‘Pretty special’ Saracens seal their third title
On this Jubilee weekend, Saracens brought all the pomp in this compelling advertisement for top-flight women’s rugby. They simply had too much firepower for Exeter, whose inexperience on the biggest stage was brutally exposed, as they were crowned champions of England for a third time in four years.
It was a regal performance inspired by none other than Marlie Packer, Saracens’ superwoman, who led her side to glory with two first-half tries in a player-of-thematch display.
This was a performance that typified Saracens’ clinical edge – whether it be Holly Aitchison intuitively exploiting field territory with her trusty boot, or United States superstar Alev Kelter chiselling out attack after attack.
To think the majority of their squad balance rugby with full-time professions away from the pitch only puts further shine on this latest success which led to captain, Lotte Clapp, lifting the Premier 15s trophy for the third time in her career. On Monday, she will be back in the classroom teaching year three pupils how to spell.
“That feels exhausting, so I don’t know how they manage to balance it all,” said Alex Austerberry, the Saracens head coach. “They’re like an extension of my family. It’s a pleasure working with every single one of them. You feed off their enthusiasm. I’ve not got the vocabulary to express how much I care about them. They’re pretty special.”
As for Exeter, they ultimately looked second best in this contest where they were constantly playing catch-up. They kissed goodbye to the title barely a minute into the second half when they let the ball bounce dangerously from the restart just as Saracens began to hit cruise control.
Poppy Cleall latched on to a loose ball and, in a matter of seconds, Mackenzie Carson had pounced for her side’s fourth to all but wrap up the title.
It was the sucker punch that killed off Exeter. Yet the fact they were still able to craft three tries against such a physical outfit spoke volumes of the force of nature they have become in the women’s game.
Their first try came through Pat Garcia, who dotted down in her last competitive match before hanging up her boots. The 32-year-old cut an emotional figure after she was substituted just after the hour and bowed to the 3,328 fans housed in the Sixways’ East stand. In many ways, it was a happy snapshot of the impressive rate at which Exeter have progressed in just their second season.
Having won the Allianz Cup, they have now upset the duopoly that Saracens and Harlequins previously
enjoyed in each of the three Premier 15s finals.
“We’ve probably achieved more than we ever could have imagined in our second season, but it doesn’t take away from the disappointment today,” said Susie Appleby, Exeter’s director of rugby. “We made very uncharacteristic errors. They are a strong outfit – we knew that. We haven’t played at that intensity for quite a while. We’ve had close encounters against Bristol but we haven’t had that intensity of those collisions coming at us for quite a while.”
Much of Saracens’ superiority can be traced to their cohesion. For all the international talent they are blessed with, Exeter were unable to mimic the sort of cohesion and dominance showcased by their six starting England stars, who are used to turning up to big occasions.
“We match [the intensity] the best we can in training, but you can’t match that collision after collision after collision, stand back on your feet and make a good decision,” Appleby conceded.
“But we’ll reflect, and you move on because that’s sport. I said to the
girls, ‘It’s gutting, but then not everyone wins’.”
Scores 5-0 Packer try, 7-0 Kelter con, 12-0 Fleetwood try, 14-0 Kelter con, 14-5 Garcia try, 14-7 Cantorna con, 17-7 Kelter pen, 22-7 Packer try, 24-7 Kelter con, 29-7 Carson try, 31-7 Kelter con, 31-12 Detiveaux try, 31-14 Cantorna con, 36-14 Campbell try, 38-14 Kelter con, 43-14 Corrigan try, 43-19 Jefferies try, 43-21 Foster con.
Saracens S Mckenna, A Corrigan (T Vaughan-fowler 77) C Wardle (H Casey 67), A Kelter, L Clapp, H Aitchison, E Wyrwas (A Goddard 77); H Botterman (D Rose 75), M Campbell (K Evans 75), K Clifford (Ellis 53); F Mcintosh, P Cleall (S Green 75); M Carson (G Evans 67), Fleetwood, Packer.
Exeter M Doidge; E Sinclair, K Kobayashi, G Cantorna (N Mcgillivary 67), J Detiveaux; P Garcia (M Foster 62), F Robinson (B Bradley 67); H Rogers, E Tuttosi (C Nielson 66), D Menin (M Roberts 73); N Fryday (M Hunt 46),
L Van der Velden (E Jefferies 46); P Leitch, R Johnson (G Senft 66), K Zackary. Referee Harry Walbaum.