Women's BUCS Super Rugby: Surrey make dream start, and wins for Brunel and Cardiff Met
Last year's championship silver medalists Brunel began with a victory
©Ben Lumley / BUCS Super Rugby
Women’s BUCS Super Rugby returned with more stars, another team entering the mix, and every game live-streamed on Clubber TV, but how did the opening round begin?
Surrey make startling start in Cardiff
The debutants travelled west to Cardiff for their Women's BUCS Super Rugby bow and wasted little time in making a statement, producing a dominant attacking display to secure an impressive 45-5 opening victory.
After establishing early territory, Surrey struck from a first-phase set piece. Niamh Oxley found Milly Pearce with a miss pass before Pearce released Jojo Vosakiwaiwai on a short line.
Vosakiwaiwai then offloaded to captain Aimee Bush, who flooded the support channel to score.
A second try followed shortly after when Harlequin Amelie Bieriot capitalised on a Cardiff backfield mix-up to collect the ball and touch down. It was a dream start for Surrey, who led 14-0 after nine minutes.
Cardiff, however, refused to let the contest get away from them. Working the ball wide, they found Ffion Davies in space, who beat her opposite winger before finding Sophie MacDonald. MacDonald handed off the covering Surrey defender to score.
The conversion was missed, but Cardiff had reduced the arrears to 14-5 after 18 minutes.
The comeback, however, was short-lived. A knock-on from Cardiff after the restart gave Surrey another attacking platform, and Bush capitalised on a loose ball to score in the corner. Tries from Edie Cooper and Bieriot followed to extend the visitors' advantage to 33-5 at half-time.
The one-way traffic continued after the break. Hooker Rosie Cooper broke through the line to take Surrey into the Cardiff 22, and a couple of tight phases later, flanker Malene Bowden-Evans powered over. A third consecutive conversion from Oxley made it 40-5.
Surrey rounded off their dominant display in the closing stages, with replacement back-rower Elsie Nicholson going over from a rolling maul for their seventh try.
Megan Howells was unable to add the extras, but it did little to dampen what was a superb performance from the University of Surrey on their WBSR debut.
For Cardiff, it was a disappointing evening as they struggled to cope with the newly promoted side's speed of play. They travel to Loughborough next week for a difficult away fixture.
Surrey, meanwhile, will host reigning league champions Hartpury in a stern early-season test. After such a free-flowing attacking display, the debutants will be confident of causing their visitors some problems.
Brunel brilliant in bonus-point 29-19 win
Brunel made a flying start, taking just three minutes to open the scoring against the University of Exeter. Isla Apiafi finished in the corner following a well-worked maul.
It was all Brunel in the opening 15 minutes, with Lauren Casson adding a second try. This time, Apiafi provided the outside option before Casson sold a dummy to score herself. White was unable to add the extras, but Brunel led 10-0.
Exeter needed a response, and hooker Reese Williams provided the spark with an excellent charge-down. Brunel were unable to clear their lines without infringing, allowing Exeter to establish themselves deep in the hosts' half.
Williams was held up over the line from a driving maul, but Exeter eventually found a way through. A smart pick-and-swivel from Katherine Dyke secured the try, and the scrum-half added the conversion to make it a three-point game.
A timely intervention from Apiafi a couple of minutes later prevented Exeter from scoring again. Brunel were under pressure and struggling to exit their own half as the Devon side continued to press relentlessly. However, Exeter were unable to turn their territorial advantage into further points.
Brunel emerged from half-time with renewed purpose, scoring twice in the opening 10 minutes to turn the momentum firmly in their favour. Annabel Meta and Jasmine Adonri crossed, with Immy White adding one conversion to put the hosts 22-7 ahead.
Exeter were far from finished, though. Sustained possession in the Brunel half eventually created an opening for Elin Fielden to snipe over. Dyke added the extras to reduce the deficit to eight points.
