Gloucester-Hartpury 20 Exeter Chiefs 24
Gloucester-Hartpury 20
Exeter Chiefs 24
James Fowler at the Alpas Arena
On a day which seemed to contain weather from all four seasons, the Exeter Chiefs Women secured a dramatic victory over Gloucester-Hartpury in their Round 3 Allianz Cup pool game at the Alpas Arena.
Two tries in the final ten minutes from Maisy Allen and Clara Nielson sealed a dramatic fightback from Susie Appleby’s side as they picked up their second win in the defence of their Cup crown.
Two first half tries from hooker Cliodhna Moloney were cancelled out by a converted try from Gloucester-Hartpury hooker, Neve Jones, plus a penalty from full-back Emma Sing just before the half time whistle.
Despite a try from home centre Rachael Lund and another penalty from Sing, the Chiefs left it late to seal a memorable victory on the road.
Having come unstuck in their last game against Worcester Warriors, the young Chiefs squad made the journey north to Hartpury College looking to bounce back at the first opportunity. Appleby handed starts to Abby Middlebrooke and Edel McMahon in the pack, while behind a reshuffle of the back division saw a new half-back pairing of Flo Robinson and Liv McGoverne, whilst Merryn Doidge was added at full-back.
The hosts, meanwhile, came into the game on the back of a comprehensive 43-7 victory away to Harlequins and were buoyed by the return of England scrum-half Mo Hunt, after she missed out on World Cup selection.
It was the Chiefs however who started the stronger and after a series of penalties given away by the home side resulted in a line-out five metres from their line, the Chiefs driving maul was simply too powerful to be kept out, Moloney emerging with the ball to earn the first score of the afternoon.
Exeter’s try seemed to spur the home side into action and it wasn’t long before they were on the board themselves. After sustained pressure in the Chiefs 22, the dam eventually burst with Jones crashing over from close range with Sing adding the extras to give her side the lead.
The Chiefs quickly regained their rhythm however, and it didn’t take long for Moloney to cross the line yet again from a driving maul. After sustained pressure on the Gloucester-Hartpury line, which resulted in a yellow card for home No.8, Sarah Beckett, Exeter chose to kick to the corner and unleash their increasingly unstoppable driving maul.
With the pressure applied, the hosts simply could not withstand Exeter’s shove and it was Irish international Maloney who had an armchair ride over the line.
As the half drew towards a close, it was the home side who finished the stronger. However, the Chiefs believed they had managed to repel their opponents only for the referee to penalise them for back chat. This left Sing with a simple shot from in front of the posts to level the scores at half time.
HALF TIME: GLOUCESTER-HARTPURY 10 EXETER CHIEFS 10
Despite still being a player down for the start of the second half, it was Gloucester-Hartpury who came out firing in the second half, and they deservedly hit the lead through a try by Lund, as she powered her way through several Chiefs tackles to go in under the posts, leaving an easy conversion for Sing.
The hosts seemed to have full control from this point and Exeter were simply unable to get out of their half.
Gloucester-Hartpury deservedly extended their lead with around 15 minutes to go, when Sing slotted her second penalty of the day, leaving the hosts with what appeared to be an unassailable 20-10 lead.
The game was then interrupted for around 10 minutes by an unfortunate knee injury to one of the Gloucester-Hartpury players, which require extensive treatment. This break seemed to serve the Chiefs well however, as they finally found some momentum for the first time in the second half. After some sustained pressure in the hosts 22, No.8 Allen burrowed over from close range.
Kiwi fly-half Liv McGoverne slotted the extras and all of sudden the Chiefs were back within three points.
The Chiefs took advantage of this surge of momentum, and it wasn’t long before replacement Halley Derera was steaming down the right wing to set up prime attacking field position for the visitors. Suddenly, the decisions from the referee were going the Chiefs way which eventually allowed McGoverne to kick to the corner and set up another five-metre line-out with only a couple of minutes remaining.
The result was - of course - inevitable considering the dominance of the Chiefs driving maul, and this time it was replacement hooker Nielson who came up with the ball, much to the delight of the travelling supporters. The conversion from McGoverne was pinpoint accurate, leaving the Chiefs with a 24-20 lead with just a minute remaining.
There was to be no last minute heartbreak this week, and with the clock in the red, the ball was booted out of the ground to secure a famous victory for the Devonians, who now move onto their final pool game against Harlequins at Sandy Park next Sunday.
Gloucester-Hartpury: E Sing (L Jones 79); E Rugman R Lund (S Tandy 79), S Bridger, M Venner; L Goulden M Hunt (capt, B Blackburn 56); K Buggy (E Gilbert 72), N Jones, L Delgado (A Robson 77); L Popadec, G Skov (J Isherwood 44); A Walker (A Burtonshaw 44), G Brock, S Beckett. Replacement (not used: E Pohjaneimo
Yellow Cards: Beckett, Dale
Exeter Chiefs: M Doidge; C Woodman (H Derera 55), S Langford, N McGillivray, K Buchanan; L McGoverne, F Robinson (B Bradley 44); A Middlebrooke (M Roberts 58), C Moloney (C Nielson 58), L Hanlon (G Grimes 64); P Leitch (capt, L Van Der Velden 46), N Fryday; E Jefferies, E McMahon, M Allen. Replacements (not used): N Orchard, G Gower
Tries – Moloney (2), Allen, Nielson; Conversions – Liv McGoverne (2)
Referee: H Moore