Bears Women 12 Chiefs Women 33
Bristol Bears 12
Exeter Chiefs 33
Jack Lewis at Shaftesbury Park
It was déjà vu for the Exeter Chiefs, once again defeating Bristol Bears in a semi-final and moving within 80 minutes of retaining their Allianz Cup crown.
The Devonshire side continued their winning run, producing a professional performance against the Bears in testing conditions at a packed-out Shaftesbury Park.
With both sides missing a number of frontline stars due to international call-ups, it was Susie Appleby’s Chiefs who produced a tactical masterclass to take the win, setting up a Cup Final showdown against Saracens at Sandy Park next Sunday (1pm).
After a tight and tense opening forty, with both sides exchanging tries, the Chiefs found their rhythm in the second-half to pull away from their Westcountry rivals through some outstanding game management and defensive power.
It was the Bears who made the better of the early running, carrying powerfully into Chiefs territory, and looking fluid in attack. Lucy Burgess enjoyed an armchair ride at ruck time, and the quick ball proved hard for the visitors to deal with. It took only three minutes for Bristol to touch down for their first try of the match, a nice move from right to left sent full-back Amy Coles in to claim the opening points.
This Chiefs team haven’t won 13 on the bounce for nothing, and through the dominance of the forward pack, they began to assert themselves on the game. The back-row trio of Ebony Jefferies, Maisy Allen and Gabrielle Senft slowly working their way into the match with powerful, front-foot carrying that stressed the Bears defensive line.
Indeed, it was off the back of one such Senft carry that the visiting side struck back.The Canadian No.8 made 15 metres from the back of a scrum, before some quick recycling sent Danielle Preece powering over, under the Bears posts. Liv McGoverne knocked over the extras to give the Chiefs the lead.
In tricky conditions, it slowly became a battle of the breakdown, with both sides exchanging penalties at the ruck. It was the visitors who dominated possession and territory and only small handling errors prevented the Chiefs from notching up their second try of the match.
It was the home-side, though, that struck back against the run of play.Finding space in the Chiefs wide channels, Bristol’s back three surged downfield. Once again, it was about quick ruck ball and Exeter’s defence struggled to re-align, allowing Ella Lovibond to cross the whitewash for the home team’s second.
The Chiefs returned to their power game to respond, and from successive penalties, Liv McGoverne drove the team from Devon deep into the Bears 22. The line-out drive has been a formidable weapon all season, and it proved it’s worth once more. Driving the Bears back towards their own line, hooker Cli Moloney exploded away from the back of the maul and charged over the line to dot down under the sticks. Exeter up by two at the break.
HALF TIME: BRISTOL BEARS 12 EXETER CHIEFS 14
The second half began where the first left off, with referee Neil Chivers penalising the home team at ruck time, giving Chiefs time and possession in Bristol territory. The visitors hammered at the Bears door, but the Bristol defensive line stood firm under the pressure, and as the wind ripped across Shaftesbury Park, errors dominated the match for both sides.
However, Chiefs half-backs Flo Robinson and McGoverne controlled affairs superbly. Using the conditions to push the Bears back into there half and keeping chances for the home side to a minimum.It was perfect semi-finals rugby from the visitors, who continued to manage the match and frustrate Bristol. With plenty of penalties conceded by the home side, the pressure would eventually tell.
As the hour mark approached, the Chiefs struck, turning to one of their foundational strengths, the pick-and-go game, with American prop Charli Jacoby crashing over for the visitors third and stretching the lead to nine points.
Four minutes later, they were over again, with Preece rounding out a fluid move as the Chiefs began to show their class and ease through the gears.
With the final in sight, there was to be no nervous ending for the visitors as they continued to manage the remaining minutes. Penning the Bears into their own half with some ferocious defensive sets and clever kicking game.
Indeed, it was Exeter who had the final word of the match, with replacement Sophie Langford rounding out the victory as the clock went red.
It was a professional performance from a side who haven’t got a great deal of minutes together under their belts, and with another Allianz Cup Final in front of the Sandy Park faithful to come, Appleby and her team will be confident as they look to retain their crown.
Bears: A Coles; G Crompton, Ella Lovibond, P Murray, D Wills, L Smyth (M Wilkinson 60), L Burgess (capt), S Pam, H Phillips (J Sprague 65), E Mulhearn, M Barwick, H Cunningham, J Herring, D Mayes, R Marston.Replacements (not used): A Lockwood, A Parsons, B Osborne Clark, K Martin, E Lewis, R Bonner.
Tries – Coles, Lovibond; Conversions – Smyth
Chiefs: B Bradley, C Woodman, D Preece (S Langford 78), N McGillivray, L Sheehan; L McGoverne, F Robinson; A Middlebrooke (P Muzambe 50), C Moloney, L Hanlon (C Jacoby 50), P Leitch (capt), L van der Velden (N Orchard 67); E Jefferies (K Hayes 78), M Allen, G Senft. Replacement (not used): G Grimes, M Roberts, I Hartley.
Tries – Preece (2), Moloney, Jacoby, Langford; Conversions – McGoverne (4)
Referee: N Chivers