Exeter's discipline let them down again when an over-eager challenge at the ruck allowed Brunel to regain field position. A powerful driving maul took the hosts from the 22-metre line to within five metres of the try line, and an infringement saw Bea George sent to the sin-bin.
Brunel went to the corner once more and scored at the second attempt, with replacement Lucia Dickinson latching on to finish. White converted to extend the lead to 29-14 with 17 minutes remaining.
Exeter were handed another opportunity when Brunel replacement Freya McGinlay was sent to the sin-bin. The visitors struggled to capitalise for much of the period, but Connie Clarke eventually made a brilliant break after taking a tip-on from Charlotte Wreford.
Exeter won a penalty from the resulting attack and went to the corner, where Tara O'Neil finished the move to reduce the deficit to 10 points with 10 minutes left.
However, the visitors were unable to turn their late attacking pressure into another score, with handling errors proving costly and reflecting a frustrating afternoon for the Devonshire outfit. There was plenty of endeavour, but they lacked execution when it mattered most.
For Brunel, denying Exeter both a losing bonus point and a try bonus point will be particularly satisfying as last year's championship runners-up made the perfect start to their campaign. They travel to Cardiff Met next week.
Exeter, meanwhile, return to the training ground to regroup ahead of Edinburgh's visit. Both sides will be looking to make an early-season statement.
Met make second-half comeback in impressive 24-10 away win
It was hosts Edinburgh who started fastest in the Scottish capital, with Anna Dennis finishing a period of pressure inside the 22 to score out wide. The dual league/union code winger made no mistake.
Lucy McRae was unable to convert, leaving Edinburgh 5-0 ahead.
The first half remained a fairly even contest, but Met's discipline proved costly. This time, Edinburgh right winger Alice Mason took advantage of a quick-tap penalty inside the 22, finishing another slick move from the home backline. McRae again missed the conversion, but Edinburgh had stretched their lead.
Playing into the wind, Met struggled to build any attacking momentum and went into the break trailing by 10 points.
The second half, however, made this contest a tale of two halves.
Met opted to kick long into Edinburgh territory and immediately applied defensive pressure. They eventually ripped the ball through Chloe Roblin and shifted it wide, before a high tackle stopped the Archers from scoring in the corner.
The referee awarded a penalty try, cutting Edinburgh's lead to 10-7 shortly after the restart.
Edinburgh continued to enjoy a surprising amount of territory despite the conditions, but they were unable to convert it into points. Instead, it was Met who struck next.
On the hour mark, Els Watkins called for the short side and found captain Maddie Hughes, who exchanged a one-two with replacement prop Elizabeth Cook before chipping beautifully into space for winger Margot Cherrier to gather and score.
Hughes, taking over the kicking duties, was unable to add the extras, but Met had moved 12-10 ahead with a quarter of the match remaining.
The physicality of Cardiff Met began to set a different tone. Replacement hooker Taufa Tuipulotu crashed through on an excellent line to score under the posts with 10 minutes to go. Hughes converted this time to extend the advantage to 19-10.
With the momentum firmly in their favour, Met looked to close out the game. Hughes again provided the go-forward after a strong maul, and following several phases, fellow back-rower Seren Thomas spotted space on the short side to bundle over.
The try made it 24-10 with five minutes remaining, and Met held on to deny Edinburgh a losing bonus point and secure all five points.
Having dug in after trailing at half-time, they produced a controlled and clinical second-half performance to turn the contest around.
They now welcome fellow round-one winners Brunel University to Cyncoed next week.
For Edinburgh, there were encouraging signs, but they were unable to match Met's intensity across the full 80 minutes. With a trip of more than 400 miles to Exeter up next, they will look to get back on the horse quickly.
Round 2 fixtures - Next Wednesday
- Cardiff Met vs Brunel
- Loughborough vs Cardiff
- Exeter vs Edinburgh
- Surrey vs Hartpury
