Tyrrells Premier 15s - Week 1 round up

As the first round of Tyrrells Premier 15s Loughborough Lightning kicked-off on last weekend, Loughborough Lightning and Gloucester-Hartpury Women's RFC were among the four teams that secured a bonus point victory. Here is a wrap up of how the games went.

Bristol Ladies 24 - 31 Richmond FC

Claire Phelps, Laura Kapo, Rebecca Ball and Jade Wong all crossed over in the first half for Bristol at Cleve RFC as they claimed a 12-24 lead at half time. Skipper Rowena Burnfield further extended Bristol's advantage with their fifth try that came at the start of the second half and the scoreline went to 12-31. Just as it looked like an easy win for Richmond, Lagi Tuima on her debut kept Bristol in the hunt with back to back tries as the difference came down to seven points but the visitors held their nerve and completed the win.

Standings: Bristol are positioned seventh as they obtained a couple of bonus points while Richmond are at third with five points.

Darlington Mowden Park Sharks 3 - 32 Gloucester-Hartpury Women's RFC

Gloucester-Hartpury carried on their form from the previous season's Women’s Championship Midlands Two with a 3-32 convincing win over Darlington Mowden Park. The game started with a 45-minute delay as the teams reached late to Northern Echo Arena due to heavy traffic. Ceri Large and Rachel Lund scored tries for the visitors in the first half while Hannah Morton scored a lonely penalty for the Sharks as Gloucester-Hartpury went into half time with a 15-3 lead.

Beth Jones along with a second try from Lund secured the bonus point for Gloucester while Milly Wallis touchdown ensured they completed a resounding 29 point win.

Standings: Gloucester-Hartpury are at second following the bonus point win while the Sharks are at ninth.

Wasps FC Ladies 32 - 38 Harlequins Ladies

Harlequins got their revenge for the 48-17 defeat to Wasps in the pre-season with a thrilling six-point win at Twyford Avenue. The Quins at one stage were cruising for a victory having secured a bonus point in the first half and a lead of 3-24 following tries from Shaunagh Brown, Jess Breach, Holly Myers and Heather Cowell. However, Wasps bounced back with tries from Kate Hallett, Abby Dow and Louise Dodds in the second half as the gap came down to four points.

As the game was heading for a tight finish, Myers and Breach crossed again either side of Dow’s second score to help Quins complete the victory but Hallett's second touchdown ensured Wasps obtained two bonus points.

Standings: Harlequins and Wasps find themselves at fourth and sixth positions in the table respectively.

Firwood Waterloo Ladies 13 - 22 Saracens Women

A late comeback from Saracens saw them deny Firwood Waterloo Ladies a victory on their maiden outing at the Memorial Ground. Firwood Waterloo kept Saracens under pressure for most of the first half and had a lead of 3-0 at half time Bethany Stott’s penalty.

Zoe Harrison helped Saracens bounce back with a try in the second half but Stott's second penalty followed by a cross over from Vanessa Temple ensured the hosts had a 13-5 lead. This is when the visitors upped the ante through a penalty from Harrison while Nina Vistisen and Sonia Green scored the tries to snatch a 13-22 victory from Firwood Waterloo.

Standings: Saracens are positioned fifth while Firwood Waterloo Ladies are at eighth.

Loughborough Lightning 46 - 12 Worcester Valkyries

A scintillating performance from Loughborough Lighting saw them lead the first half with a 29-0 margin after tries from Olivia Jones (2), Bethan Zeidler, Natasha Jones and Charlotte Pierce. They extended their dominance in the second half as well with touchdowns from Ofure Ugiagbe, Lucy Nye and Celia Quansah while late tries from Lark Davies and Zoe Bennion helped Worcester gain 12 points and reduce the losing margin to 34 points.

Standings: Loughborough Lightning top the table following the bonus point win while Worcester Valkyries languish at the bottom.