Third time's a charm for Loughborough and Williams in Women’s BUCS Super Rugby final
Loughborough finally tasted glory in the Women's BUCS Super Rugby final
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If you’re a Loughborough player, coach, supporter - or indeed Amelia Williams - three really is the magic number.
After heartbreak at Saracens’ StoneX Stadium in 2023/24 and last season at Rodney Parade, the African Violet are finally queens of Women’s BUCS Super Rugby following a commanding 45-5 victory over Brunel in South Wales.
A devastating first-half hat-trick from prop Williams, alongside a score from Tamsin Baynes, set the platform for Loughborough's victory.
No.8 Scarlet Down deservedly replied for Brunel after the break, but Loughborough’s dominant opening 40 minutes had left them with too much to do.
Baynes stretched over for her second to add the gloss in the final 10 minutes before Ashton Adcock and Sarah Shrestha rubber-stamped the title for the Midlands outfit.
Defeats to Hartpury and Cardiff Met in the previous two finals lingered in the background for those in violet - particularly Williams, who featured in last year’s agonising 30-29 loss to the Archers.
But there was a sense early on that this time would be different.
Clever kicking in behind repeatedly pinned Brunel deep inside their own half, and a sharp opening from Matt Campbell’s side was rewarded after just seven minutes when Williams powered over for her first.
A surging break from Shrestha maintained momentum, keeping Loughborough firmly on the front foot, and the pressure soon told again.
An offside against Brunel was ruthlessly punished, with Williams crashing over from close range to extend the lead, the league runners-up racing into a 14-0 advantage inside the opening quarter.
Brunel, who had perhaps defied expectations to reach the final in their maiden WBSR campaign with victories over former champions Cardiff Met and unbeaten Hartpury, briefly stemmed the tide.
But while their journey to Rodney deserves recognition, Loughborough were determined not to become their next scalp.
The African Violet continued to turn the screw, and England U20s international Baynes added further gloss to the scoreboard as Brunel struggled to contain the relentless pressure.
Williams’ crowning moment arrived in the 34th minute, as she completed a clinical first-half hat-trick - capping a dominant opening 40 minutes that felt entirely like one-way traffic.
The smiles on Loughborough’s faces as they headed to the sheds - led, fittingly, by Williams - told the story of a job well done.
But it was not job done, though, and Brunel, to their credit, responded well.
In the opening stages of the second half, they enjoyed the lion’s share of possession and territory, and found some parity at the set-piece, which eventually told as Down crossed the line in the 54th minute.
A superb solo run from just inside the Loughborough half by skipper Sophie Molton kept belief and spirit coursing through Brunel veins, and even when the African Violet got back on the front foot, their determination in defence came to the fore.
That was until the 70th minute, when the destructive Baynes capped a brilliant performance by reaching out for her second try - and Loughborough’s fifth score of the evening.
Adcock and then Shrestha got in on the act to wrap up a memorable evening for those in African Violet.
Without a doubt, Brunel will be back. Led by Red Rose Abi Burton, the university - in conjunction with their relationship with Trailfinders Women - are heading firmly in the right direction.
But this was Loughborough’s day, and above all, Amelia Williams’.
