Bristol are holding firm to make their first Premiership Women’s Rugby final

Given the ruthless manner in which the Cherry and Whites circus rolled into town to defeat a faded Exeter Chiefs outfit, Gloucester-Hartpury’s quest for a back-to-back title remains very much alive.

There may have been a major upset in north London after Bristol stunned Saracens to reach their first Premiership Women’s Rugby final, but there was no such drama in the West Country.

Gloucester-Hartpury’s fluency in attack has been second to none this season, but it is their ability to win the collision battle and their effective offloading play that has made them such an irrepressible force. They will be favorites to lift the trophy on June 22.

In a relentless first half that produced four tries in the first half hour, they made a very good Exeter Chiefs side look ordinary en route to completing an eight-try annihilation that had echoes of a waste of red roses.

A certain player projected the majority of his lead on offense. Maud Muir has unlocked another level of her game this season and her furious runs and defensive efforts were a microcosm of how the hosts tore apart their Devon opponents.

Her drive into the red zone set the platform for Lleucu George’s first score within two minutes, before it crashed under the posts minutes after the break. When he later slipped a pass to Sarah Beckett, who was sitting in the wider channels and would slide in for the home side’s sixth, the pair looked more like a centre-wing double act than a prop and blocking combo.

“I give these girls a little license to inspire — that’s our mainstay,” head coach Sean Lynn said. “Everything we’ve been working on clicked for us today.”

Exeter restored some sort of pride with three second-half scores but had no answer to the majesty of Gloucester’s powerful back row.

Their head coach Susie Appleby took the opportunity to again watch the league’s strict rules on English qualified players after she was forced to drop Japanese star Kanako Kobayashi and two Irish standouts in Edel McMahon and Nichola Friday.

“I had to say to a few of my players, ‘I’m really sorry you’re not playing this weekend because you’re Irish,'” said a dejected Appleby. “How the f— is that? But all I feel is pride. We’re not throwing the toys out of the cart, but it’s a shame that these players, at critical moments of the season, can’t show people what they’re made of.”

Match details

The scoring sequence 5-0 George try, 7-0 Sing con, 12-0 Jones try, 17-0 George try, 19-0 Sing con, 24-0 Hendy try, 26-0 Sing con, 31-0 Muir try, 33- 0 Sing con, 33-5 Johnson try, 33-7 Wilkins try, 38-7 Beckett try, 43-7 Sing try, 48-7 Tuipulotu try, 50-7 Sing con, 50-12 Moloney try, 50-14 Tessier cone, 50-19 Buchanan try.

Gloucester-Hartpury: It’s Single; M Venner, H Jones (R Lund 53), T Heard, P Hendy; L George (M Hyett 64), N Hunt (B Blackburn 64); M Carson (E Perry 44), N Jones (A Dale 65), M Muir (C Castellucci 59), S Beckett (S Tuipulotu 59), S Monaghan (K Williams 53), G Brock, B Lewis, Z Aldcroft.

Exeter Chiefs: A Tessier; K Buchanan, M Doidge, G Cantorna (N Brennan 34), E Sinclair; R Wilkins (T Bricknell 65), Brooke Bradley; D Swann (H Sams 62), E Tuttosi (C Moloney 52), D Menin (L Hanlon 62), L van der Velden, P Leitch, E Jefferies (M Feaunati 41), M Allen (H Millar-Mills 41), R Johnson (N Orchard 62).

Ref: Harry Walbaum
Att: 3,942