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'They are number one on our hit list': Why the stakes are high ahead of top table PWR clash
Saracens vs Gloucester-Hartpury is a top-of-the-table Premiership Women’s Rugby clash that has thrown up a lot of questions. Is this the biggest current rivalry in women’s rugby? Which team is the underdog? And what does top spot mean if both the top two get a home semi-final?
Those answers will become clear but one thing is for certain off of the bat: for 80 minutes on Sunday fans will not be able to take their eyes off of this game.
The clubs are the two in-form sides in the English top-flight and they are both on the same amount of points, Saracens edging the defending champions on points difference. The London side may have the upper hand in points but they have played one more game than their rivals and they also lost to Gloucester in round one. It is Saracens’ only defeat of the campaign but Gloucester are unbeaten.
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The west country side not only have the bragging rights after their 40-14 win back in October but also as they beat Saracens at the Stone X in last season’s PWR final. A year to the day from that showpiece they face one another again at the London ground and Saracens hooker May Campbell says the Cherry and Whites are “number one” on the club’s “hit list”.
“They are our main rivals [this season],” said Campbell confidently. “We are sitting one and two and then I don’t know how many are going to be fighting for third and fourth when it comes to the playoffs. They are the only team so far to beat us so they have to be number one on our hit list to go out there and beat, especially with how last season finished too.”
PWR
P
W
L
D
PF
PA
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
Total
1
Saracens Women
12
11
1
0
55
2
Gloucester-Hartpury Women RFC
11
11
0
0
55
3
Exeter Chiefs Women
12
5
4
3
36
4
Harlequins Women
12
5
6
1
34
5
Trailfinders Women
11
4
5
2
32
6
Sale Sharks Women
12
4
7
1
28
7
Bristol Bears Women
12
4
7
1
25
8
Loughborough Lightning
11
3
6
2
25
9
Leicester Tigers Women
11
0
11
0
1
Whoever wins the fixture this weekend will have control of the PWR table but when both first and second get a home semi-final, does it make much difference? The bragging rights of being first are important though, according to Campbell, and there is also another reason first is crucial.
“If you finish top you also get the home changing room at the Stoop [venue for the PWR final] if we get to the final,” Campbell added. “I must say the away changing room at the Stoop is not the most spacious of places so last weekend when we played Quins was a reminder of ‘okay we actually don’t want to be back in this changing room again ideally’.
“So it is different if both of us were in the final, to get that home advantage, but there are lots of steps to get us there. We aren’t thinking that far ahead. Hopefully secure top spot, then talk about the semi-final. There are still a number of rounds to go ahead of that.”
Speaking to a wide range of people on both sides of the rivalry, it is clear there is no love lost between them. It also feels like a match up where the teams are even, given their recent form, but both were keen to take the tag of underdog when the question was presented to them.
Gloucester-Hartpury‘s head of rugby Dan Murphy said: “If that makes Saracens feel better why not? When I took this job I knew there was a huge target on our backs, every week. When people play Gloucester-Hartpury everyone raises themselves five or 10%. I knew that taking the job, pressure is a privilege. To keep that privilege going you need to be constantly looking at how you get better.”
But the underdog tag is something Saracens boss Alex Austerberry feels is theirs, given Gloucester have won the past three league titles.
“They are not the underdogs, they are unbeaten across the league,” Austerberry said. “We got a bit of a lesson when we played there at the beginning of the season and they are three-time champions.
“I’d say their unbeaten season, that is pressure in itself. History will tell us in recent years that we are the underdogs in this, not them.”
Austerberry added he believes there will be battles across the pitch and while that is true there is one position in particular which most will want to keep an eye on. The clash of the scrum-halves will make for an interesting watch with both Saracens’ Olivia Apps and Gloucester’s Mo Hunt in fine form.
Apps said while she won’t come into close contact with Hunt much on the pitch, it will be interesting to see how they both marshal the game.
“Mo runs their attack and she is a critical part of their set piece, so we need to make sure we manage her accordingly,” Apps said. “I know they are probably saying the same thing about me. At the end of the day I think that I have a lot of respect for Mo and the game that she plays but also it will be fun to get after each other a bit this weekend. I am looking forward to that.”
Gloucester are having conversations about Apps and are aware of the flair and strengths the Canadian has brought to Saracens this season.
Murphy said: “Mo and Liv Apps are both very similar players, both driving tempo, energy, moving the ball. Both have sevens experience, you can see that in the 15s game. It’s not going to be the one person you have to control, it’s going to be the team we have to control.
“The physicality in their carries and their forward pack is how Apps is able to move the ball and get that back line firing. It is going to be a frontline battle to slow her down, you aren’t going to stop her.”
No matter the outcome this weekend, the games between these two clubs have formed a key rivalry in the PWR. Many are touting it as the biggest one in the game and Gloucester’s Nel Metcalfe agrees.
“It has to be up there for sure. I think both teams have been so successful and they are both going really well this season, it’s going to be a great game hopefully. As a player these are the games you want to be playing in against the top teams. It is really exciting,” said the 21-year-old.
So now the previously raised questions are answered as well as possible, all that needs to be decided is who will come away with the win? Supporters should strap in for one of the fixtures of the season on Sunday.
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