Saracens Women v Exeter Chiefs Women PWR Semi-Final Report

The Two Masters

Crikey what a match that was! I’m sure nobody will say we were left short of entertainment today. Running out to the rapturous cheers of a good 2-3k ish fans at StoneX, I’m sure there was no doubt in the mind of the wolfpack what was expected of them today. Eliminating an old rival (Exeter Chiefs) from the playoffs and making it to the final, but this is always easier said than done. It took a mammoth effort to get the job done, but we did it, and that’s the main thing. I wandered down from where I’d parked on a residential road just opposite the main entrance to Champions Way to the stadium. A bonus was that this wasn’t classed as an event day by Barnet Council, so parking was free, and I scanned in and immediately headed to cheer the women onto the field, ready and raring to go. From there, to the shop for a few bargains and the Olympic Bar for rogan josh and chips. Disappointing to see a reduced offering of food for today's game. The burger van looked good, but at a tenner for a burger, prices were not appealing. Same for the ice cream van. £5 for a 99 whippy with a flake. Extortionate. I stuck to my curry and chips, and very tasty and filling it was too. Watching both teams warm up, there seemed to be an air of excitement and yet tension, neither team looking totally settled and rather more uncharacteristic handling errors from backs and forwards alike in the Sarries camp. Hey ho, better get them out the way before the game starts!

First Half

The teams ran out, with the Chiefs fans happily chanting the tomahawk chop and us using a mixture of the familiar ‘Sarries, Sarries’ and ‘Lets go Sarries, lets go!’. The game started with both sides showing the intensity expected of a play-off encounter, but it was Exeter who struck first through Claudia Moloney McDonald when Exeter recognised a mismatch of numbers on the blindside and made a walk-in try for Moloney-McDonald. 5-0 Chiefs within 4 minutes. To our credit, the response was excellent. An Exeter error from the restart handed us possession, and we essentially did to Exeter what they did to us. Zoe Harrison nailed the conversion and, with 10 mins gone, 7-5 to us was the score.

Then came a moment to forget for Chiefs. A loose pass between McGoverne and Amy Rule handed Jess Breach the opportunity to snaffle the ball and scarper clear under the posts. 14-5.

Exeter managed to score and hit back shortly afterwards to reduce the deficit to 14-12, but Saracens continued to build momentum through some good forwards play and nice linebreaks. The scrum was taking a bit of a battering, with the unconventional technique of Hope Rodgers causing significant discontent in the Saracens front row. Nevertheless, Donna Rose powered her way over the line with a textbook pick-and-go before some quick thinking and sniping by Olivia Apps allowed her to evade the Exeter guards around the breakdown and slip through under the posts. She added another score to strengthen the hosts' grip on the contest. 28-12 and the game was in danger of slipping away from the Chiefs.

However, there was an enormous momentum swing when Marlie Packer was shown a yellow card for not retreating 10m when the Exeter 9 tapped and went fast, albeit from the wrong place. Another error from the referee; as the game went on, I found myself and the Sarries fans around me increasingly refereeing the game for him. I promise I’m not a Gloucester fan in disguise!!! Exeter took advantage of the extra player and they capitalised well on their numerical advantage, with Amy Rule and Moloney-MacDonald reducing their arrears to 28-26.

The visitors then completed the turnaround at the end of the first half with Hope Rogers, who had crossed for their second try, going over again to put them in front. 28-31 and the Sarries support noticeably subdued going into half-time. Off to the Olympic Bar for a sausage roll and a refill of tap water, as well as retrieving my flag, which had somehow fallen in between the temporary seating and main seating block in the East Stand. Luckily, I met a lovely pioneer who got someone to retrieve it for me!

Second Half

It looked as though Saracens came out of the dressing room with renewed energy and immediately pinned Exeter deep inside their own half. Sarries looked to control things from the off and their persistence eventually paid dividends, as Olivia Apps powered her way to the line, while replacement Emma Hardy saw a try ruled out for a knock-on following a TMO review. Yet another questionable call, with high tackles and offside infringements from Exeter being missed time and time again. Chiefs discipline was generally poor and stayed unpunished for the majority of the game.

The second half continued to swing from end to end, with Exeter refusing to go away and responding with another score beneath the posts when Maisy Allen scored on 69 minutes, to keep the contest finely balanced heading into the closing stages. Saracens came back fighting a few minutes later, on 73 minutes, with Breach's moment of individual excellence enough to book their place in the final.

With just five minutes remaining of the match, once again Jess Breach produced a decisive moment. Collecting possession deep inside her own half, she brushed aside two defenders before sprinting clear from inside the Saracens 22 to score a sensational try and send StoneX Stadium into celebration. Zoe Harrison was unable to add the extras, but it was of no matter. We regathered the kick-off, and despite being pinned back in our own 22, won a penalty and cleared our lines. We hung on for the remaining few minutes and, after the fans had counted down from 10, Harrison booted the ball out for a 40-38 win. What a game it was!

Summary

Onto the PWR final at the Stoop v Ealing in 2 weeks time. Lets get behind the women and give them the support they deserve. COYS.