English Premiership: Round 2 Summary

There were wins for London sides Saracens, Richmond and Wasps while Bristol won their second in a row in round two of the English Premiership

Published by Alison Donnelly, September 14th, 2015

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English Premiership: Round 2 Summary

Saracens secure late bonus point over Worcester

Saracens were pushed hard in a tough encounter with Worcester but showed their class to pull away in the closing quarter.

The home side were slow to come out of the blocks and were unsettled early on with Worcester stretching out wide with some silky handling, allowing centre Zoe Bennion to score in the corner.

Saracens began to find their rhythm, applying pressure in the opponents 22 and were awarded a penalty which winger Charlotte Barras slotted.

Worcester found themselves a player down and after persistent infringements at the breakdown Courtney Gill was sent to the sin bin. Saracens took advantage of the extra player and began to stretch the visitor’s defence. Following a solid lineout, flanker Hannah Gallagher made a barnstorming break but was brought down just short of the line. Saracens recycled quickly and sent the ball neatly through the hands for Barras to dot down. With momentum building for the home side, the ball was turned over in the midfield allowing centre Nina Vistisen to break through, passing out to winger Laura Dowsett who then linked with her teammate with a spectacular backdoor pass to see Vistisen clear and under the posts, giving them a 13-5 lead going into half time.

Prop Laura Keates got one back for Worcester but Fi Sim was on the end of a powerful Saracens maul soon after. Worcester weren't done though asflanker Sian Williams found the gap to slice through the Saracens midfield and score under the posts. The conversion was good taking the score to 18-17 with 20 minutes remaining.

Saracens stepped up their game withwinger Lotte Clapp exploiting the blindside to score in the corner and hunting for the bonus point, Saracens continued to press through Kerrie-Ann Craddock and Jeanni Vinueza Yoyola upfront, winning a scrum against the head on the 5m. No. 8 Poppy Cleall finally scored the all-important fifth try for the bonus point.

Bristol make it two from two

Bristol made it two out of two when they beat Lichfield Ladies 13 – 37.

Two hat tricks from Amber Reed and Sarah Hunter closed down the contest, which ended 8-10 at half time.

After the opening 30 minutes the score line settled at 3-3, with Amber Reed slotting home the penalty for the visitors.

Reed then moved Bristol in front, showing off some creative footwork to run round the Lichfield defenders, scoring the first try of the game, and converting it herself. Just before half time Lichfield turned over the ball in the middle of the field and ran in a try of their own, but failed to convert.

The first half was a close 40 minutes, with Bristol showing good energy and slowly building up the pressure on Lichfield.

The second half started with a yellow card to Lichfield for a high tackle and Bristol turned up the pressure.

Sarah Hunter was on the receiving end of a great off load from Izzy Noel Smith, and dotted the ball down just left of the posts. Reed successfully converted and 5 minutes later, was back on the score card again - out running the Lichfield defence.

The forwards played a large part in the next try, working the ball from the 5 metre line, creating an overlap which Reed happily exploited, securing her hat trick.

A superbly executed line out set up a furious driving maul, with the forwards travelling at brilliant pace and Hunter, once again, carried the ball over the try line.

Lichfield got one back on 76 minutes, an intercept by their forward took the score the 13 – 32, however Bristol closed out the game with a repeat of the previous try – another driving maul, with Hunter there to secure the points.

Richmond run riot against DMP Sharks

Richmond ran up a massive score against the visiting northern side with a massive 61-7 win.

DMP scored first from a line-break on Richmond’s twenty-two, which was successfully converted, bringing the score to 0-7.

But Richmond responded by kicking their game up a gear, and five minutes later Vik Cornborough storms through several defenders, before offloading to Alicia McCornish, who scored Richmond’s first try.

A great series of runs and offloads, including fancy footwork from Emma Croker, put Richmond in a strong position, and ten minutes later they are ready to score again. This time Holly Myers grabbed the try.

McCornish scored again before the break but it was the second half when Richmond really pulled away. Sam McCarthy dotted down first and then three more tries followed in quick succession, with Jackie Shield converting.

The bonus point win puts Richmond top of the Premiership table.

Wasps win but may rue lost bonus point opportunity

Having lost to local rivals Richmond last weekend, Wasps grabbed their first win over Aylesford but may kick themselves for a lack of clincial edge that saw them leave a bonus point behind.

TessGard’nerhelped Wasps to a strong start with a good finish out side after some slick hands out wide and the Acton side looked dominant around the park as the game began.

Sarah Riordan was a threat for the Bulls but despite a strong break, Wasps were able to extend their lead through Nicola Smith who was at the end of a maul to help her side to a 12-0 lead.

Aylesford hit back with a score fromCaitlain Blanchard who got on the end of the ball after a solid lineout but there was one more score before the break after Tina Lee tapped a quick penalty and released MarissaLowe on for a 5-17 lead.

Wasps effort to push on and extend their lead were thwarted by errors as well as strong defensive work from the Bulls and Wasps could only add one more try thorugh Jane Leonard in the corner to end the game 5-22.

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