ALLIANZ CUP: SEMI-FINALS AND PLAY-OFFS REVIEW

Saracens and Bristol Bears both booked their places in the Allianz Cup final with assured performances across the weekend. 

Bryony Cleall scored a brace for the North London club, who weathered a second half Exeter Chiefs comeback to win 36-29. 

By comparison Bristol Bears had a much simpler run on Sunday afternoon, scoring eight tries in their eventual 54-28 win over West-Country rivals Gloucester-Hartpury.

The two finalists will meet on Sunday 28th April at

In the fifth-place play-off, Loughborough Lightning beat Sale Sharks 22-12 to take a 10 point advantage into the second leg.

Elsewhere, in the seventh-place play-off Harlequins were 33-19 winners against Leicester Tigers at Mattioli Woods Welford Road Stadium.

SATURDAY 13 APRIL

LEICESTER TIGERS 19-33 HARLEQUINS

Thanks to their 33-19 win against Leicester Tigers at Mattioni Woods Welford Road, Harlequins have taken the hold of the 7th Place Play-off Pool.

Amy Turner’s team took a 26-0 lead into the break as Jade Mullen, Amy Layzell, Izzy Mayhew and Emily Robinson all crossed the whitewash.

In the second half, the Londoners found it harder going as Tigers found their resolve.

Striking back through North American duo Claire Gallagher and Tess Feury, for a time it seemed as though the East Midlands outfit may have been able to mount a comeback.

That hope did not last for long. South Africa international Aseza Hele put Harlequins out of tough, while Tahlia Brody’s late score was a consolation for the hosts.

Leicester Tigers

Tries: Gallagher, Feury, Brody.

Harlequins

Tries: Mullen, Layzell, Mayhew, E. Robinson, Hele.

That's how you do it 😍#COYQ #LEIvHAR pic.twitter.com/UUfm4wBCnW

— Harlequins Women 🃏 (@HarlequinsWomen) April 13, 2024

SALE SHARKS 12-22 LOUGHBOROUGH LIGHTNING

Loughborough Lightning survived Sale Sharks’ bright start in Cheshire to take charge of the fifth-place play-off with a 22-12 win.

Lia Green opened the scoring, the Loughborough full-back slotting a penalty kick with just eight minutes played.

Sale soon responded through the returning Lizzie Duffy, who zinged and zagged her way through pink and purple shirts to register the game’s first try on the 22-minute mark.

Despite having Amelia Williams in the sin-bin, Lightning would end the opening 40 minutes on top.

Cath O’Donnell was the scorer for the East Midlanders, the lock forward finding the try line from close range to help hand her side a five point advantage on the cusp of half-time.

Starting the second half relentlessly, Lucia Linn and Lucy Calledine put the visiting team out of sight.

Jessica Panayiotou’s 78th minute score may well have handed Sale a lifeline heading into the second leg, with the replacement prop’s close-range scoring that Sharks must contend with a deficit of 10 points to claim fifth place in the competition.

Sale Sharks

Tries: Duffy, Panayiotou.

Loughborough Lightning

Tries: O’Donnell, Linn, Calledine.

A win in Manchester to take into the second-leg back at home in two weeks time! pic.twitter.com/IsqpKUI24D

— Loughborough Lightning Rugby ⚡️ (@LightningRugby) April 13, 2024

SARACENS 36-29 EXETER CHIEFS

Saracens were at their bulldozing best as they become the first side to secure a place in the Allianz Cup final with a 36-29 over defending champions Exeter Chiefs.

Alex Austerberry’s team resorted to sheer physicality to book their place in the showpiece fixture, with Bryony Cleall dotting down twice at StoneX Stadium.

Cleall’s brace began in the fifth minute as the No.8 was helped across the whitewash by the lineout, which was also the architect of her second as the 31-year-old gathered the loose ball.

The pressure created by Saracens began to show for Exeter. Clara Neilson was shown a yellow card for repeated breakdown infringements, while Linde van Der Velden was also sent to the sidelines after collapsing a maul illegally, for which the hosts were also awarded a penalty try.

Before the opening 40 minutes was concluded, Sharifa Kasolo and Alina Gondwe both scored tries of their own.

To put themselves out of sight further, Lotte Clapp got in on the scoring action for Sarries three minutes into the second half, however the USA wing’s score would be the London club’s final points of the day.

Scoring 29 unanswered points, Hope Rogers scored a brace of tries for Exeter, while Nielson and Demi Swann also found themselves contributing to Chiefs’ impressive second half showing.

Saracens

Tries: B. Cleall (2), penalty try, Kasolo, Gondwe, Clapp,

Exeter Chiefs

Tries: Rogers (2), Nielson, Swann.

Into the final! 😍#SARvEXE#YourSaracens💫@StoneX_Official pic.twitter.com/OM4XfWVBAj

— Saracens Women (@SaracensWomen) April 13, 2024

BRISTOL BEARS 54-28 GLOUCESTER-HARTPURY 

Bristol Bears put in an thundering performance to brush aside Gloucester-Hartpury 54-28 and reach the Allianz Cup final.

It didn’t take long for the hosts to assert their dominance, as with only three minutes played winger Reneeqa Bonner got on the end of a brilliant move and touched down in the corner to score the first of eight tries for the Bears.

Phoebe Murray recovered a chip and chase to extend the early advantage, before Simi Pam powered through tacklers to crash over by the posts. A fourth try arrived just after the 30 minute mark in scintillating fashion, with Deborah Wills stretching her legs to race half the length of the field to score.

Gloucester’s captain Georgia Brock did cross the whitewash before the break, reducing the deficit to 26-7, but it failed to ignite a comeback, as Lucy Burgess touched down under the posts right at the start of the second half to reassert Bears’ dominance.

Gloucester got a second try minutes later through Beth Stafford, but once again the women in blue responded with a flurry of scores from Grace White, Pam - who picked up her second of the afternoon - and Gabriella Nigrelli, who capped off her near-perfect kicking performance with a try.

Two further scores from Kathryn Buggy and Charlie-Mai Manns helped lift Gloucester’s try-tally to four, though in the end it was Bristol Bears who started celebrating when the full-time whistle was blown.

Bristol Bears

Tries: Bonner, Murray, Pam (2), Wills, Burgess, White, Nigrelli

Gloucester-Hartpury

Tries: Brock, Stafford, Buggy, Whitley