Hartpury Women clinch fourth consecutive BUCS league title as Loughborough and Bath battle for men’s crown
Hartpury Women have won all 10 of their matches in Women's BUCS Super Rugby this term
©BUCS Sport / Ben Lumley
Hartpury Women secure a fourth straight BUCS league title without dropping a single point, while the men’s BUCS Super Rugby season heads for a thrilling finish.
Hartpury wrap up imperious Women's BUCS Super Rugby season after securing league title against Brunel
Hartpury Women went into their match against Brunel (5th) knowing that a win would guarantee them a fourth consecutive BUCS league title.
They faced a tough outing, coming up against a Brunel side buoyed by a smashing 43-10 away win at Cardiff Met two weeks ago.
The nerves weren’t helped when Brunel landed the first blow early on.
However, Roisin Maher responded for the away side, and the teams went in 7-7 at the break.
Hartpury then delivered an assured second-half performance, with Maher completing her hat-trick to see the visitors pull away from Brunel and bring the Women's BUCS Super Rugby league crown back to Gloucester once again.
Elsewhere in the division, Loughborough (2nd) dispatched Edinburgh (6th) 61-7 in the Scottish capital to consolidate their second-place position.
Exeter (3rd) narrowly beat Cardiff Met (4th) 29-26, with flanker Izzy Newnes-Smith putting in a player-of-the-match performance.
Loughborough and Bath don't blink
Loughborough (1st) maintained their one-point lead at the top with an impressive second-half performance, overcoming in-form Cardiff Met (7th) 38-19 after trailing at half-time.
Bath (2nd) kept the pressure on with a comprehensive 56-26 win over Cardiff University (9th). The Brothers ran in eight tries, all converted by last week's hero James Beverley.
Winger Rocky Prowse was superb, slicing through Cardiff’s defence on several occasions to both set up centre Jack Harrison's try and score one himself in an electric display.
Exeter (3rd) responded to back-to-back defeats with a try-fest against Leeds Beckett. Noah Fenton, as he did against Bath last week, scored twice in a 61-28 rout for the home side.
Exeter moved back into third as Durham (4th) fell 26-21 to Hartpury (6th).
A brilliant try from Hartpury’s Sam Morton-Smith, created by a stunning break from full-back Corbin Smith, helped them get the better of their northern counterparts and continue their recent run of form.
A must-win match for Swansea (10th) away at Nottingham (5th) was postponed, with the Highfields pitch deemed unsafe to play on.
With three matches to go, the BSR title race looks set to go down to the wire, with just one point separating Loughborough and Bath. A game between the two in early March promises to be unmissable.
Elsewhere, a try bonus point in their loss to Bath has strengthened Cardiff’s survival bid, and they will also have an eye on leapfrogging Leeds Beckett into the top eight.
Despite Swansea having a game in hand, they have just four matches to close the 11-point gap to Cardiff and save themselves.
What a finish we have in store for this league…
