PWR Round 18 talking points: The big Gloucester Hartpury and Saracens contrast

Now only four Premiership Women’s Rugby teams remain. After 18 rounds Gloucester Hartpury, Saracens, Exeter Chiefs and Trailfinders Women are fighting it out to be champions of England.

Those semi-finals will take place this weekend when Gloucester Hartpury host Trailfinders Women and Saracens welcome Exeter Chiefs to North London.

Before knockout rugby commences there is one more opportunity to reflect on a relentless Round 18. On Sunday afternoon Gloucester Hartpury lost a second game in a row as Bristol Bears visited, Exeter Chiefs were big winners against Sale Sharks, Loughborough Lightning ended their season with East Midlands derby success against Leicester Tigers and Saracens beat Trailfinders Women 80-14.

Here are three talking points from Round 18…

Contrast in fortune for top two seeds

Coming out of the regular season there cannot be more of a contrast between Gloucester Hartpury and Saracens.

All season Dan Murphy’s Gloucester Hartpury had looked untouchable. They were unbeaten. Two games back after the Guinness Women’s Six Nations break, they have lost matches to Trailfinders Women and Bristol Bears to conclude the regular season.

In contrast, Saracens are flying into their semi-final against Exeter Chiefs after dominant wins over Loughborough Lightning and Trailfinders. The race to lift silverware at the Twickenham Stoop on Sunday 28 June has not been this hotly contested in some time.

For the Circus, their 26-21 loss to Bristol Bears compounded their 41-39 defeat in West London a week prior. Having not lost a game since November 2024, Murphy’s team have now lost two in a row. The chances of Gloucester Hartpury winning the league for a fourth year in a row have become increasingly uncertain.

Hosting Trailfinders this weekend in the West Country is sure to be a challenge. Barney Maddison’s team rested the majority of their starters in the 80-14 loss to Saracens on Sunday and most of the returnees will have the memory of their giant-slaying from two weekends prior close to hand.

Saracens, meanwhile, have had no blows to their confidence. Their first string stars have continued to drive the club forward. And now, with Marlie Packer’s impending exit from StoneX Stadium, Alex Austerberry and his team have plenty to be fighting for.

Exeter have hit form at the right time

Upon their return from the winter break Exeter Chiefs have won two games by scoring 50 points or more. Last week was a 57-5 win against Bristol Bears at Shaftesbury Park and last weekend a 50-24 bonus point against Sale Sharks in Devon.

Claudia Moloney-MacDonald has shown real form in that time, rejuvenated after increased game time with the Red Roses at this year’s Women’s Six Nations, and has scored six tries in two matches.

Back in the postseason after a year away, these results and the form of individuals like Moloney-MacDonald suggests that Steve Salvin’s team are ready to take this Sunday’s clash by the scruff of its neck at StoneX Stadium.

This return to the big time is no massive surprise. From the moment that the season kicked off, the Devon club were hellbent on making it back to the top table, with Salvin’s promotion to the top job and Oli Bishop’s arrival as backs and attack coach, the team have played expansive, incisive rugby and consistently been among the top four.

Playing their final two matches of the season against teams with nothing to play for does, maybe, lessen the impact of those high-scoring victories. But compared to Saracens’ walkover win against Trailfinders and 62-24 win over Loughborough Lightning a week prior, Chiefs have had two much more competitive games.

Whichever way you look at it, we will have a really fascinating clash on our hands. Saracens have beaten Exeter twice this season, but if there’s anything this past fortnight has told us, anything is possible.

Sharks can be very pleased with growth this season

If you wonder to yourself, ‘which team has had the most significant growth this season?’ the answer is undoubtedly Trailfinders Women. But as there is another week to glow about how Barney Maddison has taken the West Londoners to the semi-finals for the first time, it is only fair to heap praise onto Sale Sharks for a final time this season.

What Tom Hudson has done at Morson Stadium this season is exceptional. More than anything else there was this sense of expectation. Sharks invested heavily in their women’s team last summer, with England international Amy Cokayne signing for the club, while Scotland wing Rhona Lloyd also dialled into 0161. All this before you consider a bolstered coaching staff. The message was clear; Sale Sharks are on the up.

It did take a while this term. Before Christmas things took a little while to click. When they did click, though, it was mesmeric. Their seventh place finish in the table is on par with their best-ever in 2022/23, but this time around the North West side have picked up more points than that of yesteryear.

When you consider that last season Sale only registered four points after 16 matches, the turnaround is remarkable. If you had to nitpick, the thing that the club will be most displeased with is their inability to get bonus points.

Every team above them gained a minimum of 15. Table toppers Gloucester Hartpury got 17. Fifth-place Harlequins got 16. Sale got 12. All season the importance of bonus points have been hammered home by head coaches and players. For Sharks that poor spell at the start of the season may have cost them.

Even so, the club have announced that Zoe Stratford, Tatyana Heard and Sarah Beckett will be on their way to Manchester in the Summer. Bigger things are ahead of Sharks.

PWR semi-finals

Sunday 14 June

• 14:00 | Gloucester Hartpury v Trailfinders Women
• 16:30 | Saracens v Exeter Chiefs