Preview | The Tigers look to cage the Bears’ blistering run

Leicester Tigers face one of their toughest challenges of the season this weekend as they travel to high-flying Bristol Bears.

The South West outfit have already confirmed their place in the Allianz Premiership Women’s Rugby Play-Offs and are enjoying a prolific season.

Like last weekend’s hosts Harlequins, the Bears have an ingrained commitment to running rugby.

They have made more tackles (152), meters (1070) and line breaks (9.8) per game than any other team this Allianz Premiership Women’s Rugby season, while their numbers for offloads (11.8) and passes (221.7) also ranked first among all sides. They also kick the fewest of any team (10.1), underscoring their commitment to running rugby.

The team is clearly playing to their strengths, the Bears have the league’s highest dominant carry rate this quarter (53%) and have averaged more defenders lost per game than any other team (33.2). They have strong operators around the park and blistering pace on the wings.

Interestingly, this style does not come without potential pitfalls; Bristol also top the league in turnovers conceded per 80 minutes (17.4), a statistic perhaps indicative of the high-risk, high-reward strategy that their style of rugby presents.

Furthermore, they are also bottom for dominant tackles (just 3 per game on average), standing in stark contrast to the Tigers. Leicester averaged the most dominant tackles per game in Allianz Premiership Women’s Rugby this season (11.6), with 8% of successful tackles being dominant, also a league record.

In a matchup of the league’s dominant carriers against the league’s dominant forwards, it can be a case of unstoppable force against the immovable in the touchline and fans can look forward to some titanic collisions in midfield.

A confrontation between the duel no. 8’s, Becky Noon and Row Marston-Mulhearn, stand out as particularly interesting.

The Tigers’ Noon, who was recently named Coaches’ Player of the Season at this week’s Awards Night, is sixth in the Allianz PWR for tackles made with a strong 168 so far this season (17.5 per game).

Meanwhile, Marston-Mulhearn leads the division in both carries (168) and sacks (17), showing just how critical he is to the Bears’ offense. Neutralizing her will be critical to the Tigers’ success.

With just three games left in an Allianz PWR premiership season, the Tigers will be looking to continue to build bonds as a team and gain what momentum they can ahead of the final home game of the season next weekend on Saturday 25 May against Sale Women Sharks as they hunt for a first Premiership win at home.