Abi Chamberlain for Richmond to secure a win over Worcester while Wasps (in action right) overcame a tough Lichfield challenge. Sarries had it easy against OA Saints while DMP made the trip to Bristol worthwhile with a win.

Worcester 15 Richmond 17

Worcester probably thought that they had done enough to win this exciting encounter when Ceri Large converted a penalty in the 75th minute to give them a slender lead, however, Richmond continued to battle until the final whistle when a penalty in their favour was scored by fullback Abi Chamberlain to secure the points for the visitors with the last kick of the game.

The game started at a furious pace with both teams eager to attack; however, it was Richmond who gained the early rewards when Worcesters defence failed to drift, leaving an overlap for Sophie Nicholas to score a well worked try. Former Worcester player Chamberlain took the extras.

Whilst Richmond looked dangerous in possession, Worcester were largely denying them good ball and it was not a surprise to see Lydia Thompson score in the corner, following an intelligent defence splitting run from Sam Bree, who like her counterpart, had an outstanding game a full back. Ceri Large drew the teams level with an excellent conversion from the touch line.

Worcester had England prop Rochelle Clark yellow carded for a team offence five minutes before the interval and to the teams credit, were able to maintain the status quo until her return.

The second half saw Worcester introduce Jo Watmore in the centre and with a positional change at halfback too, the home team seemed to relish the quicker ball and continued to press the visitors. However, despite this enterprise, Richmond increased their lead Chamberlain crossing the line and converting her own try.

Richmonds score prompted an immediate response from the home side, which saw Kat Merchant score a typical bustling try. On this occasion Large was unable to level the scores.

The game was now set for an exciting last quarter and Worcester took the lead for the first time when Richmond, under pressure from the hard working and efficient Worcester pack, conceded a penalty on the 22, with Large gratefully accepted the points, Worcester now leading by one point.

More excitement was to follow, as in the final minute Worcester conceded a penalty , then failed to retreat 10 metres, which gave Chamberlain the opportunity to seal victory for the visitors with a well struck kick.

Scorers Worcester: Lydia Thompson (try), Ceri Large (con, pen), Kat Merchant (try)Scorers Richmond: Sophie Nicholas (try), Abi Chamberlain (try, 2 cons, pen)

Saracens 84 OA Saints 0

In a one sided derby game, Saracens took the north London bragging rights, coming out on top 84-0 at home to OA Saints.

Scoring started early with Saracens stalwarts Amy Garnett and her protg Kat Evans combining well and each the whitewash. Ama Ofkar continued her try scoring form from last weekend's game against Lichfield, with another fine score and assist for young talent and fellow winger, Leanne Riley. Mandy Marchak and Maggie Alphonsi each scored a first half brace with strong running, accompanied by stalwart Sarah Ulmer who once again had a fine game. April Brown was on target with 6 kicks as Saracens went into the half 48-0 ahead.

Saints started the second half with a new tenacity led by the ever present Leanne Carrey who was strong throughout partnered by the hardworking Simone Sheppard in the centre. However, Saracens found their way to the line a further six times with Leanne Riley and Marchak completing their hat tricks, while Alphonsi scored another and standout backrow Hannah Gallagher, a previous assistant for three team tries, got her reward with a quality individual effort.

Both teams in great spirit post game, enjoyed celebrating Saracens and England hooker Amy Garnett, achieving her 100th cap for England, a fantastic achievement and thoroughly deserved.

Scorers Saracens: Tries: Amy Garnett, Kat Evans, Ama Ofkar, Leanne Riley (3), Mandy Marchak (3), Maggie Alphonsi (2), Hannah Gallagher, April Brown (7 cons)

Wasps 27 Lichfield 20

As the scoreline suggests it was a close game between Wasps and Lichfield, with some great tries from both teams. Lichfield started strongly with a penalty by Tash Jones and soon after Vicki Jackson charged down a clearance kick, re-gathering to put the first try on the board.

The first half was tight with both teams making breaks and working hard in defence. Wasps gained more territory, putting together the phases which paid off after Sarah Mitcheson pulled in the defence to create space for Michaela Staniford to finish for her first score of the day.

Although Lichfield played some good rugby and were threatening on the break they didnt manage to convert the pressure into points again in the first half. With the game in the balance, Wasps gained the upper hand just before half time, with Sarah Butler scoring out wide to put Wasps 10-8 in front.

After the break Wasps had the majority of the territory, with the forwards finding gaps and offloading well, creating the overlap for Davinia Monteiro to find space to score out wide, bringing the score to 15-8.

Wasps continued to put together good phases of play with a midfield crash from a line out, followed by Sarah McKenna slicing through the defence and neatly offloading to Staniford to score.

Although it looked like Wasps were well in front, Lichfield came back strongly in the last 20 minutes, with Emily Scarratts footwork and powerful running taking her past a number of defenders to score under the posts, converting her own score and bringing Lichfield close again at 20-15. The game finished with another try apiece, with Staniford running in from 40m to complete a hat trick and Gemma Sharples scoring for Lichfield to finish with a bonus point.

Scorers Wasps: Micheala Staniford (3 tries), Davinia Monteiro (try), Sarah Butler (try)Scorers Lichfield: Vicki Jackson (try), Emily Scarratt (try, con), Gemma Sharples (try), Tash Jones (pen)

Bristol 17 DMP Sharks 23Bristol scored three tries through Sally Tulson and Becky Hughes but two yellow cards didn't help their cause as they went down on home soil. DMP's try scorers were Georgia Roberts, who grabbed a brace, Jennifer Edwards and Tamara Taylor as they made the long trip south worthwile. Katy McLean added a penalty.

(A full report has yet to be recieved for this game)