Women's Premiership - Half-way Stage

Week seven saw the half-way stage of the Women’s Premiership season arrive and the table had a familiar feel to it, with the same top and bottom four as the 2014/15 season.

There were some crucial changes though and none bigger than Richmond, who lead the pack at the half-way stage. Fresh from beating Saracens last weekend, they followed up with an emphatic 74-0 drubbing of Aylesford Bulls as they look to regain the title they won in the 2013/14 campaign.

With the score 24-0 at half-time Richmond ran in an incredible eight second-half tries to take the bonus point and take their seventh win on the bounce, having beaten every side in the league so far this season.

For Aylesford, their season won’t be defined by beating sides like Richmond but they will disappointed that after such a strong second half last weekend, they weren’t able to keep the scoreline respectable in the second 40 this time out.

Premiership rivals Saracens bounced back after losing to Richmond last weekend though and put some distance between themselves and Bristol in third place. With a close game expected, Saracens had gone over the line seven times before a last minute try from Bristol removed the bagel from the scoreboard. 

The 35-5 victory perhaps tells a wider story of what is to come though. With Saracens likely to face Bristol in the play-offs, it could yet again be a season defined by encounters between the London heavyweights Richmond and Saracens in a league of their own. With three points separating them at the top, each bonus point is now becoming even more crucial and the game between them on 29^th November could be a classic.

Bristol though may well be looking over their shoulder after this weekend, as Worcester closed the gap to 5 points with a solid victory over DMP Sharks. They were in no mood to mess around and a try after just 45 seconds set a tone of things to come as the bonus points were wrapped up after 17 minutes.

Leading 41-5 at half-time, things could have been seriously one-sided but the Sharks dug in and retained some dignity by winning the second 40 minutes and ended the game 53-19 behind, a scenario they would have taken if it had been offered to them after the opening 40.

The Sharks may have had one eye on the play-offs before the game, as they were just seven points off, but a defeat has seen the margin move to 12 and may confine their season to bettering last season’s seventh place finish. This looks very achievable after the first seven fixtures and may come down to their encounter against Wasps.

They lost their sting against Lichfield in the weekend’s final game though and slumped to a third straight loss, as their season continues downhill. After scoring a first minute try, they must have thought that their bad run was changing, but fast forward 25 minutes and they were 30-7 down.

Wasps attempted a fightback before half-time but they conceded six second-half tries and were condemned to defeat in another display that lacked their resolve of 2014/15. Their seven losing bonus points were crucial and kept them in games, something they are yet to capture this campaign, needing a strong seven fixtures if they are to match last season’s haul of 28 points.

Lichfield though proved some of the doubters wrong after being ran close by basement side Aylesford last weekend. Scoring 66 points is a strong tally and winning three matches and taking three try bonus points shows their class and puts them in a group of their own.

Better than the clubs below them, defensive duties may be an issue in the coming weeks as a victory against a top four side is crucial if they are to reach the play-offs. Having conceded 20 or more points in their last four fixtures, they will need to be stronger at the back and keep it tighter as they head into a tough fixture with Bristol next weekend.

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