Warriors Women 5 Chiefs Women 57

Back in action after a week’s break, Appleby made six changes to her starting line-up from that which had defeated DMP Sharks 61-0 last time out. Up front, there were recalls for Rogers, Emily Tuttosi, Nichola Fryday and Allen, while behind McGoverne was joined in the back division by Eilidh Sinclair.

And the omens looked good early on when, following good concerted pressure inside the Worcester 22, American international Rogers was able to rumble over from close range in just the 10th minute, in what has become a speciality for the free-scoring prop forward.

Up and running, it didn’t take the Chiefs long to bag their second of the afternoon, Jefferies being sent clear following a beautiful offload from the impressive Cantorna to double the visitors’ tally.

With the passionate traveling supporters now expecting to see their side really cut loose, the Chiefs error count started to grow and with their line-out now starting to disintegrate somewhat, Worcester showed they were ready to take full advantage.

It was therefore no surprise that after a patient build-up, the hosts were rewarded with a try through Farries as she produced a brilliant finish in the right-hand corner.

With their first try secured, the crowd were now really starting to get behind the home side, and the Warriors were seemingly coming forward in waves. Thankfully, the Chiefs managed to regain control however, when Scottish international Sinclair intercepted a wide pass from Worcester fly-half Minori Yamamoto and from the resulting attack, it brought about a first try of the afternoon for the sensational MacDonald, after some slick hands by Kate Zackary, who was making her 50th appearance for the Chiefs, set her free in the left-hand corner.

The Chiefs inevitably kicked to the corner in order to unleash what had up until that point in the game been an under-utilised aspect of their game, their driving maul, and this time the Chiefs would make no mistake, with the returning Allen peeling off the back and going over for their fifth score.

It was just what the Chiefs craved and when MacDonald threatened again, only to be stopped just shy of the line, the quick-thinking actions of Moloney from a tap penalty saw the Irish international bulldoze her way over from just a few metres out.

The frustration for the Warriors was now really starting to show and this resulted in a couple of unsavoury scraps which eventually led to Worcester No.8 Sioned Harries and Irish international Moloney being sent to the sin-bin.

There was, however, to be a couple of final flashes of brilliance from MacDonald with the England star darting over for two late tries, the first following a spectacular offload from destructive backrower Rachel Johnson, and the second following a beautiful pass from full-back Merryn Doidge.

It was another impressive kicking performance from McGoverne and Cantorna, with McGoverne slotting six out of her seven attempts at the posts, and Cantorna landing both of her shots at goal, which included a brilliant touch line conversion.