BY RICHARD BULLICK
ULSTERWOMAN Neve Jones scored one of the tries as Gloucester Hartpury came from 14 points down to defeat Saracens 34-19 in the Premiership Women’s Rugby grand final and complete a hat-trick of title triumphs.
By incredible coincidence, it was the exact same scoreline in the decider two years ago when Gloucester clinched their first success by beating Exeter Chiefs at Kingsholm and Sunday’s comeback had echoes of last season’s showpiece.
On that occasion, champions Gloucester trailed by 10 against west country rivals Bristol Bears after a first half in which Ireland co-captain Sam Monaghan sustained a cruciate rupture before taking control by scoring 26 unanswered points.
This time, Gloucester had recovered from a three-try burst by Saracens to reduce the arrears to four points by the interval and the team known as The Circus were worthy winners after a dominant display in the second half.
Playing on their home pitch at the StoneX Stadium, Saracens didn’t get back into the opposition 22 from half-time until the penultimate minute of the match, by which time Gloucester were home and dry having scored 26 unanswered points.
With 27 full internationals between the two teams, this was an entertaining game of high intensity in front of a crowd of 7438 and Gloucester’s win was the perfect send-off for their popular, respected coach Sean Lynn, who is leaving to take charge of his native Wales.
It was also a fitting farewell for veteran tighthead prop Kathryn Buggy from Limerick, who is hanging up her boots at the age of 37 and came on for the last seven minutes in place of Player of the Match Maud Muir.
England prop Muir’s rampaging performance saw her edge flame-haired winger Mia Vinner for the individual accolade on an afternoon when there was no shortage of Gloucester Hartpury heroes including diminutive Ireland hooker Jones.
Most of the combative Ballymena native’s lineout throws found their target despite the blustery conditions, including the one that led to the dominant maul from which Jones touched down for her own try with just over half an hour remaining.
It was Gloucester’s second score of the half as fellow front row Muir had burst through five minutes earlier to put the cherry-and-whites back in front for the first time since the early stages of this eagerly-anticipated encounter.
Flanker Kate Williams had scored to put the champions ahead after just three minutes in a nice move involving Venner coming off her wing but Saracens responded quicky with a try from England winger Jess Breach, who was playing at fullback.
There was a slight suspicion that the scoring pass may have been forward but Breach showed her cutting edge and Zoe Harrison’s conversion edged Saracens in front, for Emma Sing’s earlier effort at the other end had come back off the far upright.
Ireland hooker Neve Jones with her Player of the Match award after the 2022 Six Nations clash with Scotland at Ravenhill
Considering the two regular league games between table toppers Gloucester Hartpury and second-placed Saracens produced an astonishing aggregate of 165 points, it was no surprise that a high-scoring showpiece seemed on the cards.
With a quarter of an hour gone, Saracens were awarded a penalty try when the referee adjudged Gloucester guilty of collapsing a maul which had been rapidly progressing towards their line, with co-captain Natasha Hunt also sent to the sinbin as part of the punishment.
The England legend, a World Cup winner in 2014, could consider herself a little hard done by but the versatile Venner stepped in seamlessly at scrumhalf, though things quickly got worse for Gloucester before they got better.
Winger Lotte Sharp crossed in the left corner before the end of the first quarter to give Saracens a 19-5 lead, throwing Gloucester’s three-peat prospects and Lynn’s hopes of a fairytale ending to his tenure into significant jeopardy.
But Gloucester’s fightback began before the hugely experienced Hunt returned, full back Sing touching down in the left corner after quick hands by outhalf Lleucu George and a well-timed pass by her Wales skipper Hannah Jones.
With 33 minutes gone, nifty footwork from the excellent Venner saw her notch her ninth try in the last nine matches after taking a pass out on the right touchline, with the PWR’s leading points-scorer Sing missing another difficult conversion.
Saracens withstood a Gloucester siege in the closing stages of the opening period to go in with a 19-15 interval lead but the ‘Wolf Pack’ were outscored 19-0 by the ‘Circus’ in a rather chastening second half despite losing Alex Matthews to the sinbin.
England No 8 Matthews had a try disallowed on the intervention of the TMO regarding an earlier foot in touch not long after the resumption but Muir’s burst to the posts put Gloucester in front little more than a minute later with Sing adding her first conversion of the game.
Jones got her ninth try of this PWR campaign to ease Gloucester eight points ahead but the sinbinning of Matthews soon afterwards for making head contact with her former England team-mate Poppy Cleall kept the pot bubbling.
Ireland duo Sam Monaghan (left) and Neve Jones after reigning champions Gloucester beat Bristol in last year’s PWR final
However, Gloucester weathered the storm, conceding nothing while down to 14 women and it felt like there would be no way back for Saracens when the quick-thinking Hunt sneaked over for a try on 69 minutes with Sing’s conversion putting them three scores clear.
Ireland supremo Scott Bemand will be relieved that Jones seemed to come through unscathed ahead of this Saturday’s Six Nations opener but the compact powerhouse had to put in a huge shift just six days before facing France at Ravenhill.
Having set the tone right at the start by making two tackles in the first 34 seconds of the big game, Jones also won a couple of turnovers and she wasn’t replaced by Canada’s Gillian Boag until five minutes from the end with the win absolutely in the bag by then.
Hunt and new England skipper Zoe Aldcroft, who has replaced Saracens co-captain Marlie Packer in that role, were presented with the trophy to the delight of the large travelling support but there was also a popular lift of it out front by Buggy and Lynn.
A large contingent of 11 Gloucester Hartpury players were confirmed in England’s Six Nations squad of 37 on Monday afternoon including deserved call-ups for Sing and Venner, along with prop Mackenzie Carson who came on at half-time in the final.
It is testament to Gloucester’s strength and depth that they won without Ireland lock Monaghan, giant young Welsh prop Sisilia Tuipulotu and her compatriot Kelsey Jones, who would have hoped to be vying with namesake Neve for the No 2 jersey.
It was Kelsey Jones who started at hooker in the 2023 final of what was then known as the Premier 15s with Neve Jones actually coming on as a back row replacement for Bethan Lewis early in the last quarter. Monaghan played the full match in the second row.
Neve Jones joined Monaghan in the starting tight five for last season’s final, when Lynn fielded the exact same backline as he did against Saracens this time with Hunt and Aldcroft sharing the captaincy then as now.
Gloucester’s Hannah Jones will captain Wales in the forthcoming Six Nations for which Lynn’s squad includes no fewer than eight Hartpury players, though just five of them featured in the win against Saracens.
Flankers Lewis and Williams, outhalf George and centre Jones all started in the PWR Grand Final with scrumhalf Meg Davies coming off the bench for Hunt near the end so Welshman Lynn will be working with some familiar faces in his new job with the national team.
Gloucester Hartpury have had plenty to celebrate in recent years with a hat-trick of Premiership Women’s Rugby triumphs
