Gloucester claim local bragging rights in style

GLOUCESTER-Hartpury made it four wins from five games in this season’s Tyrrells Premier 15s with a comfortable win at Worcester Valkyries.

The visitors got off to a flyer as wing Beth Jones, named in the Wales training squad this week, scoring a try in the first minute, setting the tone for the rest of the game as the visitors piled on the pressure.

The Valkyries continued to defend their tryline bravely but frequent mistakes gave GloucesterHartpury the advantage and penalties pushed them closer to the try line until captain Ceri Large scored.

Gloucester-Hartpury continued to stay on top courtesy of some powerful scrummaging and successfully turned the ball over on numerous occasions, giving them a great advantage.

The visitors then extended their lead when scrum-half Eloise Hayward, making her first start of the season, scored after a quick tap penalty from close range.

There was no sign of Susie Appleby’s side taking their foot off the throttle and Becky Belcher went over in the corner to secure the tryscoring bonus point before half-time.

Valkyries were much improved in the second half, and enjoyed some decent possession, but could simply could not break through GloucesterHartpury’s defence.

A penalty try extended the visitor’s lead before Leah Carey showed some impressive skills to score as the game went into the final few minutes before Sarah Bern completed the rout, setting them up perfectly for their clash with Saracens next weekend.