Bristol Ladies remain unbeaten at the half way point of the season, after a hard fought victory over Saracens Women today at Cleve RFC.
The first half saw both sides score a try a piece. Saracens scored after Bristol failed to clear a wayward penalty attempt, which former Bristol Ladies player Bryony Cleall dotted down to the dismay of the Bristol crowd.
The remaining play of the half was scrappy, with neither team settling or controlling play, and Chantelle Miell equalled the score as she darted over in the corner. The score at half time was 5 – 5.
Bristol broke the deadlock in the second half around 60 minutes, when a strong driving maul saw Captain Amelia Buckland Hurry score her first ever Premiership try.
Jasmine Joyce showed her pace and skill on the wing, outrunning the Saracens defence on two occasions – adding to her try tally this season, and the site of Sarah Bern running from the half way line is becoming a formidable site for any opposition, as she once again scored a brilliant try showcasing her strength and speed.
Saracens looked well coached, and came with a clear and expansive game plan, however Bristol’s passion and commitment prevailed as the home side came away with a bonus point win – retaining their place at the top of the table.
Captain Amelia Buckland Hurry spoke to us afterwards: “I’m really happy with the way we played today and our accuracy at our set piece was fantastic. It was always amazing to score my first premiership try. We have a really happy camp, and it’s exciting to have now beaten every team in the league – however we’re not complacent. We’ll go into the second leg confident, but knowing that we need to work on our discipline, but also that we need to keep improving and keep the focus on ourselves’.
Forward of the game: Clara Nielson ‘It was great today and really showcases us as a squad. Having a functioning 2nd XV has really helped, and allowing us to bring up players and develop players is great. We had a tough 1st half today, but we really stuck together and kept going. Once we player to our patterns and got the backs involved the game opened up and we were able to play like Bristol’
Back of the game: Jasmine Joyce
PHOTO – JMPUK
